ALBA are set to deliver their advert featuring Rishi Sunak as a vampire to thousands of households after blasting a media giant for “blatant censorship”.
Former first minister Alex Salmond said the flyer, a play on the SNP’s famous Margaret Thatcher advert, would be delivered to every household in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.
Salmond further took aim at Global, a media firm which own radio stations including LBC and Heart as well as a huge outdoor advertising division, for refusing to carry Alba’s advert on their boards.
“Global need to learn that ownership of billboard sites does not give them the right of veto over political messages,” the Alba leader said.
“On the contrary their poster censorship clearly shows that they are not a fit or proper company to be allowed influence over this crucial area of election spending in a democracy.
“They have already interfered with Alba’s potential campaign in the upcoming Rutherglen by-election. If they are allowed to get away with this blatant censorship they could interfere in a General Election by vetoing content they did not like.
“What would happen for example if they decide to veto a Labour poster in the General Election?”
He added: “Given that Global have banned the people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West from the opportunity to see our poster, we will now beat their ban by delivering it in leaflet form through EVERY door.”
It was reported earlier this week that Global had rejected Alba’s advert, saying that it was “slandering” the Prime Minister.
The flyer shows Rishi Sunak as a vampire under the caption: “No wonder he’s laughing. He’s got Scotland’s oil.”
Salmond said: “With oil and gas revenues estimated to be worth £16,000 a head for every man, woman and child in Scotland over the next five years and sucked out of our country by the Tory government, it was a timely, humorous but hard hitting way of driving the point home.”
The former first minister is expected to appear in Cambuslang on Sunday August 20 as part of Alba’s mission to deliver the leaflet to every household in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency.
A by-election is expected to be held in early October after a successful recall petition ousted Margaret Ferrier as the area’s MP.
Labour are expected to clinch the seat, which was won by the SNP in 2019.
