The Alba Party is on the brink of extinction. Leader Kenny MacAskill has told STV News that the pro-independence party’s financial difficulties are the direct result of fraud, with tens of thousands of pounds lost to criminal activity now being investigated by police. The party has warned members it is in a “perilous financial state” and is unlikely to field candidates at the Scottish Parliament elections in May.
“At the present moment, if we are unable to contest the election, then I think you have to question what the nature of our political party is,” MacAskill said. It is a remarkable statement from a man who served as Scotland’s Justice Secretary under Alex Salmond, the party’s founder who died in October 2024.
Police Scotland confirmed: “On May 26, 2025, we received a complaint from the Alba Party in relation to irregularities within their finances. The investigation into this matter is ongoing.”
In an email to members, MacAskill laid out the grim reality. The party can no longer meet requirements to file accounts with the Electoral Commission, meaning “fighting an election is simply beyond our resources.” He acknowledged this would come as a “bitter blow” to members who believed in the party’s mission.
The difficulties have been compounded by the departure of the party’s sole MSP, Ash Regan, who quit in October 2025 following a bruising leadership election. Without representation at Holyrood and without the finances to contest elections, the fundamental question MacAskill himself posed becomes unavoidable: what exactly is the point of a political party that cannot stand for election?
Not everyone is ready to accept the end. Chirstina Hendry, Alex Salmond’s niece, released a statement arguing that the decision to de-register should not rest with “a handful of members in the leadership team.” She wants the full membership to have their say.
Whatever happens next, Alba’s trajectory from its noisy launch in 2021 to this quiet, ignominious decline tells a cautionary tale about personality driven politics. When the personality departs, and the money disappears with alleged fraud, there is not always enough left to keep the lights on.