ALEX Salmond’s Alba Party have launched their General Election manifesto pledging to be the only party “putting independence on the ballot paper”.
Despite the document repeatedly suggesting the 2026 Holyrood election is when they believe they will “sweep the country”, Salmond has told The National the party cares about the General Election “a great deal” and want to drive into a “huge gap” that exists between those who back the SNP and those who support independence.
Here are the key points and pledges set out in the 38-page document launched in Dundee.
Independence
The first two pages of the manifesto are dedicated to “taking action on independence”, with the party insisting that every single national election should be used to seek a mandate to initiate independence negotiations and “not yet another mandate for a referendum”.
The party claims the route to a referendum is currently “blocked”, with the Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that Scotland is not able to hold a referendum without the consent of Westminster who have persistently refused to grant a Section 30 order.
Alba say the list vote at the 2026 Holyrood election will provide an opportunity for the “most suitable” test of such a mandate because they claim it is not affected by tactical vote considerations.
The manifesto states the threshold would be a simple majority of votes cast for all pro-independence parties, with Alba aiming to win at least 15% of the list vote in 2026, amounting to around 24 MSPs.
The party believes that if Westminster keeps on refusing to engage with independence talks, then it would be for the Scottish Parliament to “mobilise domestic and international pressure to bend Westminster to the will of the Scottish people”.
They say this could include the formation of an independence convention, the holding of a referendum within the powers of the Scottish Parliament to ask the people whether they wish decisions on independence to be made in the Holyrood chamber, or securing international support to force through the International Court of Justice.
Saving Grangemouth
A section of the document focuses on the announcement by Petroineos last year that oil refining at Grangemouth is set to end as early as 2025, threatening the jobs of around 500 employees.
The party has said it “wholeheartedly” supports the workers at Grangemouth and believes the situation makes the case for independence and for Scotland to have control of its own resources.
The manifesto pledges to fight to save Grangemouth from closure and support a “sustainable future” for North Sea oil and gas workers.
“If the Grangemouth oil refinery closes Scotland will become the only top 25 oil producer in the world without a refinery capacity, showing there is a clear need to have Scotland’s oil refinery to be aligned with Scotland’s oil production,” the manifesto states.
Climate and energy
Alba believe the Scottish Government should form a public energy company called Alba Energy that would have a public share in Scotland’s “vast offshore wind wealth” ensuring that the “profits of Scotland’s renewable energy benefit the people of Scotland”.
With regards to oil and gas, the manifesto states the party believes in the continuation of North Seat Oil on the condition that all new licences contain a specific commitment of a zero net carbon footprint achieved by investment in the carbon capture network.
Alba also call for the “speedy” deployment of carbon capture technology to make Scotland a “world leader” in the field.
Tackling the cost-of-living crisis
Tory welfare policies such as the bedroom tax and two-child cap should be scrapped, Alba say, which would immediately “free up £70 million for the Scottish Government to spend on other measures to tackle the cost-of-living crisis”.
The manifesto goes on to say Alba want to see state pensions coming into line with other European nations, where retired people receive an average of 63% of what they had previously been earning as opposed to 29% in Britain.
They propose the triple lock system be improved which they say, over a five year period, would result in the state pension in an independent Scotland rising to over £1000 a year more than the expected UK version.
A ‘revolution’ for housing
The document condemns a “reprehensible” cut to the Scottish housing budget and proposes its immediate reversal and bringing more land into housing availability to reduce the cost.
It says: “Councils and housing associations will be encouraged to build houses for sale but with the explicit purpose of increasing socially-rented stock.
“We will intervene where necessary when housing associations act like private corporations and designate housing for demolition as opposed to imaginative renovation.”
Alba also propose to mobilise £20 billion of available pension fund capital to build 100,000 houses for rent.
