Salmond says Alba will fight council vote as it has ‘too much credibility’ to stop

ALEX Salmond has said his new Alba Party will contest next year’s council elections, breaking a pledge to let its members decide the issue.

The former first minister said the pro-independence group, which won 1.7 per cent of the list vote at the Holyrood election, had “too much credibility” to stop now.

He also announced the party would open its first conference on the “auspicious date” of September 18, despite it being the seventh anniversary of the Yes campaign’s defeat in the 2014 referendum.

He blamed a lack of TV coverage for impeding Alba’s progress at Holyrood, saying the BBC and others deliberately saw to it that Alba was “squeezed out of it”.

Opinion polls suggested Mr Salmond was one of the party’s biggest problems, as he has lower personal approval ratings than Boris Johnson in Scotland.

Last week, Mr Salmond said he and Alba’s 31 other Holyrood candidates had discussed whether to stand in the 2022 local elections.

He said all had agreed to put forward a motion to conference in favour, but stressed: “It will be up to the delegates, of course, it will be up to the membership.”

However, in a new video message, Mr Salmond said he wanted to tell Alba’s 5,000 members about “some important decisions that have been made in the last few days”.

He said the 32 candidates all agreed “the party will continue”.

He said: “The general view is that we’ve built up too much credibility and too much support just to let it go. This is something valuable that has been created, something which is establishing itself in the Scottish political firmament. The second decision is we’re going to contest local elections next year.”

He said Alba’s platform for local government would mean it could fight “on equal terms” with its opponents, despite broadcaster bias.

However the STV system used for council elections makes it harder for Alba to achieve a breakthrough, as winning a seat requires at least 20% of the vote, whereas list MSPS can be elected with just 6%.

It is understood the timing of the autumn conference was a factor in the change of plan on council elections, with a September decision seen as too late to be practical.

A source said the membership would be asked to “rubberstamp” the decision Mr Salmond and the Holyrood candidates had taken.

The move is despite many defectors to Alba complaining the SNP was autocratic and top-down.

Mr Salmond said every Alba member would be entitled to attend and vote as a delegate, making conference the “a significant event”.

He added: “It’s now time for Alba to grow. There is a mandate for independence and we must see that mandate exercised.

“Our objective, because we are not an ordinary political party, is to help secure the independence of our country. Alba has a role, it has a significance, and that role will develop, grow and bloom over the next few years. Alba is rising.”