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Four senior members of the Alba Party have stepped forward with an offer to take control of the pro-independence group, aiming to secure its participation in the upcoming Scottish Parliament election. This development follows party leader Kenny MacAskill’s recent disclosure that Alba faces such a dire financial crisis that it is unlikely to field candidates in the May election. MacAskill described the party’s situation as “perilous,” emphasizing their urgent need to focus on settling outstanding debts rather than campaigning.
A statement issued on Sunday by Tommy Sheridan, Angus MacNeil, Christina Hendry, and Suzanne Blackley highlighted that the current leadership “feel unable to continue.” Despite this, MacAskill reaffirmed that he remains Alba’s leader and stressed that any alteration to election plans must be economically feasible. He explained, “At the present moment we don’t have the money to meet the deposits required. We don’t have the money for any campaigning. What we are requiring to do is to meet the bills that we have.” Furthermore, he insisted that a leadership change would necessitate a “democratic mandate” and cautioned that contesting the election without adequate financial safeguards could deepen the party’s difficulties.
The party’s financial crisis escalated to what MacAskill termed an “immediate crisis,” making it improbable that Alba will meet registration deadlines for the election. In response, four elected members convened to explore options for fielding candidates on 7 May. Their joint statement praised the current leadership for “extraordinary efforts” to keep the party afloat but recognized that the leadership team “feel unable to continue” and that the party’s continuation should not be jeopardized by their departure. They emphasized the importance of Alba standing in the election to prevent wasting “hundreds of thousands of pro-independence votes” and warned that failure to do so would hand unionist parties, including Reform, an “easy ride” into parliament.
The group called for a vote of the party’s entire membership on whether to pursue election participation and proposed launching a “fighting fund” to gather the necessary funds. They also requested a meeting with the current leadership to discuss transitioning control. This group includes former Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan, Christina Hendry (niece of Alba’s late founder Alex Salmond), ex-SNP MP Angus MacNeil, and Suzanne Blackley, the party’s national equalities convener. Despite the optimistic intentions from some members like Angus MacNeil, the process to ensure Alba’s survival and election participation is complicated and time-sensitive, involving financial compliance, Electoral Commission requirements, and candidate deposits — all amid the backdrop of ongoing police investigation into financial irregularities within the party
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