SNP Leadership contest 2004

'Labour politicians claim devolution has killed the prospect of independence, while Nationalists believe it is a stepping stone on the way to independence.' Catherine MacLeod in the Herald, 16 th July 2004.

Can the Nationalists' king lead his party from Westminster?

By Catherine MacLeod, Political Editor in the Herald 16 th July 2004

THERE was only one question among Scottish MPs in London yesterday: Alex Salmond's critics and political opponents, internal and otherwise, wanted to know how he could lead the SNP from Westminster now that the Scottish Parliament is up and running.

Mr Salmond had anticipated the challenge and the word was out early among his supporters to turn a potential problem into a virtue.

Not only did they insist there was no difficulty, they claimed it was a positive advantage, because of the sense of disillusionment with the Scottish Executive and disappointment with devolution.

There may be another practical point. Westminster is a bigger stage Ð the focus of national and international media attention. For a party languishing in the polls, with an active membership down to 8500, and desperately in need of financial help, it may be a better shop window for Mr Salmond to make the Nationalists' case.

Mr Salmond threw his hat in the ring with the enthusiastic endorsement of his Westminster colleagues, who were perhaps beginning to fear for their own electoral prospects at the expected 2005 general election. They were not enamoured by any of the leadership candidates, and desperately wanted a figure respected on the UK political stage.

He will be mocked Ð this is not the first time he has changed his mind, after all Ð but he will cope. He is an effective, experienced, thick-skinned politician, and will be able to take brickbats, but he has clearly concluded that the inevitable ridicule was a price worth paying for the prize of reclaiming the party leadership.

So, Mr Salmond will cope, and he will lead the debate on the airwaves, but what message will the election of a Westminster-based SNP leader send out about the state of nationalism, and the aspiration of independence?

Labour politicians claim devolution has killed the prospect of independence, while Nationalists believe it is a stepping stone on the way to independence.

For that dream to become a reality, the SNP needs to be in far better shape than it is, and Scottish voters have to be convinced that Nationalist politicians can lead them to the new dawn. If that is ever going to happen, the showcase has to be the Scottish Parliament, and that is where a Salmond leadership may cause the greatest problems.

Nicola Sturgeon, a list MSP, would be his deputy, and she would, according to the plan, lead the SNP at Holyrood.

That notion is already fraught with difficulties. Her political opponents will have a field day, taunting her as the monkey of the Westminster organ grinder.

Even more destabilising could be the internal opposition. In the event of Mr Salmond's success, and many predict he will be a shoo-in for the role, Ms Sturgeon will have to contend with the two failed candidates, Roseanna Cunningham and Mike Russell.

When Ms Cunningham, who heard about the Salmond bombshell only yesterday morning, told journalists last night that she would not be a doormat for anyone else, it was difficult to see how the bridges between the Sturgeon and Cunningham camps could be rebuilt.

Mr Russell could be even more lethal. Still smarting at his failure to be reselected for the Scottish parliamentary elections, the man who was once a close political ally of Mr Salmond may feel he has more reason than most to feel sore.

He is unlikely to sit back and accept a fixed arrangement, even if masterminded by his one-time political master.