The Alba Party's final betrayal of its own members: having justified a DOUBLING of membership fees to "fund turning the Holyrood election into a de facto referendum", Kenny MacAskill announces at the last minute that Alba will not actually be standing in the election

This is the email Kenny MacAskill has just sent to Alba members, who yet again have been made total mugs of by a self-appointed and self-serving party elite - 

"Dear friend

Let me, firstly, thank you for your support for our Party over these past years. It has been gratefully appreciated. We were formed by Alex Salmond when the SNP faltered and fell by the wayside on pursuing the cause of Independence, compounded by their shameful treatment of him which disgusted so many of us.

It hasn’t been easy given the Party’s launch during Covid and the hostility of the SNP throughout. But we persevered. We were then though struck by the grievous blow of Alex’s tragic and early passing. Notwithstanding that we rallied in his memory and to maintain his dream which we all share.

However, as I mentioned in the last email financial irregularities have come to light since the dismissal of the General Secretary for gross misconduct. These have been reported to the Police and an investigation which we are assisting and fully cooperating with is ongoing. Matters are with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and I expect matters to progress further shortly. This was compounded by Ash Regan MSP, our former colleague, who despite being advised of the concerns we had, instead chose to give employment to the former General Secretary thus given credence to his denials of misconduct.

I can assure you of integrity of current staff and elected office bearers but neither that nor justice being done addresses the perilous financial position which we find ourselves in as a result. Despite the sterling efforts of Corri Wilson, our Director of Operations, in stabilising and then seeking to turn matters around our financial position remains acute.

We have been in touch with the Electoral Commission who have shown great forbearance in the late lodging of audited accounts and even been helpful in our dealings with the former General Secretary who has continued to seek to damage the Party. But we face a financial situation where we simply cannot provide the further accounts which they require, along with meeting staff wages and covering other costs which we are either tied into or are required to meet. In these circumstances fighting an election is simply beyond our resources.

Even the willingness of a hardy band of activists whose efforts I am truly grateful for does not address the immediate crisis which we face. To contest an election a Party requires to be registered with them. We require to formally reregister by the end of next month. We have met with the Electoral Commission who are reflecting on the issues we have raised and the information we have provided.

However, I have to advise that it looks likely that we will not be able to register and therefore even to contest the election. That brings also into question the viability of a Party which neither has financial resource nor the ability to contest elections.

I know this will come as a bitter blow to you. It is a feeling shared by those of us who have shared your journey and have tried to steady the ship when torpedoed by the actions of an individual. But we have a duty to staff and to office bearers and members of the NEC who could face personal liability for incurred debt.

​

I will keep you advised as matters will be clearer in coming days. In the interim we will be continuing to support Moira, assist the court case to ensure justice for Alex and launching an award scheme in his name for young people to ensure his memory is forever maintained.

Our Party may have difficulties, but our cause is eternal.

The dream shall never die.

Kenny MacAskill"

The point is of course that the leadership knew about all of these issues when they hiked the membership fees only a few weeks ago - they knew there was a significant chance they wouldn't be able to re-register or to contest the election, and yet they went right ahead and hiked the fees anyway.  And what on earth was the circus over Alba's candidate selection for Holyrood all about?  It's been pointed out that it was a bit silly that Debbie Ewen brought the party to its knees over her bruised ego after being ranked second on the Lothians list rather than first, because the first-placed candidate had no realistic chance of being elected anyway.   But if none of them were actually going to be able to even stand in the election, what in heaven's name was she doing?

It sounds very much like MacAskill is softening members up for the likely total dissolution of the Alba Party (which by this point should be regarded as a tremendous relief), which begs the obvious question - will refunds to members be provided?

The SETTLED WILL KLAXON is sounding across Scotland this morning as yet ANOTHER Find Out Now poll shows a decisive pro-independence majority

Drama as yet more details of the rigged 2023 Alba NEC election emerge: key Salmond ally Hamish Vernal is exposed as another massive beneficiary of the suspicious voting patterns

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Analysis of new More In Common poll showing the SNP on course for big victory

Just a quick note to let you know that I have a new article at The National about the freshly-released More In Common poll, which has the SNP on course for 64 seats - the same as in 2021, but on a significantly lower share of the vote.  You can read the article HERE.

REVEALED: The secret results of Alba's rigged 2023 NEC elections, and the highly suspicious voting patterns that benefited three candidates - Abdul Majid, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh and Christina Hendry (niece of Alex Salmond)

"Harken, brothers, what is that irritatingly persistent yet strangely compelling noise drifting hither from yonder hill?" "Fear not, brother, it is merely the SETTLED WILL KLAXON, indicating that Scotland has expressed its wish to become an independent country in a SIXTH consecutive survey from highly reputable polling firm Norstat"

REVEALED AT LAST: What Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh NEVER wanted you to know - the "secret" results of Alba's 2023 internal elections

In October 2023, Alex Salmond took to the stage of Alba's 2023 conference in Glasgow, theatrically brandishing what he claimed was a "black dossier" containing unspecified evidence of unspecified wrongdoing by unnamed individuals.  He insisted this supposed evidence meant he was justified in nullifying the results of the party's internal elections - something he had no authority to do under Alba's constitution.  But his story simply wasn't true, and he later admitted that no dossier ever existed.  There was in fact a very different and much more malicious reason for voiding the election results.  In the video below, I can for the first time reveal in full what those results actually were.  I also have more information about why Gail Hendry, the sister of Mr Salmond, dramatically resigned from the Alba NEC last week.  And there's a fascinating nugget about how Morgwn Davies, who was deselected as an Alba list candidate for Holyrood on the demand of the acting party chair, should now be automatically offered a place on the NEC on exactly the same "lucky loser" basis that Shannon Donoghue got her own place, due to the vacancies caused by recent resignations.  But will the party rules be followed, or will Morgwn be stitched up yet again?  The latter seems much more likely somehow.

REVEALED: It was the Alba Party's acting Chair, DEBBIE EWEN, who was behind the betrayal of the highly-respected Morgwn Davies and the latest trashing of what might laughably be called Alba's "internal democracy"

BREAKING: Alba takes another major step towards total disintegration, as the party's East Lothian branch passes a motion of no confidence in the party leader Kenny MacAskill, after he breaches the Alba constitution by overturning the democratic vote which had installed the highly-respected Morgwn Davies as the lead Holyrood list candidate

It shows you the level of (justified) paranoia within the ultra-Stalinist Alba party that three different people (who as far as I know are all unconnected with each other) have contacted me about a shocking development, which relates to the leadership's betrayal of one of the highest-regarded members of the party, but none of them actually directly mentioned who they were talking about.  One was dropping heavy hints in the hope I could it work it out by myself, but my mind had gone totally blank.  However, I think - touch wood - I have finally been able to piece together that it must be Morgwn Davies, because I've now seen screenshots of an email from the "Convener of Alba East Lothian", and judging from the Facebook page, Morgwn was still the Convener of Alba East Lothian on 26th January.

He is indeed an extremely decent and well-regarded man.  I know him mainly from my time on the Alba Disciplinary Committee in 2024, which was of course ironically curtailed by my own suspension and eventual expulsion from the party on absurd trumped-up charges, meaning the tables were turned and I had to attend a Disciplinary Committee hearing as a "defendant".  Morgwn was literally the only person at that meeting who wasn't a drone following strict leadership instructions to expel me, and if he hadn't been there I would never have known that they had outrageously questioned a secret witness (Hamish Vernal) without my knowledge, and I certainly would never have had any inkling of what Vernal had said.  In the previous committee meetings that year before my suspension, Morgwn had consistently and bravely demanded that due process be followed at all times while Chris McEleny and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh were busily trying to get half the Alba membership suspended or expelled, with the eager assistance of the drones on the committee.

So it's no great surprise that the Alba leadership ended up shafting Morgwn too, although I suspect this may still be the final straw for many people who hadn't yet woken up the basic nature of the party they are members of.  Remember that we know the NEC is now firmly under Kenny MacAskill's control, so unlike on previous occasions this can't be blamed on shadowy figures behind the throne - the buck this time stops at the very top. Unsurprisingly Alba East Lothian, of which MacAskill is still a member (in spite of his NEC-mandated list candidacy in the north-east!) has passed a motion of no confidence in him.

Here is the text of Morgwn's email to East Lothian party members - 

"This is the most difficult email I have had to write as Convener of ALBA East Lothian.  On the 29th of January I felt honoured and privileged when I was informed that the outcome of the members' vote to list candidates for our region had placed me first with 44% of first preferences votes in a field of 4 candidates.

Some of you will have voted for me and I thank you for that.  

However, I will not be a candidate as I was informed, a mere twelve hours before the launch event, that I had contrary to the party's constitution, been deselected; not for anything I had done.

But as far as I can ascertain because two candidates withdrew and said they would not stand if I was the lead candidate.  Also, I was told the Executive of ALBA Edinburgh and some activists in Edinburgh had resigned because they wouldn't accept the democratic result and said they wouldn't work with me.  This was communicated to me a mere 12 hours before, what I had been told was the launch event for our candidates, in fact it turned out to be a secret launch and apart from Glasgow no candidates have been publicly unveiled.

So, because a dozen or so people were unhappy with the result the NEC voted 6 to 4 to deselect me.  

Since that meeting, 2 members of the NEC have resigned in protest, and the National Organisation Convener has resigned.  I don't know if that is linked to my deselection or for other reasons.  Also, one individual stood down as a candidate in their region in protest.  

So since the 13th of January the party has lost its Chair, National Membership Secretary and National Organiser.  Not great fun in the run-up to an election.

I am now considering whether I wish to remain a member of ALBA.  I will take a few days to reflect and think about it.

Our AGM did not take place on Wednesday evening as when I spoke to Kenny MacAskill about my deselection, he said it would not be appropriate to come and Chair ALBA LACU's AGM.

Instead we had an ordinary meeting and two motions were unanimously passed, one saying that ALBA East Lothian has no confidence in the party leader, Kenny MacAskill, for the role he played in overturning the members' vote.  The second was a vote of no confidence in the National Executive Council (sic) for overturning the members' vote.  

Today, Corri Wilson, the Party's Director of Operations will be informed of the two votes of no confidence.

The party has not been in touch with ALBA East Lothian to inform us of who the final candidates are for our region, for now it is a closely guarded secret.

There is nothing else to say."

Incidentally, I've seen a photo of the "secret launch" of Alba's list candidates (which I'd better not share with you just in case it somehow reveals my source), and in a grim way it is absolutely hilarious.  They all look utterly miserable.  Christina Hendry looks like she's either just witnessed a murder, or committed one herself.  I couldn't see the Crossmaglen Columbo (Chris Cullen) on the stage, which is interesting because I was told he was likely to get a plum spot on the list, but perhaps he just wasn't in the photo for some random reason. 

Morgwn's fate powerfully illustrates the truth of what I said only a couple of weeks ago in one of my videos - that Alba's members have no control over their party, because the leadership will simply nullify the result of any democratic vote they disapprove of.  This is essentially a carbon copy of Alex Salmond's outrageous decision (made under extreme pressure from Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh) to nullify the victories of Denise Findlay and Jacqueline Bijster in two office bearer elections in 2023. 

"The joke is over": Now even the SALMOND FAMILY have turned their backs on the shambolic Alba Party

Today brings the news of the resignation of Gail Hendry, Alex Salmond's sister, from the Alba NEC, and indeed after making the video below I was told that several other NEC members (plus at least one high-profile - but unnamed - Alba list candidate) have resigned with her. This of course follows hot on the heels of Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh's resignation as party chair, and suggests that the end for Alba may well be nigh.