IT would appear that Alex Salmond in his Alba Party launch address has just furnished the Unionists with their brand-new go-to denial of indyref2.
Just as his 2014 “once in a generation” line was hijacked by anti-independence forces to deny indyref2, his “the (Scottish) Parliament has to have, I believe, not a bare majority for independence within it, but a super-majority that changes the balance, fundamentally, into Scotland’s favour” will be the new denial mantra of the gleeful Unionists.
Talk about painting yourself into a corner Alex? I thought you were smarter than that.
READ MORE: Another SNP MP defects to Alex Salmond's Alba Party for Holyrood election
Therefore, if the result of the May Holyrood election returns a narrow majority of MSPs in favour of independence, I predict Westminster, the BBC and the rest of the mainstream media will be telling Scotland, “Sorry, but you needed a super-majority ... that was the firm promise made before the election”.
As a long-time supporter of independence and a democrat, I believe the return of a majority of MSPs in favour of independence, no matter how small, is a mandate to allow the people of Scotland to exercise their democratic right of self-determination.
It is the sovereign will of the Scottish people which takes precedent ... not the opinions of an individual politician.
William Bennett
Denny
HAS Alex Salmond just signed the death warrant of the independence campaign? Even Uncle Tom Cobley could not have mustered as many pals as the number of parties we now have hoping to get a share of the list votes for independence!
Can no-one do basic sums any more? The number of votes overall for the lists will be finite. A number will go anyway to Unionist parties, and even if all the rest are pro-independence, that total will still be finite. If, therefore, this number is split between only the SNP and the Greens, there will be a reasonable number of list seats gained.
READ MORE: SNP projected to win 71 Holyrood seats and gives Yes the lead in indyref2
Now, however, it seems that we will have eight pro-independence parties taking a share of that total. Just how many seats will each be likely to get? Divide 4,000, for example, by two and the answer could be 2,000 each. Divide it by eight and each might get only 500. Moreover, where will those votes for other parties be coming from, other than from the SNP and Greens, reducing their percentage of the vote? This proliferation of parties is likely now to let in a number of extra Unionists.
As for Alex Salmond himself, had he retired with dignity after the trial, after a time his reputation would have been restored and he would have gone down in history as the man who brought Scotland within touching distance of independence. This act of folly, following on the ramifications of the vendetta he has been pursuing, will surely see history judge him as a man who allowed his ego to destroy what he had spent his life working to achieve.
Our opposition must be breaking out the champagne in celebration at this destructive move.
L McGregor
Falkirk
AS a supporter of Scottish independence for at least 70 years, through the years as a movement and through the many political hurdles we overcame to reach a point in time where the prize was in our grasp, I am in shock. Alex Salmond, a man who was admired for his massive contributions to achieving independence and whom I have worked with over the years, has betrayed me and the others who have given their time and commitment to what we thought he represented. During these times, as the movement grew from the early years to the present day, LOYALTY was so important and often difficult to sustain but the body politic held. What Mr Salmond is doing today is absolutely shameful.
Isabelle Smith
via email
READ MORE: The SNP's women's convener becomes latest politician to defect to the Alba Party
AS we now approach Holyrood 2021 the battle lines are now being drawn up, with Salmond’s Alba, Johnson’s Cons, Davey’s Dems and Starmer’s Slab versus Sturgeon’s SNP.
As for the Greens, the degree of mutual support between themselves and the SNP in the election and beyond may well be the deciding factor for the Scottish Government post-2021.
It would appear that the SNP have now to decide whether “both votes SNP” is sufficient to see off Salmond’s Alba, because if not, then an agreed constituency vote SNP and list vote Green will be required, to enable Scotland to become an independent EU nation state in the near future.
The follow-up question for the citizens of Scotland is of course whether a grouping of independence-minded MSPs with visibly visceral hatred for each other, and some with indeterminable views of the rights of women in the workplace, are a fit government to guide them to and beyond independence, and re-joining the EU.
So, it’s independence with the SNP and Greens in the first half of the forthcoming Holyrood parliament session, or a mass migration to Starmer’s Slab before forcing independence a decade or so later.
Stephen Tingle
Greater Glasgow
HAVING been a member of the SNP since 1965 I would like to express my disgust at the announcement of yet another independence party. It is my sincere hope that you will desist from giving any credence to what is in effect an attempt to further disrupt what could be the final step in achieving what many of us have desired and worked for.
Should this new party be looking for donations, can I suggest that the most appropriate would be a tin of Brasso.
Bill Lamond
Inverness
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