Defeated SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan defects to Alex Salmond's Alba Party

Ms Regan spent much of her leadership campaign pushing for Alba Party policies to be adopted by the SNP.

SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan who was widely mocked for pledging to build an “independence thermometer” has defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, just months after running to become First Minister.

The SNP demanded the turncoat MSP resign to allow a by-election while opposition parties labelled the defection “desperate” and a demonstration of the “divided” SNP.

Humza Yousaf said the defection would be “no real loss” to the SNP and called for a by-election.

Defeated SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan during the SNP leadership debate at the Tivoli Theatre Company in Aberdeen.

Ms Regan, a serial rebel who voted against the Scottish Government’s gender reforms, will become Alba’s self-styled Holyrood leader and their first, and sole, MSP.

It is believed to be the first ever direct defection in the history of the Scottish Parliament. She also refused to resign her seat to fight a by-election.

It will be the third SNP to Alba defection, following MPs Neale Hanvey and Kenny MacAskill who are both widely expected to lose their seats at the next general election.

Alba are yet to win a single seat at an election at any level of government since they were launched ahead of the 2021 Holyrood election, and exist in the House of Commons and Holyrood only through defections by former SNP parliamentarians.

Ms Regan, formerly the minister for community safety, made the announcement at the Alba Party conference, just months after receiving 11 per cent of the vote in the SNP leadership election.

She attacked her former party as having “lost its focus on independence”.

She said: “It was a distinct privilege to be elected in 2016 on an independence platform; riding the wave of optimism that the 2014 Independence referendum ignited across Scotland.

"And it has been an honour to serve the people of Scotland as an MSP and a Minister. Sadly, it has become increasingly clear that the SNP has lost its focus on Independence, the very foundation of its existence.

"I could not, in good conscience, continue to be part of a party that has drifted from its path and its commitment to achieving Independence as a matter of urgency.”

Humza Yousaf told The National that Ms Regan’s defection was “no great loss” to the SNP and “hardly not a surprise”.

The First Minister said: “Ash should do the decent thing, she should resign her seat – she was elected on an SNP ticket.

“I can give you a guarantee that people did not vote for Ash in her constituency because of any personal vote, they voted for her because she had the SNP logo next to her name in the 2021 election.

“So if she had principles she would do the right thing and resign – but I have to say it is no great loss to the SNP.”

Ms Regan’s SNP leadership campaign was dogged by links to Alba, with SNP MP Joanna Cherry as her campaign manager and Kirk Torrance, a former Alba activist, working as her communications chief.

She told The Herald during an interview earlier this year she would not defect to Alba, a commitment that lasted just six months.

Ms Regan said she was “not at all” interested in swapping parties when she was running to be First Minister.

She told the paper on March 10: “If I’d wanted to go and leave and go to Alba I would have done it by now, wouldn’t I?” she said.

The turncoat MSP was pressed on whether it interested her at all and she said “not at all, no”.

It is the second defection in two weeks after Lisa Cameron left the SNP to join the Conservatives.

In her speech to the Alba conference in Glasgow, Ms Regan said she would not resign her seat and force a by-election, claiming that all 60 SNP MSPs should do so instead.

She said: “I’m sure some in the SNP may well say that I should resign my seat. But why? I am staying true to my election pledge.

“Can around 60 SNP MSPs really say the same? That they have secured the “No Ifs, No Buts” referendum that was promised?

"Or are even prepared to fight with others to secure an election mandate for independence at each and every election; starting now?

“Perhaps it is the 60 who should resign their seats and explain themselves to the people?”

Alba Party leader, Alex Salmond, said: “Having Ash join the ALBA Party enriches our team and sharpens our focus on the immediate need for Scottish Independence.

"She brings a level of commitment and principle that is deeply admired across Scotland, and I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome her into our ranks.”

One SNP minister sarcastically responded to the defection: “Devastated mate”.

Top SNP figures said the defection was a “pretty brazen attempt from Alex Salmond to remain relevant until 2026”, adding they were not surprised by the defection.

Party sources added her defection meant there was one less “malcontent” within the party.

They highlighted that Ms Regan’s concerns around the SNP’s independence strategy were not strong enough for her to attend the party’s conference in Aberdeen a fortnight ago.

Instead, she was on holiday as the SNP debated and agreed its independence strategy, with the MSP accused of having had “nothing to contribute to that kind of conversation”.

Joanna Cherry, a fierce critic of Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership, said critics of the defection should “reflect” on whether they have played a part in splitting the independence movement.

She said: “The world and our country face such huge problems I would like to see reconciliation not more division.”

Another SNP source told The Scotsman: “Ash Regan’s defection to Alba has been a long time coming. The only surprising aspect has been the timing.

"Once again, Ash and Alba are showing their true colours, treating Scottish independence as an end goal in and of itself and ignoring the wider political context of the important voice an independent Scotland can have on the world stage.”

A senior Edinburgh SNP source added: “Wishing Ash all the best. Joining a party that won 0.667 per cent of the vote at the last election shows real determination and strength of character.”

Rumours also circulated about a potential SNP MP defecting, with some pointing at former SNP treasurer, Douglas Chapman, as being on defection watch.

An SNP spokesperson said: “Ash Regan should do the honourable thing and step down to allow a by-election.

“Her constituents elected an SNP MSP, and they deserve to have the democratic opportunity to elect a new, hard-working SNP parliamentarian who will put the interests of Scotland first.”

Dame Jackie Baillie, the deputy leader of Scottish Labour, said the SNP is “incapable of standing up for Scotland”.

She said: “16 years of command and control has come crashing down spectacularly as the SNP is hit by yet another defection.

"This divided and chaotic party is incapable of standing up for Scotland – but Labour will.”

Scottish Conservative party chairman, Craig Hoy, said this was further evidence of the SNP “fighting like Nats in a sack”.

He said: “This second defection in as many weeks is just the latest blow to Humza Yousaf’s increasingly divided and struggling SNP.

"He can’t convince even his own senior MSPs to remain onside, even when he’s abandoned all the normal duties of government to focus on independence.

"It’s quite clear that breaking up the UK is the party’s sole priority and they are now fighting like Nats in a sack about how they will try to achieve it.

"The Scottish people deserve a government that will put their real priorities – on health, schools, local services – first, and the Scottish Conservatives are the only party that offers them that.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Greens labelled the defection “desperate”.

They said: "Today for us is about celebrating the many achievements in government of our growing Scottish Green movement, not the desperate acts of others."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the SNP were a “divided and chaotic mess”.

He added: "With her departure to Alba it appears Ash Regan's readiness thermometer has finally hit absolute zero.

"The SNP is falling apart, with the prospect of independence fading far into the distance there's nothing to hold their extreme factions together."