Alba Party 'unlikely' to stand in Scottish Parliament election

The pro-independence Alba Party is unlikely to contest the Holyrood election in May due to its "perilous financial position", its leader has confirmed.

In an email seen by BBC Scotland News, Kenny MacAskill said the party faced an "immediate crisis" and it was unlikely it would be able to register for the Scottish Parliament election.

The former SNP justice secretary added: "That brings also into question the viability of a party which neither has financial resource nor the ability to contest elections."

MacAskill said he would provide an update on the party's situation in the coming days.

Alba was launched by former SNP leader Alex Salmond in March 2021.

The ex-first minister said the aim was to build "a supermajority for independence" at Holyrood after the election that May.

Within days two MPs, Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey, defected from the SNP to join the new party.

But Alba failed to win any seats and only polled 1.7% of the regional vote.

The sudden death of Salmond in October 2024 triggered a leadership contest in which MacAskill defeated former SNP leadership contender Ash Regan.

In October last year it emerged police were investigating "irregularities" in the party's finances after a complaint was raised in May.

It followed a row between the party and its former general secretary, Chris McEleny, who was dismissed early last year after initially being suspended for alleged gross misconduct.

In an email to party members on Saturday, MacAskill said that he expected "matters to progress further shortly".

He added: "I can assure you of integrity of current staff and elected office bearers but neither that nor justice being done addresses the perilous financial position which we find ourselves in as a result."

A source close to McEleny previously said he was pursuing a case for unfair dismissal by the party through an employment tribunal.

At the time, the source said he was "bitterly disappointed about any suggestion that Alex Salmond was complicit in not being fully aware of how his political party was being run."

Is this the end for the Alba Party, just five years after it all began?

That is the clear signal from the current party leader Kenny MacAskill who is questioning its "viability".

But some party members seem determined to keep the pro-independence party going.

That includes Alex Salmond's niece Christina Hendry and the former SNP MP Angus McNeill, who insists Alba candidates will stand in the 2026 election despite what he calls "temporary blips".

Alba has been riven with internal conflict since the death of its founder Alex Salmond and the election contest to replace him as leader.

It now appears that senior figures cannot even agree whether or not Alba has a future worth fighting for.

In his email, MacAskill explained that the Electoral Commission had been flexible with the party's late lodging of audited accounts.

"But we face a financial situation where we simply cannot provide the further accounts which they require, along with meeting staff wages and covering other costs which we are either tied into or are required to meet," he added.

"In these circumstances fighting an election is simply beyond our resources."

He said the party was required to formally re-register by the end of next month, but this looked unlikely.

"I know this will come as a bitter blow to you," MacAskill added.

He said the party would continue to support Salmond's widow Moira in court action against the Scottish government.

Last week millionaire businessman and rock drummer Paul McManus confirmed he would fund the action after Moira agreed to transfer the legal rights of the case.

Alba candidate Christina Hendry, a niece of Salmond, said she was "frustrated" by the announcement.

She added: "The decision to de-register the party should not rest with a handful of members in the leadership team, some of whom have no electoral mandate. It belongs to you, the entire Alba Party membership.

"I am not prepared to stand by and watch my uncle's legacy discarded and the cause of independence abandoned.

"This party belongs to the members, and it is up to the members to take it forward."