ALEX Salmond’s Alba party is set to update its independence strategy at the weekend by urging the Scottish Government to hold a special Holyrood election in October as a de facto referendum.
The party say the SNP have been too slow to react following the Supreme Court decision that Holyrood cannot legislate for a referendum without Westminster’s permission.
Members wish to see an independence convention established to direct the movement as well as a “campaign of popular demonstration, parliamentary interventions and international initiatives to enforce the multiple mandates for a referendum”.
However, the party say that any recourse to a de facto referendum poll at an election should be initiated this year on October 19 by the Scottish Parliament collapsing itself to hold an extraordinary election on that date.
Delegates of Alba’s National Council will be asked to approve the position at Ayr Town Hall on Saturday in a motion brought forward by the party’s National Executive Committee.
Alba’s general secretary Chris McEleny said: “We are now several months on from the Supreme Court’s decision to block an independence referendum but there has been no response from the Scottish Government, it will be next month before the SNP meet to discuss the matter and their coalition Green partners have not spent a single day campaigning for independence.
“Alba Party members will tomorrow be asked to grasp the thistle and agree an updated strategy that will progress the campaign for Scotland’s independence with the urgency that is required.”
Saturday’s National Council will be convened by Alba’s party chair Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh and will feature speeches by Salmond as well as depute leader Kenny MacAskill and Westminster leader Neale Hanvey.
