New SNP Leader: Salmond says "Continuity Won't Cut It"

ALBA Party react to Humza Yousaf’s narrow victory as SNP leader and First Minister-Elect of Scotland 

Former First Minister and Leader of the Pro-independence ALBA Party, Alex Salmond, has said that Humza Yousaf must set out a “credible plan to deliver independence” within the life of the current Scottish Parliament. 

Salmond congratulated the new SNP leader who will seek the approval of the Scottish Parliament tomorrow, to be appointed as Scotland’s next First Minister. 

Mr Salmond, who served as First Minister of Scotland between 2007 - 2014, has said that “the hard work starts now” as he urged Mr Yousaf to ditch controversial Scottish Government policies and “focus on delivering well again” in order to build trust amongst the Scottish people to increase support for independence. 

He said:

“Humza has been elected on a minority of the vote to leadership of one part of the National Movement. He has a big job on to reunite his party and the cause.”

Salmond’s ALBA Party have been calling for more urgent action on the constitution and they want to see the new First Minister back an “Independence Convention” that would see all pro independence parties and representatives of civic Scotland come together to devise a strategy to deliver independence. 

Commenting, Former First Minister and ALBA Party leader Alex Salmond said;

“I offer my congratulations to Humza. Throughout the leadership campaign his record in Government was a source of attack, but it is in the best interests of all the people of Scotland that the First Minister of Scotland can competently lead a Government to address the key challenges we face as a nation, namely the Cost of Living Crisis and ensuring that our public services are fit for purpose. 

“I thought both Ash Regan and Kate Forbes fought brave campaigns against the full force of the SNP establishment, and given that together they received over half the votes, the new leader would do well to listen to what they had to say in the campaign.

“Humza pledged if elected, to deliver many ALBA Party policies, such as: increasing the Scottish Child Payment - which we have highlighted must be increased to £40 per week in order that Scotland addresses adequately the scourge of Child Poverty; he has committed to a policy which takes the Scottish Government towards funding our call to provide free sports facilities for all young people; he has backed our call for free school meals for all; and he has adopted ALBA’s position that all offshore wind projects must have a public stake in them. As First Minister, it is now his job to deliver these policies and we will support him in doing so. 

“However, in the weeks and months to come, it will be overwhelmingly obvious to Scots across our energy rich land, who are being hit with huge household bills, that Scotland needs the power of independence to unleash the energy of our land for the betterment of our people. As the new First Minister focuses on rebuilding the trust of the people of Scotland by improving the delivery of our public services, the constitutional issue cannot be kicked into the long grass yet again. 

“The people of Scotland have voted in election after election not for who the First Minister should be, but for Scotland to have a choice on its future. 

“Humza Yousaf must back the calls of other independence supporting parties and organisations and convene an Independence Convention. It is now his responsibility to re-unite the movement. Continuity won’t cut it. It’s time to hold Westminster’s feet to the fire.”