The first thing we did after I launched Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party in April 2017 was to write and publish an Open Letter to the SNP (led by N. Sturgeon) inviting her to form a progressive alliance with SIRP  – so as to maximise the Scottish Independence vote using the otherwise useless 1 million wasted Vote-2 SNP list votes in favour of  our Vote-2-Indy list party.

https://bit.ly/3w0sk9G

The logic for this was so glaring that even the politically blind could have seen it. But the SNP was then (and still is now) politically blind.

The SNP/Sturgeon (lack of) logic was ‘why fix the roof when the sun is shining?” The answer is, of course, because the sun won’t shine forever. And sure enough, the political sky changed.

Although Sturgeon/ SNP failed to see the change in the political weather, a number of ‘me-too’ wannabe Indy-list pop-up groups followed on afterwards where Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party led.

However, not only did they ‘steal’ – or ‘adopt best practice’ –  our Vote YES-2 Indy model, designed to provide a supermajority of MSPs in Holyrood for Scottish Independence – they refused to talk to us.

At the same time, a gnarled bunch of hard-core Both Votes SNP loyalist trolls  ( and some stupendously- and still- stupid MSM) trampled over each other in their rush to urinate on Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party from as high as they could by climbing up on each others’ shoulders.

Many of them have now – miraculously – been cured of political blindness and have rushed to prove their political perspicacity by endorsing Alex Salmond and the Alba Party.

If the me-too wannabes and the urinating Both Votes SNP trolls had, instead, endorsed YES-2 SiRP, the Scottish Independence movement would today have been in the same place as Salmond and Alba – but before the SNP/ Sturgeon cooked up their treacherous plot to imprison Salmond because he’d reprimanded Sturgeon for not moving forward fast enough to Scotland’s Independence.

(These politically-handicapped critics included Wings-for-Scotland; in a self-parody of innovation, first they denied the need for Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party; then they ridiculed SIRP; then they insulted SIRP and the probative evidence of SIRP + Salmond winning up to 24 Indy-list MSPs, and then commissioned another poll which simply re-affirmed the results of the SIRP poll…

Latterly, Wings-over-Scotland has ignored SIRP – but now we win by Salmond and the Alba Party picking-up the Vote-2 Indy List baton for a Scottish Independence supermajority.

Sturgeon should have said ‘YES’ to the offer of an Independence alliance with Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party in 2017.

And now, five years later – instead of hurling vile and bile like a modern-day spitfire against Salmond –   Sturgeon and the SNP should welcome the Alba Party with open-arms and make a public vow to work together to maximise the YES-2 Scottish Independence vote.

 

Separately, Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party also invited Salmond to join us to help deliver a Scottish Independence supermajority. He never made any reply at the time.

But the day Salmond publicly announced the launch of the Alba Party, he sent me this reply;

 

Dear Mark, 

First can I thank you for both your steadfast support and your kind invitations to join you in SIRP.

You are, of course, perfectly correct to point out the potential for a pro-independence list based party.  (Mind you that will not stop people in the SNP vehemently attacking the notion!)

After careful consideration I cannot accept your invitation and  will be making my own position clear in public statements over the next day or so.

On a personal level can I wish you well and thank you again for all that you have said and written.

Yours for Scotland 

Alex Salmond 

We in Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party thoroughly welcome the launch of the Alba Party and have published our intention to work with them to achieve our number one aim – Scottish Independence.

I left the SNP – after a lifelong record of voting for them in every election I could – because (like Salmond) I came to the view that the SNP under Sturgeon was not moving fast enough (or at all!) towards achieving Scottish Independence.

Accordingly, I have today withdrawn my candidacy to stand for election as Holyrood MSP on behalf of Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party on the Lothian list.

And in order to further maximise the effective vote for YES-2 Scotland’s Independence, I shall vote SNP-1 on the constituency ballot and Alba-2 on the Lothian list for Kenny MacAskill.

Meanwhile, we also recommend that Alba signs up to the (independently-written) Manifesto for Independence ( manifestoforindy.com ) http://manifestoforindy.com

Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party continues to support the Manifesto for Independence and remains a signatory to its Declaration, which sets out a clearly-defined route map to achieving Scottish Independence and deftly by-passes the red-herring S.30 Westminster roadblock.

Curiously, like the me-too-wannabe Indy-list pop-ups,  the SNP has not – but certainly should – sign the Manifesto for Independence.

Because Scottish Independence is (still) far too important to just be left to the SNP.

The dream shall never die.

With many, many sincere thanks to all friends and supporters.

Yours Independently,

Mark R Whittet (LLB, BA)

Leader,  Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party

www.SiRP.Scot

Mark@SIRP.Scot

@ScotsIndyRef3

http://www.scotlandsindependencereferendumparty.scot/

http://www.scotlandsindependencereferendumparty.scot/about

Ps

Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party is a Founder Member of the Alba Party 

• Common Sense^[1] is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the (now USA)  Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshalled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776^[2] at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation.

Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party

The primary goal – and number one objective in the constitution of Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party –  is to achieve political Independence for Scotland.

We aim to do so by helping to bring about a new/ second Scottish Independence Referendum in light of the entirely-changed political and constitutional landscape following the UK Brexit vote.

We shall do this by providing a meaningful, valid, SECOND choice/ chance to vote for Independence-supporting MSPs in elections to the next Scottish Parliament; ie SNP party members/ voters can vote ‘first’ choice for SNP on the ballot paper, and then vote ‘second’ choice for Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party on the ballot paper.

This gives two choices/ chances/ votes in favour of Scotland’s Independence (instead of the present 1/ SNP – and reduces the ‘stray’/ use-less ‘second’ vote going to any other British Unionist party.

Despite the use of the word ‘Scottish’ in front of their names, the Liberals, Tories and Labour are all single, British Unionist parties and are all controlled from, and based in, their London head offices.

Scotland’s Independence Referendum Party is not competing with the SNP; rather, we want to work in a progressive alliance with them and all other groups that support Independence for Scotland.