UNITE OR FAIL

A guest post from Bill Clark, an Alba Party member living in Fort William.

UNITE OR FAIL.

The Holyrood elections in 2026 should see a worthy vanguard of Alba MSPs taking their seats wearing the white rose of Scotland on their lapels, not only for show but as a commitment to Scottish independence.  Such a commitment on its own is no longer enough for independence voters.  

We were inundated over many years with front page photographs in “The National” of Nicola Sturgeon, so many photographs, you could virtually see the ex-First Minister ageing before our eyes, along with each pronouncement of her intended action to bring about independence, doubling up in emphasis as each election drew closer.   Time and again she explained that a Section 30 was just around the corner, along with her claim that Westminster simply could not continually deny democracy and refuse the will of the Scottish people.   The SNP leadership were lining up to repeat those ridiculous statements.

MCELENY’S BOTTLE

At the end of the day the SNP had to climb down and admit defeat as they realised that Chris McEleny and Angus MacNeil had been right all along and that the proposal to rely on the FMs Section 30 from Westminster was doomed to failure.   The response to McEleny from a group of delegates who were close together at the SNP conference brought so much verbal abuse towards the man for having the audacity to express a view that did not have the support of the FM, was in very poor taste, considering the SNP eventually had to follow his advice.    Even at that, those people in the SNP leadership who had orchestrated the verbal abuse which had been directed at McEleny could not bring themselves to apologise to the man or even publicly to acknowledge their mistake.  One long standing MP who had persistently given his support to the FM’s Section 30 proposal had the nerve to reverse the roles to take credit for McEleny’s proposal for himself which caused great hilarity amongst Alba party supporters.   The reality was that McEleny had what most of them did not possess, the bottle to confront reality and the ne’er-do-wells within the SNP cabal who orchestrated the abuse against him in support of the ex-FM, which held up the progress towards independence.   From those heady days of expectation of a Westminster Section 30 being provided some of the ex-FM exponents of her pronouncements over the years, are now talking about anything from ten to twenty years before we can now realistically expect to achievement the very thing, they were informing us was just around the corner.

A TRUE POLITICIAN    

Some like the SNPs ex-Westminster leader are even thinking of extending their own political careers by taking a hop skip and a jump towards a career in the House of Lords, openly showing the SNP the road to take towards hari-kari.   Not surprisingly, Iain Blackford was not so forthcoming before he announced his retirement.  This is the man who made derisory comments towards Kenny MacAskill when Kenny decided to leave the SNP because of their lack of enthusiasm towards independence and their behaviour towards the ex-First Minister, Alex Salmond.    

Since Nicola Sturgeon took over from Alex Salmond, the SNP got bogged down by putting their efforts into everything but the fight for independence.  Accordingly, many thousands of members left the SNP through their lack of action.    

DEBATE IS DEMOCRACY  

Policy differences within politics is democracy in action and those differences can be debated by the party membership before being adopted as party policy.   Any changes to the internal voting system should first be debated and voted on at an Alba conference without any reference to the he said, she said level of debate.  If people submit their name to contest any election, they must expect the results thereof to be published, at the very least, to other members of the party.   Alba is a new party and unless you are well known or have someone who is singing your praises you have no reason to be embarrassed at the result of such an election.    The time will come when members will get to know each other.   During the build up to the 2014 referendum no one within the party system or any other independent supporting organisation, ever to my knowledge, took on personal or party crusades on the same year as an election or indeed the referendum as it would only have hampered the political fight and work against the very thing, we were all trying to achieve.   

Without debate you can’t have democracy, that is part of the democratic process and should not be confused with back room political deals.    Party leaders through the ages were well aware, and believed that most people could be bought.   Lord George Murray, the Jacobite General during the ‘45 uprising, questioned whether anyone could claim to be free when corruption and bribery were at such a pitch, that not only were Members of Parliament open to corruption but even the electors were being bribed.  This, he said, has increased every seven years (i.e. at elections after the Septennial Act) “it is so bad that ministers are openly saying that every man has his price?”

THE SEPTENNIAL ACT OF 1716

This act was brought in by the Whigs after the Jacobite uprising in 1715.  The act increased the years between elections from 3 years to 7 years which meant that the Whigs could relax somewhat, knowing that they could now evade electoral judgement until 1722 and that gave them more time to settle in and consolidate themselves in power.   With that longer period in power people got used to that power base, not unlike the SNP today, Labour throughout the Blair years and the Tories before that. 

It was not until 1911 that the duration between elections was reduced to 5 years.

 UPDATING THE MEMBERSHIP    

Alba elected representatives have to ensure that they update the Alba membership each and every quarter on the actions that they have taken, and the progress that their actions have made towards attaining Scottish independence.

CANDIDATES IN WAITING  

We have some outstanding candidates waiting in the wings who would wear that Scottish white rose with pride.  I occasionally hear people make judgements on independence supporting MPs and MSPs based on whether their political leanings are running parallel to their own views be it to the left or right.   As a nationalist I could never understand that logic, bearing in mind, that the priority is to support someone whose belief is in Scottish independence as we require to take votes from people of all persuasions.  As has been said on many occasions we belong to a broad church of opinions.  Narrow political opinions can cloud judgement.    I can never remember asking myself, never mind anyone else, whether I was going to give my support to a prospective candidate because of their political leanings rather than the person’s commitment to independence.

ELECTIONS 2024 AND 2026 

I am looking forward to Alba MSPs taking up seats in Holyrood in 2026 and all I look for is a commitment to independence, and to act on it.   That’s where the choice of Alba candidates is so important and we already have some of those men and women as members.  Some have already shown their commitment by leaving the SNP because of the party’s lack of progress towards independence.

ANY EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE?     

I agree with the decision that we give Angus MacNeill, as a committed independence supporter, a free run to pin on that white rose in the Westminster election in 2024.   He has, after all, found himself ostracised from the SNP because of his insistence that they were not doing enough to bring about the very thing that they were in existence to attain.   That being the case, before the 2026 Scottish elections take place, I would like to see independence supporting MPs confirm one way or another if they intend to remove themselves from Westminster to contest the Holyrood elections in 2026 or if they intend to remain and play out their Oliver Twist role?   To do so will see it continue to be a never-ending debate with Westminster which has already been played out over many years, too many, without providing any progress towards our aim of achieving our independence or anything close to it.    Some of those MPs in their defence will claim that there was little they could do because they were tied to working within the confines of Westminster rule.  To a point they would be right.  The Section 30 was a case in point.   Yet, they did not have to rely on being granted a Section 30 from Westminster and   they could have spoken out against such a proposal.   If they had listened to Chris McEleny on that subject instead of dismissing his proposal in such a high-handed manner at the SNP conference, we would be further along the road to independence than we are today.  Instead, we are still at the starting blocks waiting on the starting gun to be fired.

A FORMULA FOR FAILURE

There must be no exceptions when it comes to MPs who have been elected on a ticket to bring about independence settling in for the long hall at Westminster.   I might not be able to give you the formula for immediate outright success in achieving independence but I can give you the formula for failure and giving the SNP another five years to settle in at Westminster is certainly it.   No more taking activists for fools.  The SNP commitment to independence has been diluted to such an extent that the reality is it has disappeared notwithstanding Alba MP Neale Hanvey’s outstanding Westminster performance which was on this occasion supported by SNP MPs to bring power back to the Scottish Parliament to enable Scotland to set the bricks in place to call a referendum.   Previously, with the exception of one SNP MP, they refused on mass to attend the debate to save the Grangemouth oil refinery when so many Scottish jobs were at risk.  Alba’s Kenny MacAskill led the debate.  That type of reaction by the Westminster SNP MPs is the reason thousands left the SNP in the first place.

Kenny MacAskill has shown a lifetime of outstanding commitment to Scottish independence and the lack of support from the SNP in Westminster to both MacAskill and Neale Hanvey’s efforts in that place has emphasized the SNPs lack of class and commitment to the independence cause.     

While I don’t know any Alba NEC members personally, I can only make a few comments on those who were SNP activists and/or elected MPs and MSPs and one or two others from speeches and television interviews plus hour upon hour of watching the Holyrood and Westminster Parliaments.  In other words, just like thousands of other people who have the same interest in politics as I do.    The Alba Party has some members I am impressed with through their involvement over the years in the independence movement and particularly in the effort that they are putting in today.   Others, I am aware, put in unstinting effort and work every bit as hard which invariably goes under the radar but is no less important.   With the Westminster elections in 2024 I understand that Alba intends to contest approximately 12 seats and two years later I expect many more will be to the fore in contesting the critical Holyrood elections.   While I am a member of both Alba and Salvo, I do not believe it is a case of one or the other.   I am no longer an activist in the true sense of the word, regarding canvasing or attending meetings but like most activists, I have views on the type of political candidate I would like to see confront those who sit on the unionist benches and any others who claim to be what they are not.

TASMINA AHMED – SHEIKH, ASH REGAN AND EVA COMRIE

One such person I would like to see as part of the Alba contingent in Holyrood is most certainly Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.  I have never met the lady but I do remember her as an MP.  I was impressed then and I am more impressed now with the work she puts into the Alba Party and the independence movement.  She is an organiser par excellence and has been an active member of the independence movement.   Another, I want to see standing beside Tasmina is Ash Regan.   She deserved the reception she was accorded at the Alba Party conference.  She has political determination in abundance and showed it by standing by her principles when resigning her ministerial position in Government.  She has the political acumen required by showing that she is unafraid to confront those in the SNP who want to take baby steps towards independence.   The SNP have been taking baby steps for years now, we have to up our game or we will find that just like the SNP, the independence movement will slow down from a walk to a crawl.

Sometimes you can hear someone speak for the first time and it takes your breath away.  One such lady was Eva Comrie.   Her impassioned speech at a past Alba Party conference was just what was needed and I look forward to seeing her take her seat in 2026 and I can’t wait to hear more of the same in Holyrood.  I really could go on and on as there are so many others I have read about and have been impressed by their tenacity.    Others, have in the past, represented the constituency I live in, like Fergus Ewing MSP, who has been an outstanding ambassador for the Highlands.    His commitment to independence has been politically impeccable just like his siblings and mother and father before, all of them, put everything they had into the fight for independence, it is in their DNA.   If you have to rely on someone to have your back politically then Fergus Ewing is your man.  I have always spoken highly of Kate Forbes, another local MSP, and a very talented politician. 

Independence is the one thing that should unite all activists.   Giving devolutionists another five years in Westminster is not to my liking, it is now time to confront and cast that proposal aside and take the only road that will lead to Holyrood and independence.  We will not find that highway by asking anyone in Westminster which road to take.  

Bill Clark.

BEAT THE CENSORS

Unfortunately there are some sites where extensive blocking takes place against bloggers who do not slavishly follow the dictates of one political party. This is a direct threat to freedom of speech and I unhesitatingly condemn such action. To overcome this problem I rely on my readers to share Yours for Scotland articles as widely as possible. My thanks to those who help overcome censorship.

FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS

The most reliable way to get articles from this site is by taking out a free subscription which are available on the Home and Blog pages of the Yours for Scotland website. Given that I often seem to face other problems with both Twitter and Facebook this guarantees that my content is freely available.

SALVO

Salvo continues to do valuable work and an ever increasing number of people are involved. They are now running strong campaigns on several key issues and as the campaigning arm of Liberation.Scot they are the key to success. If you would like to make a donation to further Salvo and Liberation’s campaigning here are the details. All donations large or small greatly helps our work.

Bank RBS

ACCOUNT SALVOSCOT Ltd.

Ac number 00779437

Sort Code 83-22-26

LIBERATION.SCOT

If you have not already joined please visit the above website and join now. We are looking to achieve a membership larger than any other political organisation in Scotland to approach the UN to achieve the official status as Scotland’s Liberation Movement intent of removing the colonising forces from our nation. Be part of it.

THE SEPTENNIAL ACT OF 1716

This act was brought in by the Whigs after the Jacobite uprising in 1715.  The act increased the years between elections from 3 years to 7 years which meant that the Whigs could relax somewhat, knowing that they could now evade electoral judgement until 1722 and that gave them more time to settle in and consolidate themselves in power.   With that longer period in power people got used to that power base, not unlike the SNP today, Labour throughout the Blair years and the Tories before that. 

It was not until 1911 that the duration between elections was reduced to 5 years.

 UPDATING THE MEMBERSHIP    

Alba elected representatives have to ensure that they update the Alba membership each and every quarter on the actions that they have taken, and the progress that their actions have made towards attaining Scottish independence.

CANDIDATES IN WAITING  

We have some outstanding candidates waiting in the wings who would wear that Scottish white rose with pride.  I occasionally hear people make judgements on independence supporting MPs and MSPs based on whether their political leanings are running parallel to their own views be it to the left or right.   As a nationalist I could never understand that logic, bearing in mind, that the priority is to support someone whose belief is in Scottish independence as we require to take votes from people of all persuasions.  As has been said on many occasions we belong to a broad church of opinions.  Narrow political opinions can cloud judgement.    I can never remember asking myself, never mind anyone else, whether I was going to give my support to a prospective candidate because of their political leanings rather than the person’s commitment to independence.

ELECTIONS 2024 AND 2026 

I am looking forward to Alba MSPs taking up seats in Holyrood in 2026 and all I look for is a commitment to independence, and to act on it.   That’s where the choice of Alba candidates is so important and we already have some of those men and women as members.  Some have already shown their commitment by leaving the SNP because of the party’s lack of progress towards independence.

ANY EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE?     

I agree with the decision that we give Angus MacNeill, as a committed independence supporter, a free run to pin on that white rose in the Westminster election in 2024.   He has, after all, found himself ostracised from the SNP because of his insistence that they were not doing enough to bring about the very thing that they were in existence to attain.   That being the case, before the 2026 Scottish elections take place, I would like to see independence supporting MPs confirm one way or another if they intend to remove themselves from Westminster to contest the Holyrood elections in 2026 or if they intend to remain and play out their Oliver Twist role?   To do so will see it continue to be a never-ending debate with Westminster which has already been played out over many years, too many, without providing any progress towards our aim of achieving our independence or anything close to it.    Some of those MPs in their defence will claim that there was little they could do because they were tied to working within the confines of Westminster rule.  To a point they would be right.  The Section 30 was a case in point.   Yet, they did not have to rely on being granted a Section 30 from Westminster and   they could have spoken out against such a proposal.   If they had listened to Chris McEleny on that subject instead of dismissing his proposal in such a high-handed manner at the SNP conference, we would be further along the road to independence than we are today.  Instead, we are still at the starting blocks waiting on the starting gun to be fired.

A FORMULA FOR FAILURE

There must be no exceptions when it comes to MPs who have been elected on a ticket to bring about independence settling in for the long hall at Westminster.   I might not be able to give you the formula for immediate outright success in achieving independence but I can give you the formula for failure and giving the SNP another five years to settle in at Westminster is certainly it.   No more taking activists for fools.  The SNP commitment to independence has been diluted to such an extent that the reality is it has disappeared notwithstanding Alba MP Neale Hanvey’s outstanding Westminster performance which was on this occasion supported by SNP MPs to bring power back to the Scottish Parliament to enable Scotland to set the bricks in place to call a referendum.   Previously, with the exception of one SNP MP, they refused on mass to attend the debate to save the Grangemouth oil refinery when so many Scottish jobs were at risk.  Alba’s Kenny MacAskill led the debate.  That type of reaction by the Westminster SNP MPs is the reason thousands left the SNP in the first place.

Kenny MacAskill has shown a lifetime of outstanding commitment to Scottish independence and the lack of support from the SNP in Westminster to both MacAskill and Neale Hanvey’s efforts in that place has emphasized the SNPs lack of class and commitment to the independence cause.     

While I don’t know any Alba NEC members personally, I can only make a few comments on those who were SNP activists and/or elected MPs and MSPs and one or two others from speeches and television interviews plus hour upon hour of watching the Holyrood and Westminster Parliaments.  In other words, just like thousands of other people who have the same interest in politics as I do.    The Alba Party has some members I am impressed with through their involvement over the years in the independence movement and particularly in the effort that they are putting in today.   Others, I am aware, put in unstinting effort and work every bit as hard which invariably goes under the radar but is no less important.   With the Westminster elections in 2024 I understand that Alba intends to contest approximately 12 seats and two years later I expect many more will be to the fore in contesting the critical Holyrood elections.   While I am a member of both Alba and Salvo, I do not believe it is a case of one or the other.   I am no longer an activist in the true sense of the word, regarding canvasing or attending meetings but like most activists, I have views on the type of political candidate I would like to see confront those who sit on the unionist benches and any others who claim to be what they are not.

TASMINA AHMED – SHEIKH, ASH REGAN AND EVA COMRIE

One such person I would like to see as part of the Alba contingent in Holyrood is most certainly Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh.  I have never met the lady but I do remember her as an MP.  I was impressed then and I am more impressed now with the work she puts into the Alba Party and the independence movement.  She is an organiser par excellence and has been an active member of the independence movement.   Another, I want to see standing beside Tasmina is Ash Regan.   She deserved the reception she was accorded at the Alba Party conference.  She has political determination in abundance and showed it by standing by her principles when resigning her ministerial position in Government.  She has the political acumen required by showing that she is unafraid to confront those in the SNP who want to take baby steps towards independence.   The SNP have been taking baby steps for years now, we have to up our game or we will find that just like the SNP, the independence movement will slow down from a walk to a crawl.

Sometimes you can hear someone speak for the first time and it takes your breath away.  One such lady was Eva Comrie.   Her impassioned speech at a past Alba Party conference was just what was needed and I look forward to seeing her take her seat in 2026 and I can’t wait to hear more of the same in Holyrood.  I really could go on and on as there are so many others I have read about and have been impressed by their tenacity.    Others, have in the past, represented the constituency I live in, like Fergus Ewing MSP, who has been an outstanding ambassador for the Highlands.    His commitment to independence has been politically impeccable just like his siblings and mother and father before, all of them, put everything they had into the fight for independence, it is in their DNA.   If you have to rely on someone to have your back politically then Fergus Ewing is your man.  I have always spoken highly of Kate Forbes, another local MSP, and a very talented politician. 

Independence is the one thing that should unite all activists.   Giving devolutionists another five years in Westminster is not to my liking, it is now time to confront and cast that proposal aside and take the only road that will lead to Holyrood and independence.  We will not find that highway by asking anyone in Westminster which road to take.