Former First Minister Alex Salmond ups the ante on Scottish independence
The leader of the newly-formed Alba Party, Alex Salmond, has called for “negotiations” on Scottish independence immediately after the Holyrood election in May, which Salmond believes will deliver a “supermajority” for pro-independence parties.
Speaking at the campaign launch of the Alba Party, Salmond predicted that the British government would ignore a victory by the Scottish National Party (SNP) as that would not deliver the desired “supermajority” in the Scottish Parliament.
By contrast, Salmond predicted that London’s resistance would “crumble” in the face of a critical mass of pro-independence MSPs from the SNP, Alba and the Scottish Green Party.
Broadly speaking, a supermajority is taken to mean two-thirds of MSPs - or 86 seats - with this total being needed to ensure the quick passage of legislation.
Salmond – who preceded Sturgeon as both Scotland’s First Minister and leader of the SNP – took the latter to task over the insistence that a “legal and legitimate” referendum constitutes the only viable path to Scottish independence.
The Alba leader advised the SNP to not “pigeonhole” itself to an inflexible position, and instead consider a range of tactics to force concessions from the British state, notably court action and peaceful protests.
In the spirit of co-operation and solidarity, Salmond said he would be voting for the SNP in the constituency ballot, if only to reaffirm the fact that Alba’s entire raison d'être revolves around winning seats via the regional list system.
Salmond – who is still considered as the father of modern Scottish nationalism – argued that a Holyrood dominated by pro-independence parties could "issue a clear and unmistakable instruction to the Scottish government to open negotiations with Whitehall on independence".
According to the former First Minister, negotiations could “evolve” to include a formally agreed referendum, another form of “plebiscite”, or failing that legal action and/or peaceful demonstrations.
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