Alba to announce new leader after death of Alex Salmond but challenges remain (2025)

An electoral breakthrough at Holyrood next year is vital if the breakaway pro-independence party is to have a long-term future.

Alba is set to announce its new leader following the sudden death last year of its founder and best-known member, Alex Salmond.

The pro-independence party has been led on an interim basis in the months since by former SNP minister Kenny MacAskill. He is likely to be named the winner on Wednesday of a two-horse race with Ash Regan, the party's sole MSP.

But regardless of who is announced as Salmond's successor on Wednesday morning, Alba faces some daunting challenges.

An electoral breakthrough at next year's Holyrood election is vital if the breakaway party is to have a long-term future.

So far, its only members at the UK and Scottish Parliaments have been defectors from the SNP. Whoever takes charge of Alba has to prove it's capable of standing on its own two feet.

The party was launched in March 2021 when Scotland was still reeling from a second national covid lockdown. Salmond - never one to shy away from a political gamble - gave his fledgling movement just six weeks to try and establish itself before that year's Holyrood election.

It didn't pay off. Salmond himself stood on the list in the North East region but failed to make the cut.

Alba won just shy of 45,000 votes at the 2021 election - or 1.6 per cent of the national total. If concentrated in one region, it would have been enough for one or two MSPs. But spread out across the nation, it left Alba with no voice in Holyrood.

Last year's UK election was even tougher. With the votes of all smaller parties in Scotland squeezed by the battle between the SNP and Labour, Alba emerged with just 11,784 votes across the 19 constituencies it fielded candidates.

In what would prove to be his last election campaign, Salmond spoke at an Alba event in Glasgow where he introduced his party's Westminster candidates to the press in the month before polling day.

The political veteran was clear his priority was planning for the 2026 Holyrood campaign.

"I will be quite explicit - we intend to take a minimum of 15 per cent of the list vote at the Holyrood elections," he told reporters. "That will give us a minimum of 20 seats. We don't know what's going to happen to the other parties, but it's possible that will be the strong left arm of an independence coalition."

Salmond's sudden death in October stunned the wider Scottish political world. But it was an especially tough blow for his fledgling party.

Polls suggest there is residual support for Alba among voters. Winning one or two MSPs is not impossible.

But the contest against Regan has been soured by leaked emails allegedly showing MacAskill had concerns about the use of party money when Salmond was Alba leader.

MacAskill previously told the Record the “leaks” are regrettable because he wants to talk about the benefits of independence: “Sadly we have had press stories from dissident individuals that have taken the focus away from that.”

It's now up to Kenny MacAskill or Ash Regan to make it a reality.

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