Click the banner above to subscribe to our General Election newsletter.
IT’S a pro-indy party that many may not have heard of, but its leader has big ambitions.
“We might be small, but we're perfectly formed,” Colette Walker told The National of her Independence for Scotland party.
Running in two seats this General Election – Walker in East Renfrewshire and John Hannah in Bathgate and Linlithgow – the goal is to get their name out there, with the aim being to make a proper challenge at the 2026 Holyrood elections.
“It's all about engagement. Getting people to know about the party and really getting our policies out there,” she said.
The ISP was founded in 2020 and planned to stand 14 list candidates in the 2021 Holyrood elections before opting out after Alba announced their formation.
Walker was more recently a candidate in the 2023 Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election – finishing in ninth place with 0.68% of the vote – thus losing the deposit.
“So many people were saying to me that they were glad I was standing because otherwise they wouldn't have had anybody to vote for,” she said.
“And they either would have just spoiled their ballot paper or just not voted at all.”
Walker (above) caveated this by saying: “The votes weren't exactly what I wanted. I wasn't expecting too much because it was a very short campaign – it was only three weeks.
“It was cut very short. But for the people that actually voted, they actually purposely came out and voted for me.”
Asked what makes ISP stand out compared to other pro-indy parties, Walker outlined some of their policies including universal basic income and being anti-freeports and SEZs.
One of the more unique ones is, however, is not taking a seat if elected to Westminster.
“If you don't swear an oath, you're not allowed to take your seat and you don't get a salary,” Walker explained.
“You get expenses for your constituency office and for staff to be in that office. And so I’d be working here in the constituency, doing regular surgeries, helping out in the office with staff.”
She added: “Basically, my time is actually more dedicated to the actual community and the constituents rather than travelling down to London to sit in Westminster, who basically takes absolutely no acknowledgement at all of MPs from Scotland.”
Another one of ISP’s main policies is holding frequent Swiss-style referendums.
“Nothing really goes ahead without the people of Switzerland actually having a say,” Walker said.
“We are wanting the people to have the power and have the final say – and for the elected representatives to actually be accountable to the people of Scotland.”
Walker – who is registered blind – has campaigned the past few weeks alongside her guide dog.
It’s perhaps why another issue that is close to her heart is disability issues, not only due to her being registered blind – although she doesn’t see this as a disability – but especially given she has long been an unpaid carer for her autistic son.
“I've got the life experience of it,” she said.
“People like myself have to be round the table when it comes to proper policy because nobody can speak for anybody else.”
