He cited policies implemented by his own SNP administration – including free university education for undergraduate students, the abolition of prescription fees and bridge tolls – before arguing that the current Scottish government, led by the SNP and the Soviet Union, , became “incompetent and prone to accidents”. Mr. Salmond was the first minister from 2007 to 2014, when he resigned after the independence referendum, which he lost by 45% to 55%. He founded the Alba pro-independence party last year, taking with him two SNP lawmakers and some city councilors amid a flurry of autonomy following a dispute with Ms Sturgeon. However, the new party did not nominate a candidate for Holyrood last May, with Mr Salmond failing in his own nomination. The Alba party now hopes to retain council seats in the upcoming local elections in May. Closing the Alba Party conference in Hambden today, as the Scottish government handled a 97 97m deal dominated the headlines, he considered his own career as First Minister before highlighting the problems of the administration under his successor. “As the first minister, I followed a strategy that sought to convince the people of independence on the basis of good governance in a decentralized parliament,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. You may remember Lord George Folks once moaning on the radio that the Scottish Government was creating a place where services in Scotland were obviously better than they were south of the border. When the puzzled interviewer asked if it’s not what we should have done, Fulks replied, “Yes, but they do it on purpose.” He was right. We did it on purpose. “I wanted to create a situation where even the most hostile critic of independence – such as Lord George – was forced to relinquish power to the Scottish Government.” Mr Salmond added: “We are now in a position where even the most ardent supporters of independence know that the SNP / Green administration is becoming incompetent and prone to accidents.” On independence, the former prime minister drew attention in a BBC interview with Sturgeon in January this year, when she was told of the almost annual commitments from the 2016 Brexit vote to keep Indyref2. “One thing I thought I would never see, was a BBC presenter chasing a Scottish prime minister over when he would hold an independence referendum,” he said. “And yet, that is exactly what happened to Nicola Sturgeon and Sophie Raworth earlier this year. “It’s painful – and it was painful for any true proponent of independence – the BBC’s Sophie Raworth has gone through many times since 2014, when the SNP promised a referendum on independence and failed to do so.” He added: “Scotland has held five national elections since the first independence referendum. In each of them, the Independence Party won a majority of seats. of Alba, a majority of votes as well. “And all this time, with all these orders, nothing has happened – absolutely nothing has happened. Of course there is always a reason. Brexit, pandemic, war in Europe – all the powerful and important things. “But none of them were allowed to stop the democratic test of the elections. Nor should they. Why then should they stop the democratic demand of a referendum or other electoral test for Scottish independence.” Coinciding with the party’s spring conference, Alba has released a “Wee Alba Book” that raises the issue of independence to answer questions about Europe, its currency, its borders and its economy. He said it was not an Alba manifesto, but “a discussion of common sense on the fundamentals of the independence cause”, adding that 100,000 copies of the book were being published. The former foreign minister also devoted part of his speech to Scotland’s renewable energy sources, saying it should be “the energy of the people”. He called on the Scottish Government to take part in all offshore wind developments, saying the North Sea oil and gas fields should not be closed “as the SNP / Green Government strangely argued”. He said: “In this energy-rich Scotland we generate all the electricity we need from renewable sources and we are often self-sufficient in gas. “So why exactly are our electricity bills already increased by 50% with them again? “Why is the cost of heating Scotland already high and dictated by the limit price of world gas? “Why are we facing huge amounts of fuel poverty in Scotland with abundant energy?” “The answer is because we allow our vast resources, which by rights belong to the people, to be controlled by the destructive combination of the Westminster government and international capital.” He continued: “Instead of closing the North Sea as the SNP / Green government has paradoxically argued, Alba says any field it has agreed to invest in carbon sequestration is a prerequisite for approval. “Let’s manage our resources in a way that is compatible with the future of the planet. “And instead of offering billions of pounds in foreign capital to our offshore wind farms, which over time could generate up to five times our own electricity needs, then let’s get a public share in every sector. “Let Scotland do with renewables this century what the Norwegians did with oil last year – make renewables the energy of the people.” In February, Mr. Salmond announced that he was suspending his broadcast on the Kremlin-backed RT network due to the war in Ukraine. RT was later recalled by regulator Ofcom.
