Former SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan defects to Alex Salmond’s Alba party
Former Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership candidate Ash Regan has defected to Alex Salmond’s Alba party, becoming its first MSP.
Ms Regan, who came a distant third with just over 11 per cent of the votes when she stood in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon earlier this year, said she was leaving the SNP because it had “lost its focus on independence”.
The politician, first elected as SNP MSP for Edinburgh Eastern in 2016, has become the first Alba representative in the Scottish Parliament and is now calling herself its “Holyrood leader”.
She said in an announcement: “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.”
The former Scottish Government minister said she joined Alba “with a clear focus on reinvigorating the cause of independence”.
“I am committed to working tirelessly to create a Scotland that leads, not follows—a Scotland that leads the way in living standards, economic resilience, and innovation,” she added.
Ms Regan delivered the news at the Alba party conference in Glasgow, standing on stage next to Alex Salmond. She received a standing ovation from the audience.
Mr Salmond said he was “delighted” to welcome Ms Regan to Alba, saying she “enriches” the team and “sharpens” the focus on Scottish independence.
“Her commitment to the cause of Scottish independence has never been in question, and her addition to Alba sends a powerful message about the focus and determination we bring to achieving an independent Scotland,” he said.
Two SNP MPs, Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey, defected to the party on its launch in 2021 – making Ms Regan Alba’s third major defection. All three had been fiercely critical of the SNP leadership’s planned gender recognition reforms, which Ms Regan quit the frontbench over in 2022, claiming: “My conscience would not allow me to vote for a bill where I could not be 100 per cent certain that women and girls would not be in danger.”
Mr Salmond, a former host on Russian state-controlled media outlet Russia Today, remains a controversial figure in Scottish politics. He quit the SNP in 2018 to fight charges of attempted rape and sexual assault, of which he was ultimately acquitted in 2020.
Ms Regan finished third in the SNP leadership context behind Kate Forbes and Humza Yousaf after Nicola Sturgeon stepped down as Scotland’s first minister.
The latest blow for Humza Yousaf comes after MP Lisa Cameron announced last month that she had quit the SNP to join the Conservative Party.
The MP for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow said she quit over a “toxic” culture in the party’s Westminster group.
