Pro-independence blogger could create standalone party

HOLYROOD: Stuart Campbell mulls over move – and talks up ex-fm Salmond

The pro-independence vote at next year’s Holyrood election could be split further after a leading separatist blogger revealed plans to create a standalone Wings Over Scotland party are still “under consideration”.

Stuart Campbell, who set up the controversial site in 2011, confirmed the party would likely stand candidates in every region of Scotland and he, too, would seek to become an MSP under the Scottish Parliament’s Additional Member System.

Mr Campbell said former first minister Alex Salmond would be a “huge asset” to the party but admitted he had so far shown no indication of getting involved.

The prospective party would add to a growing list of pro-independence choices at next year’s election, including the Alliance for Independence – spearheaded by former SNP MSP Dave Thompson – and the Independence for Scotland Party (ISP).

The SNP is predicted to win a landslide victory in 2021 but is likely to pick up just a handful of proportionately elected regional seats because of the voting system.

Some strategists believe a standalone pro-independence party could mop up nationalist support, although there have also been concerns about splitting the vote.

Mr Campbell believes his own large online following could lead to significant success at the ballot box.

He said: “The reason I think small parties like Rise (which failed to return any candidates in 2016) don’t work is that the key problem for them is recognition.

“Outside of the ‘Twittersphere’, people have very little idea of what is going on in the margin of politics. And whatever else you think about Wings, we certainly have a recognisable brand.

“We are known by a large percentage of the Scottish population and there are other people who also fit those criteria – the most obvious being Alex Salmond, who may or may not be thinking about things like this himself.

“I think that is the single biggest hurdle any potential new list party would have to overcome.”

One of the UK’S top polling experts, Strathclyde University’s Professor Sir John Curtice, warned installing a new list-only party is not a risk-free strategy.

He said: “It’s what I could call a clever wheeze. The system is set up to try to come up with a result in which the overall outcome is roughly proportional to votes won.

“This is an attempt to try to game the system to negate that purpose.”

He added: “You can certainly see how it’s at risk of being portrayed as not necessarily smelling of roses.”

Picture: PA. Stuart Campbell is the founder of the pro-independence Wings Over Scotland website.

Picture: Mhairi Edwards. Renowned polling expert Professor Sir John Curtice described the creation of a new list-only pro-independence party as a “clever wheeze” which is not without risk.