THE Alba Party have passed a motion at their conference in Inverness calling for the "immediate establishment" of an independence convention.
It comes after the party’s chair Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh said that 1000 new members had joined in the past year.
We previously told how the SNP’s special conference to discuss the future independence strategy will go ahead this year after it was postponed following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation.
Alba’s leader in Westminster and MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Neale Hanvey told his party conference: “I don’t know about you but I’ve never, ever been confused about the reason I got involved in politics in the first place.
PASSED - Motion 1: An Independence Convention "ALBA to be willing to co-operate with other independence parties to stand for election as Scotland United on a joint mandate to initiate independence negotiations."#ALBAforIndependence pic.twitter.com/hrlrMMXj1o
— ALBA Party (@AlbaParty) May 13, 2023
“It’s to build a better future for our people through the gateway of independence for our country.”
He added he was reminded of days when the “primary purpose” of the SNP was clear.
Hanvey was previously a member of the SNP but left to join the Alba Party in March 2021.
He continued: “In 2019, confidence about that purpose was shaken by events and rocked by the diminishing ambition beyond the bold, empty proclamations in Westminster’s deaf chamber.
“Intervening years have led me down a road I never thought it would be necessary to travel, that we thought it would never be necessary to travel.”
He said he was willing to work with anyone who shared the ambition of achieving independence for Scotland.
“But when those intentions are ignored and dismissed, it is not a slight on me or even the Alba Party, it’s a dismissal of the aspirations of our people for a normal, independent future.
“This motion recognises that with deep regret the campaign for independence has not been advanced since 2014 and that much of the Scottish Government’s work for independence is yet to be completed.”
He said there was “no urgency” for independence coming from the SNP or Scottish Greens.
In passing the motion, the party affirmed its commitment to “independence as an immediate priority for Scotland”.
The motion itself called for “the immediate establishment of a new independence convention to create the blueprint for and devise the root to an independent Scotland”.
Hanvey added: "To put that into effect, we are willing, absolutely willing, to co-ordinate with other independence parties to stand together as a Scotland united on a joint mandate to intiate independence negotiations with Westminster.
"With courage, conviction and determination, our number is growing and our arguments are strengthening - it's time."
