Alba Party

The Alba Party (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrtaidh Alba; lit. 'Scotland Party') was a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland. Founded in February 2021, it was led by former first minister of Scotland and SNP leader Alex Salmond until his death in 2024. Salmond launched the party's 2021 Scottish Parliament election campaign in March 2021, with the party standing only region (list) candidates, but no constituency candidates. Two members of Parliament (MPs) in the UK House of Commons, Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey, defected from the Scottish National Party (SNP) to the Alba Party on 27 March 2021, and a member of the Scottish Parliament, Ash Regan, defected on 28 October 2023, resigning from it in 2025. Several former SNP MPs also joined the Alba Party. In the 2024 general election, the Alba Party stood candidates in 19 constituencies across Scotland but achieved just 11,784 votes and won no seats. All their candidates lost their deposits. After Salmond's death, MacAskill won the 2025 Alba Party leadership election. In the lead-up to the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, the party suffered a financial crisis and MacAskill announced the party would likely be unable to stand. On 26 March 2026, Alba deregistered and dissolved as a party.