In a stunning intervention that rocks Scottish politics, former First Minister Alex Salmond has launched a scathing attack on the SNP's election strategy, branding it a 'catastrophic mistake' that haemorrhaged dozens of parliamentary seats.
The Alba Party leader, and former SNP stalwart, made the explosive claim during a campaign visit to Aberdeen, asserting that his party's proposal for a pro-independence 'Scotland United' electoral pact was deliberately ignored by the SNP leadership under Nicola Sturgeon.
The Seat-Saving Strategy That Never Was
Salmond contends that by fielding a single pro-independence candidate in each of Scotland's 57 constituencies, the movement could have secured a powerful bloc of MPs solely dedicated to breaking up the Union. Instead, he argues, the SNP's decision to go it alone resulted in a fragmented nationalist vote and handed easy victories to Unionist parties.
'The result has been an unmitigated disaster for the independence cause,' Salmond stated, 'Instead of a strengthened voice for Scotland, we have a weakened one. Dozens of seats that were winnable have been lost due to a lack of political courage.'
A Deepening Rift in the Nationalist Movement
This very public broadside signifies a dramatic escalation in the long-running and deeply personal feud between Salmond and his former protégée, Nicola Sturgeon. It exposes the raw and bitter divisions that continue to fracture the Scottish independence movement following a disappointing election result.
The SNP's strategy was to secure a mandate for a second independence referendum by winning a majority of Scottish seats. This plan backfired spectacularly, with the party's seat count plummeting from 48 to just 9, a result Salmond now seeks to frame as entirely predictable and avoidable.
His comments are seen as a direct challenge to the current SNP leadership under First Minister John Swinney, placing the blame for the historic defeat squarely at their feet and positioning his smaller Alba Party as the true tactical architects for independence.
