TOMMY Sheridan has said he could be tempted to join the SNP if Ash Regan becomes the next party leader.
The former MSP, currently an Alba Party member, told The National he was “definitely” committed to working with the Edinburgh MSP should she win the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon.
And he suggested he could join the SNP under a Regan leadership.
He said: “Yes to working with her. Definitely. As to the SNP membership – who knows? Perhaps [she] could bring Alba members like me back into one independence-serious party.”
Regan has reached out to other independence parties, including Alba, the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the Scottish Greens to build support for her campaign.
READ MORE: Kate Forbes and Ash Regan call out 'serial hustings attendees'
She is proposing an independence convention, bringing together all pro-Yes parties to make plans to secure Scotland’s exit from the Union.
Alex Salmond said he was “delighted” to confirm his party would take part in the convention, as did the SSP leader Colin Fox.
Regan has previously branded her opponents’ plans for independence “wishy washy” and said her “voter empowerment mechanism”, which would treat every election as a de facto referendum, was a stronger plan.
This would mean any election in which voters backed pro-Yes parties by more than 50% would be sufficient to open negotiations with the UK Government, she said, insisting this approach would be respected by international courts and other countries.
Sheridan served one year in prison for perjury after his defamation lawsuit against the News of the World.
The paper reported in 2006 that the former MSP had attended swingers’ parties and took cocaine.
In light of the perjury conviction, the News of the World’s publishers in 2016 tried to appeal against Sheridan’s successful defamation case against them in which he won £200,000.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel