INVESTMENT strategist Dr Jim Walker has announced plans to run for Alex Salmond’s Alba Party at the upcoming Holyrood election.
Walker, the chief economist at Aletheia Capital, has worked in Asia for many years. He has decided to return from Hong Kong to Scotland to stand for the Scottish Parliament on the Central Scotland list.
The economist called for the economic benefits of Scottish independence to be “recast for the post-Brexit age”.
READ MORE: Boxing champ not the last to throw hat into Alba ring as deadline looms
In a statement he said: “The success of small economies in the modern world - and there are many examples - depends on high human capital and access to global markets.
“Scotland should have both. Currently both are in jeopardy.
“The task of this next Scottish Parliament is to put the country on the road to prosperity through claiming national independence.
“It is a good thing for the country to shape its economic destiny. No-one will run the Scottish economy better than the people of Scotland who have most invested in the country.
“Thus the debate on national independence is not a substitute for concentrating on sustained economic recovery. It is a pre-requisite.”
Salmond welcomed Walker’s expertise and said his party is “thrilled to have such economic substance in our team”.
“Only last Friday at our launch I was told I would be leading a one-man band. Already we are fielding a political orchestra of women and men of ability from a range of backgrounds to help take the nation forward,” the former SNP leader said.
Walker was confirmed this morning after former boxing champion Alex Arthur (above) announced he would stand as a candidate on the Lothian list.
Arthur won a gold medal for Scotland at the 1998 Commonwealth Games and was crowned WBO Super Featherweight World Champion in 2008.
He joins Salmond, Neale Hanvey, Kenny MacAskill, Caroline McAllister, Lynne Anderson, Chris McEleney, Cynthia Guthrie and Eva Comrie as confirmed candidates ahead of the May 6 vote.
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