Rutherglen by-election: Alba decides not to contest seat

The Alba party has decided not to contest the forthcoming by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

The party, led by Alex Salmond, had previously called for a single "Scotland United" candidate to avoid splitting the pro-independence vote.

Mr Salmond said he had been "rebuffed" and now wanted to give the SNP the chance to prove they could "fly solo".

The by-election was triggered by a recall petition after Margaret Ferrier was suspended from the Commons.

The 30-day suspension followed the MP's conviction for breaking Covid lockdown rules by travelling to London and speaking in the chamber while awaiting a test result. She then travelled back to Scotland by train after learning it was positive.

Mr Salmond, who once led the SNP, has urged parties who support independence to agree that a single pro-independence candidate stands in each Scottish seat at the next general election.

He wrote to SNP leader Humza Yousaf earlier this month urging to him to adopt the same strategy in the Rutherglen vote.

But after a meeting of Alba's national council on Saturday Mr Salmond said the call had been "rebuffed".

He added: "The SNP leadership seem to think they can go it alone in Rutherglen and in the general election.

"We have decided to stand aside at this by-election to give them the maximum opportunity to prove they can successfully fly solo.

"We believe that four pro-independence candidates already in a first-past-the-post election risks handing the seat to the unionist Labour Party."

Mr Salmond also said he believed the by-election in Rutherglen was unnecessary and that Ms Ferrier had been treated with "disproportionate disdain". Alba's two MPs voted against her House of Commons suspension.

A date for the vote in Rutherglen and Hamilton West has yet to be set, but the earliest possible date is 5 October.

Ms Ferrier took the seat for the SNP in 2019 with a majority of 5,240, but was suspended by her party over her Covid rule breaches and was sitting as an independent when she was ousted.

The seat has frequently changed hands between the SNP and Labour, and is being seen as a key test of Labour's chances of reviving its fortunes in Scotland.

Mr Salmond resigned from the SNP in 2018, saying he wanted to avoid internal division as he contested allegations of sexual misconduct.

Two years later, after a two-week trial, he was cleared of sexually assaulting nine women while he was first minister.

The following year, amid a continuing rift with Nicola Sturgeon, he announced the formation of Alba, a new pro-independence party.

Two SNP MPs - Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill - subsequently defected to his new party.

The party fielded candidates in the 2021 Scottish Parliament vote and the 2022 Scottish council elections but no Alba candidate has yet been elected.