The new Scottish ALBA party - led by Salmond announced just now. Wowzer ‼️

twitter.com/jackfostr/status/1375525702418718721?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

How to pronounce Alba.?

Urmstongran

I think there’ll be some wavering voters who like the idea of going for independence but are, after the last week or so, less sure of Nicola. Those will be the votes Salmond hoovers up I think?

No.
He set her up. Devious and not to be trusted.

I have never been a great fan of Nicola Sturgeon even if an admirer, but, apart from not wanting the breakup of the Union, it didnt make a great deal of difference to me.
Now I feel quite angry on her behalf.

Feelings are going to run pretty high then I expect in the run up to May 6th?

The more parties the more dilute the vote.

Isn’t Alba an electrical company I m sure I had an Alba radio or something

Well, that’s independence scuppered then I would think. (Split votes and all that...). Maybe I’m being naive and an ardent indepentalist will be along to kick me into touch and say how ridiculous I’m being.

I think his intention is to split the vote, why else would he do this?

So many new parties have popped up it's hard to see how things will go.

Isn’t the issue this may cause more about the government of the country than about independence, because all the pro independence parties would support that? If it affects the SNP majority, which already relies on the support of the Greens, the solution could be a three way coalition, which is messy and potentially ineffective.

But it might break the SNP stranglehold currently centralising everything and stifling or trying to stifle dissent. Some better debaters with different viewpoints would be an improvement as long as it was for the benefit of Scotland and not the vanity of political parties.

Not a good idea to have a name that no one knows how to pronounce. And will surely split the vote. I honestly don’t understand what’s going on in many spheres politically at the moment and this is yet another head scratcher.

Self-aggrandisement

Radio4 this morning, 7am, Jim Al Khalili (I think) asked the question "and what is the problem to which Alex Salmond is the answer?'

Regarding the splitting the vote thing...

It may split the vote for smaller parties but is unlikely to affect the size of the SNP representations by very much, because of the PR system in Scotland. All of the SNP's seats save 4 are through the constituency vote, and Alba are only standing for the list votes. So the parties most likely to be affected by the new party are existing parties in the parliament which already support independence (i.e. the Greens) or places where people have been voting Labour, Tory or Lib Dem in the List vote but would quite like to change to an independence party.

So no Mapleleaf, independence isn't scuppered, especially since, as Casdon says, this isn't a direct independence vote, its voting for the next Scottish Parliament.

I don't admire Alex Salmond's motives in starting up this new party (I suspect personal spite against NS) but I do like the name. Short, memorable and relevant to its purpose.

If you don't over- exaggerate the OO, then pronouncing it as aluba becomes ALuba, almost rhyming with CALibre, (which no-one would pronounce as caLIBre)

The trouble caused by deeply inadequate men in the last couple of years is quite impressive.

Gwyneth, ?? at ‘sporrans at dawn’!
What about the dagger thing conveniently tucked into a sock, though? Skean dhu? (Scots please correct if wrong.)

Meanwhile what about actually running Scotland? Just read that child poverty has increased in Scotland.
Wish they'd forget the daft posturing and get on with it. SNP have had 14 years to impress and they haven't. Next please.

Witzend

*Gwyneth*, ?? at ‘sporrans at dawn’!
What about the dagger thing conveniently tucked into a sock, though? Skean dhu? (Scots please correct if wrong.)

If we're into purist Gaelic spellings (and pronunciation), then it's actually a 'Sgian Dubh' - but Skean Dhu is widely used and perfectly acceptable. As to 'Alba': a Gaelic speaker, speaking Gaelic, will indeed pronounce it as "Aluba". But the same individual, speaking English, would probably say it as it is written. And since I haven't yet heard Alex Salmond or any of his prospective candidates pronounce it as anything other than as it is written, I think that's how it will be - unless they inted to conduct their campaign in Gaelic.

intend

I think this is just a blatant attempt to manipulate the electoral system which is a better system than the FPTP system but nevertheless is open to distortion because each person has two votes.

Bodach - Alex got sideswiped by Krishnan on the Channel 4 news last night when he asked him about pronouncing it, and he launched into a bit of self defence about how he knew how to pronounce it, in fact he's once launched a ship called the Alba na Mara.

Then he spent the rest of the interview using both terms, just to show he could. Rebranded the party in real time. Ridiculous man.

www.channel4.com/news/alex-salmond-says-alba-party-will-fill-void-in-the-independence-cause

Galaxy

The trouble caused by deeply inadequate men in the last couple of years is quite impressive.

Gosh, ain't that the truth!

Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t speak Gaelic - she said so recently. So she will say Alba. Or use a different term entirely I expect!!

I googled ‘how many Gaelic speakers in Scotland’ when Nicola said she didn’t speak it. Under 70,000 in entirety. So all Gaelic speakers from the whole of Scotland would fit inside one football stadium then!

I mentioned this to my 88y old stepfather who learnt Gaelic in his childhood. He is from the West Highlands. He is a proud Unionist. He calls Nicola ‘Queen Nicola’. He says she is a divisive individual who has a loud voice.

Obviously she appeals to many! He just said ‘we’ll see’.

As far as I can tell it will split the vote and weaken both parties. They’ll be pulling each other’s ideas apart and turn off the undecided voter. Bad move.