Nicola Sturgeon today accused her former boss Alex Salmond of begin an attention seeker after he launched a new rival party.
In her bluntest attack so far on the former SNP first minister his successor Ms Sturgeon accused him of launching Alba last Friday as part of a publicity campaign designed to boost his ego.
His shock decision to create a new nationalist party has already led to the defections of a number of councillors and two SNP MPs.
The party will run on regional lists and look to secure a ‘supermajority’ in support of independence.
But speaking to the Daily Record today, Ms Sturgeon said: ‘I think he will be telling himself he is somehow advancing the independence cause but I think he is standing because he loves the limelight and can’t bear not to be on the stage.’
The attack came the day after she attacked politicians who treat the push for Scottish independence as ‘a game’ – seen as a swipe at Mr Salmond without naming him.
In her bluntest attack so far on the former SNP first minister his successor Ms Sturgeon accused him of launching Alba last Friday as part of a publicity campaign designed to boost his ego.
Speaking to the Daily Record today, Ms Sturgeon said: ‘I think he will be telling himself he is somehow advancing the independence cause but I think he is standing because he loves the limelight and can’t bear not to be on the stage.’
Kenny MacAskill MP (left) is deserting Nicola Sturgeon to stand for the newly-launched Alba party in May’s Holyrood elections. Neale Hanvey (right), who represents Kircaldy and Cowdenbeath at Westminster, has also declared that he is joining Alba
Michelle Ferns (left), who sits on Glasgow City Council, and Ellen McMaster (right), who represents Arran on North Ayrshire Council, announced they were jumping ship to join Mr Salmond
Ms Sturgeon told the Daily Record that there would need to be a majority in Holyrood in support of independence as well as support within the country, and Mr Salmond could in fact ‘hinder’ that cause.
‘One, people don’t like the idea that you are trying to game an electoral system but, secondly, once you start doing that you are effectively gambling with the outcome of the election and it could quite easily backfire and undermine the ability to get that majority that then provides the foundation for an independence referendum.’
The former first minister also extended a hand to his former party, offering an alliance with the SNP.
But Ms Sturgeon said Mr Salmond would have to apologise to the women who made complaints against him to the Scottish Government before any such alliance could be formed.
‘Alex wants to move on because it suits him now to say that he wants to move on,’ she said.
‘But there are a number of women out there who believe he behaved inappropriately towards them and he has shown, even now, no sense of reflection or contrition, or even an acknowledgement of that.
‘And, therefore, he may want to move on but there are people who, I think, will find it harder to do that.’
During Mr Salmond’s trial last year, at which he was cleared of 13 charges of sexual misconduct, his defence lawyer, Gordon Jackson QC, said his client could have been a ‘better man’.
Scotland operates a version of proportional representation, and Alba is only standing ‘list’ – or ‘additional’ MSP – candidates rather than running in the first-past-the-post constituency contests that could have inflicted more serious damage to the nationalists. Pollsters say that means it is more likely to hurt opposition parties, who typically end up with most of the list seats. The chart shows the result from the last Holyrood election in 2016
The First Minister launched a thinly-veiled attack on her predecessor yesterday after several of her MPs and councillors defected to his new Alba nationalist group.
Mr Salmond announced Alba would stand candidates in the Holyrood elections in May, seeking to strengthen the movement for Scottish independence.
But it comes amid a furious civil war in the SNP between followers of the current and former party leaders, over a sexual harassment probe into Mr Salmond, who was later cleared of all wrong-doing.
Two senior councillors announced they were quitting the party to line up alongside the former First Minister, who announced a dramatic return to Scottish politics last week.
Michelle Ferns, who sits on Glasgow City Council, and Ellen McMaster, who represents Arran on North Ayrshire Council, announced they were jumping ship to join Mr Salmond.
Their defections come after two Westminster SNP MPs joined Alba at the weekend.
Neale Hanvey, who represents Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, revealed yesterday he would be a candidate at Hoylrood elections in May.
Former SNP justice secretary Kenny MacAskill had already said he was jumping ship.
The SNP’s national women’s convener, Councillor Caroline McAllister transfer to the Alba Party at the weekend, along with Lynne Anderson, the former national equalities convener.
Ms Ferns is also planning to stand as an MSP in the elections in six weeks’ time. In a statement announcing here change of allegiance, she said she ‘would be honoured to be a strong working-class voice within the party delivering for the people of Glasgow’ in May’s elections.
Last night Mr Salmond unveiled former boxing champion Alex Arthur as as a parliamentary candidate for the forthcoming Scottish election.
Mr Arthur won a gold medal for Scotland at the 1998 Commonwealth games and was crowned WBO super featherweight world champion in 2008.
Now the boxer has thrown his hat into the ring of politics, as the latest MSP to stand as a candidate for Salmond’s pro-independence party, and will be standing on the regional list in Lothian.
