Alba Party urges independence supporters to 'max the Yes vote' at Hamilton and Larkhall by-election
EXCLUSIVE: Kenny MacAskill compared this week's Hamilton by-election with the historic vote in 1967 that saw Winnie Ewing triumph.
Alba has called for independence supporters to "max the Yes vote" at a crunch by-election this week.
Kenny MacAskill, the party leader, stopped short of endorsing the SNP candidate in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency - but insisted the "cause of independence transcends everything".
Alba have not entered the race in South Lanarkshire and are instead focused on rebuilding the party after a bruising leadership contest caused by the sudden death of Alex Salmond last year.
MacAskill, a former SNP justice secretary, helped co-found the breakaway party with Salmond in 2021.
He was named the new leader in March after winning a two-horse race with Ash Regan, Alba's sole MSP.
The veteran Nationalist compared this week's by-election in Hamilton with the historic victory of Winnie Ewing in 1967.
MacAskill said: "Winnie Ewing transformed Scottish politics and galvanised the independence movement with her stunning victory in Hamilton, 57 years ago.
"She did so by relentlessly pushing the cause of Scottish independence - and highlighting the perversity of a country on the point of unparalleled wealth through the discovery of North Sea oil having so many of its people in poverty.
"'Stop the World Scotland wants to get on' was her famous quip. It stands true today, but the oil wealth has been squandered, our refinery shut and the independence cause sidelined by the SNP.
"Yet support for independence stands at levels never imagined in her time, and when Scotland stands on the verge of another energy bounty with renewables, but finds so many of its people facing fuel poverty.
"Hamilton is again a political battleground. People are understandably angry with failing services, lack of housing and a falling standard of living. Sadly, some of the issues of concern rest not with London but a Parliament in Edinburgh - which Winnie was pivotal in securing.
"Her vision, which appealed to so many then, was on a Scotland looking after the needs of its people in health, housing, jobs, crime and the quality of life.
"The answer now, as then, is independence and the power to use our nation's wealth for our people.
"The Alba Party stepped aside in this by-election out of respect for a well-loved local MSP. Our advice now, as it will be next year, is to max the Yes vote - but if that is unacceptable to many, given actions and incompetence, then at least not to vote for a Unionist party.
"The cause of independence transcends everything. But the SNP have been warned that their failure to pursue our cause vigorously and their failings in office are damaging our cause."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Winter fuel payment U-TURN could give Scots £70million cash boost
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) RACHEL Reeves' winter fuel payments u-turn could give Scotland a £70million boost, experts said yesterday. The Chancellor confirmed payments will be reinstated for some pensioners by tweaking the means test that left millions of people frozen out last year. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 The vital fuel payment is set to be reinstated by UK Government Credit: Alamy 3 The u-turn will increase funding available to the Scottish Government Credit: PA Bea Boileau of the Institute of Fiscal Studies said: 'This will increase funding available for the Scottish Government. "How much will depend on how many pensioners WFP is extended to.' Ms Reeves said today: 'People should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get winter fuel payment this winter. 'We will set out how everything will be paid for at the budget in the autumn.' It comes after Labour slashed entitlement to the payments of up to £300 from around a million Scots to fewer than 200,000 last year. The Scottish Government has already pledged £100 heating payments to every pensioner. SNP Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: 'It still sounds as if the UK Government is planning to target vulnerable pensioners to help balance the books.' We previously told how over one million state pensioners in Scotland are to benefit from a new winter fuel payment. The winter fuel payment was replaced with the pension age winter heating payment (PAWHP) last year, as part of the devolution of welfare powers. First Minister John Swinney confirmed last month that a new universal payment for older Scots is to be introduced. It will be worth up to £300. Mr Swinney said he will not leave OAPs struggling due to "Labour broken promises". He added: "It is so inexplicable that one of the first things Keir Starmer did when he became Prime Minister was to cut this vital lifeline for our pensioners. 'Labour scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment was a complete betrayal – up there with Thatcher's poll tax or Nick Clegg on tuition fees. "I am not willing to see Scottish pensioners left to struggle because of Labour broken promises. "So we listened to what people were telling us and we took action. "That means older people in Scotland will receive this crucial support before we get into the worst of the winter weather – and unlike Labour, we will never abandon this vital support for our pensioners. That is my guarantee." The new pension age winter heating payment will be dished out by November 30, St Andrew's Day, this year.
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
What Russell Martin said about Rangers after his loan
Martin has won the race for the Gers job and will soon put pen-to-paper and be unveiled by the club over the next 48 hours. The Rangers Review understands the former Scotland defender has agreed terms on a three-year deal after edging ahead of Davide Ancelotti as the favourite of club chiefs. The 39-year-old is no stranger to Rangers having spent half a season on loan at the tail end of the shambolic 2017/18 season, with Graeme Murty in charge at the time. It was a dark time for the club, finishing third in the Scottish top flight for a second season in a row and sacking Pedro Caixinha after months in the job. On a personal level, Martin did little to win fans over after joining on loan from Norwich in the January, making a total of 17 appearances at centre-back. But, speaking shortly afterwards, he insisted the club was "all over the place" at the time, which didn't help. However, he did speak positively about the size and demands of the club and insisted he loved his time. Martin admitted he didn't know the scale of the club until he came up from England - something that will stand him in better stead this time having had that experience. Read more: Russell Martin to win Rangers boss race and put pen-to-paper on Ibrox deal Russell Martin to become next Rangers manager and succeed Clement - Video He told the Eastern Daily Press back in 2018: 'I don't think anything can prepare you for it. 'It's huge. You've got an idea but it's only when you go up there that you realise how big it is. 'Just walking around the streets, it's a giant of a football club with a great fan base. 'For me it was a bit wrong place, wrong time. 'The club was a bit all over the place and then a change of manager, who was an interim manager anyway (Graeme Murty). 'But I loved playing for a football club of that size and that support.'
Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Meet the trailblazing footballer who has put Scotland ambition on hold to chase international dream with Pakistan
Edinburgh-born youngster called up for Asian Cup qualifiers Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Almost thirty years ago, in the pages of Scotland on Sunday, the absence of Asians in Scottish football was lamented. More than just lamented, in fact. It was treated as a nonsense, a logistical absurdity; rightly so. At the time, the one per cent of Scots from Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi minorities were represented by just one senior player among the nation's 1000: the 16-year-old Jaswinder Juttla at Rangers. He left Ibrox without making a first-team appearance to join Morton before dropping out of the senior game. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Football was failing Scottish Asians, the newspaper concluded, while launching its Fair Play for Asians campaign. The date was 24 November, 1996. I remember because I wrote one of the accompanying pieces; an interview with former Kilmarnock winger Rashid Sarwar, who, having played 24 times for the Rugby Park side between 1984 and 1987, was then regarded as Scotland's highest profile Asian player. As he himself admitted, this wasn't a status requiring him to excel to any significant degree. It feels slightly depressing, then, to note that the term 'trailblazer' still applies to a Scottish Asian player who has managed to make something of a breakthrough in Scottish football in much more recent times. Rayan Mohammed's dream of pulling on the dark blue shirt of Scotland may not be over but it has been put on hold for the time being – as has been his more immediate ambition of representing Pakistan. Scottish-Pakistani footballler Rayan Mohammed, pictured during a loan spell with Forfar Athletic. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group The Edinburgh-born 19-year-old was standing by to make his debut for the Green Shirts v Myanmar at the Thuwunna stadium in Yangon next week until a niggling strain, sustained in training on Tuesday, meant he was in slightly melancholy mood at the squad camp in Islamabad when The Scotsman caught up with him. He had posted a photo of his bandaged left thigh on Instagram with an emoji with steam coming out its nose: frustrated. He explains: 'It was unfortunate, I was training and felt a sharp pain and it was discovered I had a small strain. The medics said it would be a two-week recovery so it made sense to sit this one out.' It means he won't be travelling with the squad to Myanmar on Friday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Learning the national anthem It had seemed something of a miracle this Asian Cup qualifier is being staged at all, let alone it might have involved someone who developed his skills on pitches in the southside of Edinburgh. Not only has Pakistan recently been involved in an intense if brief military conflict with India, but Myanmar is in the grip of a civil war which has seen the military dictatorship drag young men – and, increasingly, young women – off the streets to force them to fight for the decimated Junta forces. Add to this a devastating earthquake in March which has claimed over 5,000 lives. This is the context into which Mohammed had been pitched. One minute he was packing up his belongings at Dundee, where his contract has just expired, and the next he was on a flight to Islamabad via Qatar. He now hopes to be included in the squad for the home clash against Afghanistan in October, when he intends to place a hand over his heart and sing, to the best of his ability, the Pakistan national anthem, Qaumi Taranah – or Blessed Be The Sacred Land. At least he now has a little longer to learn the words. 'I will need to do a bit of studying on that first to be honest,' he says. 'I am not the best Urdu speaker either, I do understand bits and bobs, but I am trying to work on that. A lot of the boys speak English as well. But mostly it's a mix between Urdu and Punjabi. I can understand a bit and speak a bit, things like: 'Hello, how are you?' But I am not fluent, I will work on that.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rayan Mohammed (second left) with his Pakistan teammates Rahis Nabi, McKeal Abdullah and Haroon Hamid. | Submitted He had stepped foot in Pakistan just once prior to joining up with his new teammates last weekend. When he was 12 years-old, he accompanied his parents to the village near Faisalabad where his mother's family has roots. 'My mum had some business,' he remembers. 'I went to the village, and I really enjoyed it. It is a different way of living. You appreciate what you have a lot more when you come back. In the villages they don't have the same things as we have in the UK. It is a different way of living – no phones, no Wi-Fi, like the old days! I really enjoyed it there.' He was happy he had a phone by the time Pakistan resolved to get in touch. Communication has been key to his perhaps unlikely call-up. 'It was about a year ago actually,' recalls Mohammed. 'It was one of the management team who contacted me first. They asked if I wanted to play for Pakistan. I told them I have not got my passport just yet. Obviously you need a passport to play. We started the process back then. They managed to run through a passport quite quickly for me. I got the documents required from my grandparents and things like that and they managed to accelerate the process for me.' The passport arrived just a few weeks ago, in time for Mohammed to be included in the preliminary squad for the upcoming game against Myanmar, with the tie originally scheduled to be take place in Pakistan first. However, the election to install a new president of the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) at the end of last month – the first such football election in the country since 2015 – saw the home and away ties switched round, to allow the new PFF regime to bed in following decades of mismanagement. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In 2019, amid infighting and political interference, FIFA moved to appoint a Normalisation Committee to oversee football in the country. One of incoming president Mohsen Gilani's election pledges is to focus on the progress of the national team, with fortunes having hit a new low when slumping to a FIFA ranking of 198 in 2017, lowest of all Asian countries. 'We have to promote the image of our country through football,' he has stressed. 'A few clubs are interested' Mohammed's recruitment is part of manager Stephen Constantine's bid to recruit young professional and semi-professional players from the Pakistani diaspora as well as those from the country itself, hence the call having gone out to Mohammed, who had yet to make a senior appearance for Dundee. Indeed, he still hasn't and may never do so. The two-year contract he signed in 2023 is set to expire in a matter of days. The recent change of manager at Dens Park, with Steven Pressley coming in from left field, might change things - the news was greeted with as much surprise by Mohammed in Islamabad as it was elsewhere. As it stands, however, he is a free agent. He is having to be proactive. 'I am in talks with Scottish clubs, English clubs and a few clubs abroad as well,' he says. 'A few clubs interested, which is a good thing obviously. I just need to see what is best for me in terms of going forward.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In his heart of hearts, where does he think he might be at the start of next season? 'I honestly could not tell you right now, just because I have not sat down and spoke to my agent and seen the options on the table yet. I have had my mind focused on this camp for the last two weeks now. After this camp, I will maybe sit down with my agent and see what offers I have." His last match was a Lowland League fixture for Berwick Rangers, where he was on loan, at Albion Rovers in early April. He enjoyed a productive spell on loan at Forfar Athletic in League Two in the 2023-24 season, scoring twice. Fast and powerful beyond his years, he felt like he was firing on all cylinders around this time. Indeed, as with Philippe Clement, the then Rangers manager, he had reason to curse the Dundee pitch. After being informed he was in the first team squad for a match against Ross County in October 2023, the game fell foul of the weather and well documented (at the time) Dens Park drainage problems. 'When I heard I was on the bench, I was delighted - I thought this could be my opportunity,' he says. 'I believe things happen for a reason. But I would really have enjoyed being on the bench. There were a few injuries to other players and I was doing alright at the time. I thought: 'I could have an opportunity to come on here and impress the fans and the club.' But obviously the game got cancelled due to weather conditions. I was devastated.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad His belief that things happen for a reason is helping him process the latest crushing setback. The injury will heal. He knows what will be, will be. Rayan Mohammed, middle front, with the James Gillespie's High School S2 team in 2019. | Submitted From Peffermill to Pakistan Football's crazily paved path has already delivered him to Pakistan from the playing fields of Peffermill, the University of Edinburgh pitches where he remembers enjoying kickabouts with friends. It was always football, never cricket – the most popular sport in the land of three of his four grandparents (his father's father grew up in India). 'I never saw the enjoyment in cricket!' says Mohammed. 'My dad loves cricket, he didn't play it himself, he likes watching it. For me, I just saw a football and started kicking it around when I was younger. That has always been No 1 for me.' His dad was born in Manchester, his mum in Huddersfield. 'My mum moved to Glasgow, and my dad moved to Edinburgh. After a couple of years, my mum moved to Livingston. I am not sure how they met, I think through a friend…(But) they both met in Scotland.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad His father, Asif, is a former Scottish taekwondo champion. 'So growing up he always put an athletic mindset in my head,' he says. His dad also coached the James Gillespie High School football team. Mohammed is also a graduate from Hutchison Vale, the boys club where the likes of John Collins and Leigh Griffiths developed as players. His three other siblings – two sisters, and a brother – were all born in Dunbartonshire while Mohammed has Edinburgh next to birthplace on his new Pakistani passport. He represented Scotland Schools in the Centenary Shield but not at national age group level. Even had Mohammed been fit to make his competitive debut in next week's clash against Myanmar, it wouldn't necessarily tie him down to Pakistan. Players can still switch from one international team to another providing they have not played more than three competitive matches at senior level before turning 21. Still, despite the current injury, he might well have played four competitive matches for Pakistan before the end of this year – they have further qualifiers against Afghanistan (home and away), Syria and the return match with Myanmar to come. There is also an Under 23s tournament he hopes to be involved in this September; Pakistan are in a group with Iraq, Cambodia and Oman. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Rayan Mohammed in action for Forfar during a Scottish Gas Scottish Cup fourth round match against Hibs at Station Park on January 20, 2024. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group) | SNS Group Appearances in each of those main qualifiers, either from the start or off the bench, would mean his childhood dream of playing for Scotland and following in the footsteps of Celtic's Paul Wilson, the last player with an Asian background (the striker was born in India to a Dutch/Portuguese mother with Indian heritage) to gain a Scotland cap, will have been extinguished. 'Obviously when Pakistan came knocking, I thought: 'It is a senior team, I have a very good opportunity here'," he explains. "Also the fans of Pakistan – I get multiple messages from them every day asking 'come play for Pakistan, you are a great player, we need you'. 'The fans are great and are putting the effort into asking me to come over. It shows just appreciation for Pakistani players. It is a great opportunity for me to get exposure and things like that.' Like most others his age, he is impatient. 'I thought if I was to play for the Scotland senior team, it would be in 4-5 years' time,' he says. 'But I thought what an opportunity to get international games under my belt and get experience now, and hopefully help Pakistan kick on as a football nation. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'When Stephen (Constantine) spoke to me, he said things were going the right way in Pakistan. I thought, 'If we get better as a nation, you never know what might happen?' We can qualify for big tournaments, things like that. Obviously, Scotland was the dream. But Pakistan was also a dream.'
