Salmond eyes wins in 2026 as Alba gears up for poll

ALEX Salmond says his Alba Party can win general election seats – but his own focus is on Holyrood’s North East region in two years’ time.

“That’s where I’m aiming for the Scots Parliament in 2026,” the former first minister said.

“The pro-independence support in the north-east needs someone who is committed to it,” he added.

“Alba can have a free run at that.”

While Mr Salmond holds back for 2026, Alba candidates being lined up for the general election include sitting MP Neale Hanvey, who is being confirmed as the candidate in redrawn Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency today.

It’s also expected that East Lothian MP Kenny MacAskill, who served as justice secretary in Mr Salmond’s SNP government before joining Alba, will stand in Alloa and Grangemouth.

A sub-sample of North East regional voters last month suggested Mr Salmond comes out on top as preferred first minister compared with Humza Yousaf and other party leaders.

Mr Salmond is aiming high for Holyrood based on that, despite a bruising set of results in 2021.

Speaking ahead of Mr Hanvey’s formal “adoption” today in Kirkcaldy, Mr Salmond said: “He is the only MP in this Westminster Parliament who has brought forward legislation on Scotland’s right of self-determination.

“Along with Kenny MacAskill he has kept the Saltire flying high in London while so many others have sat silent on the green benches.”

However, he predicts the “breakthrough” for his party will be at the Scottish elections in 2026.

“The recent Find Out Now poll suggested that we could realistically aim for 20 seats plus in a Scottish poll,” he said.

A spokesperson for the SNP said: “As the largest political party – and pro-independence party – in Scotland, the SNP will continue delivering for people across the country and making the case for a stronger Scotland with independence.”