John Swinney doesn’t mention independence once in SNP Election Broadcast

SNP Leader John Swinney is “taking the independence movement for granted” say Alba Party. 

In the SNP’s Party Election Broadcast, aired for the first time this evening on STV and BBC Scotland, SNP leader John Swinney did not mention independence once. 

Instead the First Minister opted to list some achievements of the SNP in Government, with many of the policies such as free prescriptions and free university tuition praised by Mr Swinney actually being policies first introduced by Alba Party leader Alex Salmond when he was SNP leader. 

Alba Party say that the SNP are attempting to take the independence movement for granted and it is now the job of Alex Salmond’s party to “fight an election campaign that will demonstrate that independence is something for the here and now.”

Commenting Alba Party candidate for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West Chris McEleny said: 

“The Alba quest in this election is that instead of people staying at home and expressing their protest by not voting, we want to mobilise the independence vote. The SNP leader doesn’t even want to mention independence in his main pitch to voters so John Swinney is taking the independence movement for granted by thinking he is entitled to their votes without offering anything in return. 

“To get people to vote you have to show there's something worth voting for and the vision of independence that Alba puts forward is worth voting for.

“Alba Party are fighting an election campaign that will demonstrate that independence is something for the here and now. Unlike the SNP, who don’t want to talk about independence, every single vote for Alba Party will count for independence.“