Alba defections led by former MSP Ash Regan feed SNP divided narrative, but ultimately about political survival

Ash Regan’s defection is yet another sign of SNP disunity.

There have been many false dawns for Alex Salmond’s Alba Party since its creation ahead of the 2021 Holyrood election.

As many as six Alba MSPs were predicted to be elected according to some remarkably over-optimistic polling. None were despite wall-to-wall coverage of the party’s launch and its high-profile leader.

Last year, ahead of the local council elections where Alba were defending some of its earliest defections, the former first minister said the party was on the verge of a “political breakthrough” and set to make “historic” progress.

Alba Party unveils newly appointed Leader at Holyrood, Ash Regan MSP, alongside ALBA Leader at Westminster, Neale Hanvey MP and ALBA Party Depute Leader, Kenny MacAskill MP.

They didn’t. Instead, the party performed woefully, losing every seat it had inherited from SNP defections and failing to win a single council seat across Scotland.

Ahead of the general election next year, Alba has attempted to retain relevance by arguing for a ‘Scotland United’ ticket across the independence movement. It is ostensibly for unity of the movement, but in reality is part of a bid to save the jobs of Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill, both set to lose their seats in Westminster.

The defection of Ash Regan, the failed SNP leadership candidate, is another attempt from Mr Salmond’s party to stay alive. It is the first MSP in the party’s history, guarantees a parliamentary representative until 2026 and therefore a degree of media interest.

More defections at council level have been promised, guaranteeing at least some representation until 2027.

But neither Ms Regan, nor presumably any of the defectors to come, will put their decision to the judgement of the ballot box.

That is because Alba is, so far, a failed political project. It has yet to win a seat at any level of government, has stagnated in the polls at around 2 per cent, and is led by a politician with the worst approval ratings in Scotland.

For the SNP, Alba were pitched as a necessary evil that helped the party purge its own troublemakers without the hassle of being seen to be kicking them out.

One SNP source said Ms Regan’s defection would change nothing about how the MSP group operates as she did not attend their meetings.

But after Lisa Cameron’s defection, another feeds the narrative the SNP is crumbling, divided by a failure to deliver independence, and talking to itself.

For Humza Yousaf, that is no help.