The return of Alex Salmond
The former leader of the Scottish National Party has a new party, and some radical ideas for independence
SUCCESSFUL POLITICAL parties are coalitions, and the Scottish National Party’s has been expansive. Over the years it has been divided on Europe, NATO and devolution. It has lured those who dream of a socialist Scotland, and those who think it can be a low-tax rival to Ireland. Young Scandiphiles rub elbows with old Anglophobes. Electoral success and growing support for independence have bound it together.
On March 26th, the party split. Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon’s predecessor as first minister and its leader in the independence referendum of 2014, announced that he was leading a new party, called Alba. The Scottish Parliament’s electoral system comprises constituency and list seats, and is geared to stop one party becoming too powerful. Mr Salmond would like independence supporters to game this system, and back the SNP with one vote and Alba with the other, to create a parliament with a “supermajority” for independence.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "When separatists separate"
From the March 31st 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
A growing number of Britons are on disability benefits
The government’s attempts to cut the welfare bill miss the bigger picture
British farmers shunned green schemes. Then the rain came
A rare Brexit dividend
Questions grow over the future of the London stockmarket
More than 20 listed companies are facing bids. Others are mulling their options