THE Alliance for Independence is struggling to win over Scotland’s other pro-indy parties, the National can reveal.

The Greens, the Scottish Socialist Party and the fledgling Independence for Scotland Party have all said they will contest next year’s election under their own respective banners.

That is a blow for the AFI, who hoped they could be the only pro-independence party – other than the SNP – standing on the regional list.

However, the new group was given a boost when Jim Sillars offered his support.

In a letter to the Herald, the SNP’s former deputy leader said Nicola Sturgeon had “led the independence movement up the political hill and left it stranded there”, and now faces the “possible consequences of it splintering as it comes down it”.

He added: “She now has to exercise some wisdom, take off the party hat and put on the movement one.”

Sillars said: “The SNP has been successful in creating an independence movement which has many activists and voters who do not align themselves with its social and economic policies.

“Their views cannot be dismissed in favour of a narrow party interest. I would urge the SNP leader to think again on the role this new Alliance for Independence group can play towards the necessary mandate.

“The tragedy will be if Ms Sturgeon does not realise that those who form the Alliance have as much right to contribute to strategy and tactics as she. The sensible thing now would be to talk to them.”

Earlier this week, speaking to The National, the former SNP MSP Dave Thomson, who sits on the steering committee of the AFI, said the new movement could help create a pro-indy “supermajority” in Holyrood at the expense of the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems.

He also explained that AFI candidates would be a mixture of independent independence supporters and members drawn from the small parties who sign up to the alliance.

Asked if that would include Tommy Sheridan’s Solidarity – given the opposition to the former MSP from many independence supporters – Thompson said: “Solidarity will be just as welcome as the SSP, as the ISP and as the Greens.

“We are not in the business of excluding any party because we’ve got a particular view about a particular person or policy. We’re creating an umbrella here that will cover everybody in the Yes family.”

The Greens said they weren’t keen on sharing Thompson’s umbrella.

The party’s co-leader Lorna Slater said: “Scottish Greens are ever-presents at Holyrood, having elected MSPs at every Scottish Parliament election. Polling suggests we’ll return more MSPs than ever before next year, as part of an increased majority of pro-independence supporting MSPs.”

She added: “Voters in every part of Scotland will have the opportunity to vote for us in May. We’ll continue to work hard to earn more votes than ever before when polling day comes around.”

A spokesman for the SSP said they would carefully consider any approach from AFI but at the moment their plan is to run on the list next year.

They also said it would likely be “problematic”, given their history, to form an alliance with Sheridan.

A spokesperson for the ISP said they had “no plans for interaction with any other political party”.

They added: “Our chief focus is on increasing the pro-independence representation at the Scottish Parliament, both to better reflect the diversity of views across the independence movement, and, ultimately, to progress the Scottish Parliament to enact a vote on independence which the people have demanded several times now.

“We intend to stand as the ISP next year.”