Alex Salmond's niece on Holyrood bid - in his old power base

The Herald Scotland

4 days ago

Now, as she fights for the top spot on Alba's regional list in North East Scotland, Ms Hendry says she is keen to build bridges across the parliamentary chamber.
'My Uncle Alex would have stood in this election coming and he's not able to,' she notes, with a twinge of sadness in her voice. 'I would like to stand in the North East to honour his legacy. I know how much he loved the North East, and I know how much the North East loved him.'
Christina Hendry (R), pictured alongside her mother and sister. (Image: Supplied)
Born in Linlithgow, Mr Salmond moved north as he began his parliamentary career in 1987, winning election in the Banff and Buchan constituency.
When he wasn't in London or Edinburgh, Mr Salmond spent much of the next thirty-five years in the small town of Strichen, where he lived with his wife Moira.
Ms Hendry, who is a qualified child psychologist, also has deep ties to the region. She was born in the fishing town of Peterhead, before spending much of her early life in nearby Cruden Bay.
She shares Mr Salmond's love for the North East of Scotland, telling me: 'Rural communities can feel forgotten, feel left behind. There's often a focus on the Central Belt, so I want to stand in the North East to represent that rural community and those key industries like fishing, farming and oil.'
Having a close family member involved in the cutthroat world of frontline politics may be strange to most of us, but it's all Ms Hendry knew as a child.
'I have lots of really lovely memories growing up,' she reflects. 'Before things like iPlayer, he used to record his speeches in Westminster on the VCR. My grand dad would often record his debates on Debate Night and share the tapes with the rest of the family. So we were all very proud of him.
'Throughout my life he's always had that profile. And so I've always looked up to him in terms of how he always stood up for Scotland and always was there to represent Scotland on the international stage. It was really special to have that person to look up to growing up.'
Members of the Salmond family and longtime colleagues walk behind Mr Salmond's hearse. (Image: PA)
Did she ever feel pressured to follow in the elder Salmond's footsteps, given he had no children of his own?
'I've always been really, really interested in politics,' she tells me. 'I remember when I was in primary school and we had our yearbook and we had to say what we wanted to be when we grew up. Some people put an astronaut or a doctor, and I said that I wanted to be an MSP in an independent Scotland.
'So the awareness is obviously there from a very young age, [but] I was never pushed into it. It's always been an interest I've had.
'And I think that that differs from my siblings, in a sense that they've got an interest in politics, but wouldn't go down this route. But I think just the way life has taken me, it's always brought me back to politics.'
Ahead of our interview, Ms Hendry declined to comment on Nicola Sturgeon's new book, which implied that Mr Salmond had leaked the news of sexual misconduct allegations to the press, and that he had failed to read the government's white paper on independence ahead of the 2014 referendum.
However, speaking to The Scottish Sun, she accused Ms Sturgeon of "cowardice", noting: 'She is using his name for relevance, to promote her book, to earn money — she could have said these things in the past few years.
'She has chosen to wait until he is no longer here to defend himself. It's left to the family to deal with this and there's an element of cowardice to that.'
Former Scottish Government health secretary Alex Neil said the accusations had 'caused a lot of heartache' for Salmond's widow Moira.
In December, Ms Hendry told the Scottish Mail on Sunday she had 'nothing' to say to Mr Salmond's former deputy.
She said: "To be quite honest, I have nothing to say to Nicola Sturgeon.
'I felt a lot of frustration because there've been people saying things about him after he died, but where were they in the past few years? They didn't publicly support him in the last few years.
'The SNP tried to distance themselves from him. They tried to remove him from SNP history.'
Yet, if Ms Hendry is to be successful in her bid for Holyrood, she will need the support of SNP voters, including those who back Ms Sturgeon and her allies.
This is why Alba's message is about the 'urgency' of independence, couched in hopes that a common cause will win over the SNP rank and file.
Ms Hendry speaking at a recent Alba Party conference. (Image: Supplied) Ms Hendry notes: 'We need to continue pushing our message and that message is obviously the urgency of independence and in terms of bridging the gap.
'I think it's something my uncle did very, very well. It's really important to speak to other parties and really important to speak to people who are of no party as well.'
'Whilst we are obviously not the SNP, we're a different party, there are many members of the SNP who feel strongly about our message,' she says, going on to note The Herald's reporting on 43 regional branches who have backed a more radical independence plan over that of SNP leadership.
'There's obviously a movement within the SNP now moving away from the plan that the leadership have and are coming along with our plan of using 2026 as Scotland's independence election.'
I ask her what success would look like, and what policies she'd like to put into place if elected to Holyrood.
Ms Hendry responds: 'I think one of the things I'm really passionate about is that kind of cross party working together to push the best interest of the people you're representing.
"So I would very much want there to be some sort of a North East block or caucus of representatives coming together to deliver what is best for the North East.
'Obviously we have party politics, but I think it's really important to remember that you're there to work in the best interest of the people that you're representing.
She continues: 'As I've spoken about before, often rural communities can feel forgotten and let down. And it's important to be able to be that strong voice in Parliament for these rural communities and for key issues like fishing, farming, and the oil and gas sector.
'That was something my uncle did very, very well. I think that's why he was so loved and respected up there, he very much listened to the people in the communities.'
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I ask Ms Hendry how she balances her individuality as a politician with the notoriety of being the niece of a titan of Scottish politics.
'Obviously there are qualities we share,' she responds, after a pause. 'He was very much kind of inspired by his parents, who obviously were my grandparents. I think we shared that passion for Scotland and also a passion for people.
'But I'm my own person, I'm my own woman and I think there are obviously ways that we differ…'
With that, our conversation draws to a close, and Ms Hendry makes her final pitch.
'It's time to get the adults back in the room, and get people into Parliament with a range of experience who are going to be able to represent the people in Scotland and make change for the better.'