IF, as Alex Salmond claims, “it’s in the national interest to vote Alba on the list”, (April 7), why is Alba putting up four candidates in each of the Highlands & Islands and South Scotland regions?
May 6 is our day of judgement. Indy voters should know the extent that chance will play in the success or failure of all our indy aspirations.
The battleground was set by Max the Yes and the claims by Action for Independence that one in four SNP2 votes will rid Scotland of the Tories. Apart from contempt for voters who don’t share our indy views, this claim was simply untrue. If the SNP fail to secure a majority in May, these claims from AFI spokespersons may prove to be Boris Johnson’s ace card.
READ MORE: Alex Salmond says it's in Scotland's 'national interest' to vote Alba on the list
Enter Alex Salmond and Alba, who have simply continued where AFI left off on tactical voting. They have also made the strategically wanting decision to stand in Highland & Islands and South Scotland regions. This was nothing other than an outwardly hostile, completely unnecessary attack on the SNP that may ultimately be fatally damaging to the indy cause.
It’s not just the SNP that Alba has declared war on. It is hardly surprising that the Greens, having done their sums and foreseeing their parliamentary demise, have taken their only option to stand in 12 constituencies. The collateral damage that will ensue won’t just be the number of seats they win, but more worryingly the number of seats they prevent the SNP from winning.
If Alba are to be taken seriously and have a role in a post-election indy co-operative then they could demonstrate goodwill by standing these eight candidates down, at the very least. The fact that they put these candidates up in the first place suggests that Alba foresees a use for them should they become elected.
The worst-case outcome is truly a sobering thought. It is not inconceivable that the SNP seat count could drop to well below 60 seats, and you can bet that Alex Salmond is counting on this. Even if Salmond mounts a successful post-election coup d’etat, the false claims of AFI and Alba will become the hatchet that Boris Johnson will wield to kill off indy for good.
Only the voters can put a stop to Alex Salmond’s gambling and the choices are clear. In the two aforementioned regions it’s SNP1 & 2, but in all the others it surely has to be SNP1 Green2. No SNP majority ... no indyref2.
Iain Jack
Blairgowrie
A VOTE to achieve Scottish independence is not about choosing the SNP or Alba, instead it’s about choosing SNP AND Alba. NOW we all have a LOGISTICAL way to make our list votes COUNT. On May 6 I will be voting SNP1 and ALBA2.
Iris Graham
Edinburgh
AFTER all that has been said over the last couple of years, why should I entrust my second vote to Alex Salmond?
I completely respect the not guilty and not proven verdicts at his criminal court case. I do this because I have faith in the jury system and the ability of our peers to make educated decisions. But I also remember the defence summing up to the jury and also the complete lack of remorse shown by Alex Salmond. Now it is for those reasons that I will no longer trust him with my vote for Eurovision, let alone my vote for the Scottish Parliament.
Salmond is reinventing himself, or is attempting to do so and has become a populist leader (Trump, Johnson, Farage, Clodius), and just like all populist leaders before him he has drawn to his party all those who feel disenfranchised. The only thing new about splitting the vote is that he is saying it – after all, he is using other parties’ ideas on splitting the second vote (RISE, ISP, AFI). The argument falls at the first hurdle as far as I am concerned. Why is it good enough now but was not mentioned in 2007 and 2011? Why is it only now, when he is out of the SNP and not sitting in any parliament, that he advocates this idea? Be very, very wary of populist leaders as it never turns out for the good.
Cliff Purvis
Veterans for Independence 2.0
IN response to Martin Hannan’s request on the YES DIY page (April 7), here’s my 2d worth. This SNP v Alba debate, I’m convinced, has been stoked if not engineered by forces outwith the indy movement. It can only be of advantage to the ANTI-indy faction. Divide and conquer has long been a successful tactic employed by governments when faced with annoying developments.
Those who insist we must decide what sort of Scotland we want before we get indy seem to have lost focus. In a free Scotland the electorate can decide the political complexion of our government. Too many egotistical politicians are playing into this alleged division. Sadly, they don’t seem to realise that in the grand shape of things, they’re NOT indispensable. If either Eck or Nic were abducted by aliens tomorrow, Alba and SNP would carry on with new leaders. It’s the press who love to personalise everything.
We’re voting for the principle of Scotland returning to the status of a normal country, whether our sympathies are with Greens, Alba, SNP or whoever. NOTHING must be allowed to derail that objective.
Barry Stewart
Blantyre
LEADERS of the minor parties are not happy they have been excluded from the main leaders’ debate. But as the second vote, the regional one, is so crucial in the overall result, why does the media not invite the minor parties for their own head-to-head? Alex Salmond, George Galloway, SSP, UKIP or whoever all battling it out!
It would make good television. George and Alex are both very articulate. I would certainly watch it. The referee would also have to be out of the top drawer! I wouldn’t relish their job! Here’s hoping some channel will be brave enough!
Robin MacLean
Fort Augustus
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