Alba - Inverness & Nairn

🗳️ There’s no denying that the 4th of July GE wasn’t the best result that us Independently minded individuals have witnessed.

We have endured worse!

We are suffering and will continue to be objectified whether it be “Red, Blue or in a golden hew” - unless we do something about it!

A General Election shouldn’t, couldn’t and will not defy or deny us!

We also can’t deny that, we as individuals, found a smug 😏 relief in the removal of the Moray Tory - but, in turn, we must take our loss on the chin.

When our expectations go to the wall, many turn inwards, find excuses, blame others and fight with those we once proudly marched shoulder to shoulder with.

We have been there, been doing that to the determine of our current situation.
We should not have to fight for or amongst ourselves - we, instead, should be fighting with and for each other.

Now ~ if we work together, and I know we can, with the same focus - that determined drive - then maybe, just maybe we can regain and project hope for a country we can call home.

We shouldn’t make this more than it is.
We rise.
We don’t stop.
We never give up.
We will campaign until we win.
And win, we will - together.

Independence is far more than a General Election or pontification which, as we all agree, lead to our politicians being placed in another country, another country’s Parliament with contemptuous, haughty aloof individuals who look down on us. They have been reared to believe they have a right to take on a superior position making us second rate citizens.
They care not for our people or country - merely for what they can take, make and rake in to allow them to live off of Scotland’s assets, renewables and products.

It must stop.

Only Independence and YOU will stop them.
Independence is about the wellbeing of Scotland’s citizens, new, old and those considering making our country their home.

Independence is our nation’s future.
It’s our democratic right and we will no longer heed their dumbing down or the lack of political will we have placed our faith in.

It’s about decisions being made in Scotland, for Scotland, by the people of Scotland.

The Unionist politicians and supporters think they have just been gifted a mandate to continue to extract our wealth and redirect our nation’s energy, resources and wealth to suppress Scotland.
We should no longer sit back and meekly watch them subvert our nation’s oppressed potential for a Westminster Unionists gain to procure their London-centric political agenda.

They think we are beaten, bloodied and bruised and won’t return to the fore.

How wrong they are!

Well ~ I don’t know about you .. and I know it’s tough, you may be be exhausted but my “Thrawn” is never exhaustive.
They are banking on you, me, us giving up.
Scunnerred of politics? YES
Voter apathy? YES

We pull ourselves up and move forward.
Forward together to achieve our denied right to self determination.

📢 Concerned Residents of Fairways, Inverness South 🌳🏡

Recently, there has been discussion about the proposed battery farm in our beloved Fairways area. While there's talk about financial benefits for Inverness Caley Thistle, it's crucial to consider the impact on our community.

Preserving green spaces is essential for our well-being and the charm of our residential area. The potential erosion of these spaces must be carefully weighed against the claimed financial stability for the local football club.

Let's prioritize open dialogue and explore alternative solutions that can benefit both our community and Inverness Caley Thistle. Our collective voice matters, so let's work together to find a balanced and sustainable path forward.

Your thoughts and suggestions are highly valued. Let's keep Fairways green and vibrant! 🌿💬

Welcome to the ALBA Party, Cllr Karl Rosie 👏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

👉 https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands-islands/6394721/highland-councillor-karl-rosie-alba-snp/

Alba Highlands has guest speaker, Kenny MacAskill MP, Deputy Leader of the Alba Party attending our February meeting on Thursday evening.

Come join us on our zoom meeting at 7pm.

'This strategy makes a lot more sense than the 'vote for the SNP at the coming general election and that will get you independence' nonsense.

Left wing indy voters have by and large been lending their vote to the SNP since 2007. It was a strategy that partially worked up until 2016.

But the ourselves alone mentality, the serial lies and incompetence, and the concentration on divisive issues such as the deliberate confusing of personal gender with objective s*x, and one sided obsession with EU membership, have ensured the SNP as currently configured cannot win a majority for independence on its own.

A broad YES campaign, supported by all pro indy parties to win the power to put independence firmly in the power of the Scottish citizenry, COULD re-galvanise the movement and be won.

An indy majority in the Scottish Parliamentary elections of 2026 could then lead directly to a second and fully legal indyref. Or, with a popular majority of votes for indy parties, be seen as a legitimate mandate to immediately begin negotiations for secession from the confines of the UK state.

Issues such as whether or not to join the EU, or whether to retain the monarchy or become a modern democratic republic could then be decided by the sovereign people of an independent Scotland at a time of their choosing.'

FORWARD TO INDEPENDENCE!

ONE DAY WE WILL ALL BE FREE!

This strategy makes a lot more sense than the 'vote for the SNP at the coming general election and that will get you independence' nonsense.

Left wing indy voters have by and large been lending their vote to the SNP since 2007. It was a strategy that partially worked up until 2016.

But the ourselves alone mentality, the serial lies and incompetence, and the concentration on divisive issues such as the deliberate confusing of personal gender with objective s*x, and one sided obsession with EU membership, have ensured the SNP as currently configured cannot win a majority for independence on its own.

A broad YES campaign, supported by all pro indy parties to win the power to put independence firmly in the power of the Scottish citizenry, COULD re-galvanise the movement and be won.

An indy majority in the Scottish Parliamentary elections of 2026 could then lead directly to a second and fully legal indyref. Or, with a popular majority of votes for indy parties, be seen as a legitimate mandate to immediately begin negotiations for secession from the confines of the UK state.

Issues such as whether or not to join the EU, or whether to retain the monarchy or become a modern democratic republic could then be decided by the sovereign people of an independent Scotland at a time of their choosing.

FORWARD TO INDEPENDENCE!

ONE DAY WE WILL ALL BE FREE!

Westminster Unionists shut down our REAL Scottish Ports, to EXTRACT😠 92% of Scotlands'
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿96% UK Oil
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿65% UK Gas
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿25% EU Offshore Resources
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿25% EU Tidal Energy
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿90% UK Fresh Water
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿70% UK Fish
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿92% UK HydroElectric
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿40% UK Wind Wave & Solar Energy
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿62% UK MaritimeArea
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿60% UK Timber

The real and only message for YES supporters from the SNP's Weekend Conference.

Please share as widely as possible.

'Absolutely disgusting. A total fail awarded to the Guardian for their cowardice and a big thank you to Steve Bell for his excellent cartoon work over the years. You might not have agreed with every one, but no doubt he has been the UK's premier political cartoonist over the last forty years.

Now, apparently you cannot even accidentally allude to a classic Shakespearian work or point out the long term idiocy of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians without the thought police taking action against you.

First they came for the socialists...

Then they came for the anti-Zionists...

Then they came for the gender critical....

Who will be left to speak when they come for YOU?'

Steve Bell sacked by Guardian in antisemitism row over Netanyahu cartoon Cartoon of Israeli PM Netanyahu was pulled following a row over its meaning.

Analysis and call from The Point on how we now win independence through the Scotland United mechanism

WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE POLLS, AND HOW DO WE NOW WIN INDY?

The answer to the question in the headline below (why is Labour still trailing in the polls in Scotland?) is a simple one: it is because Labour are a Blairite Unionist party. Until they move away from Blairite politics back to something resembling a mass party of the working class, and until they embrace independence, not enough Scots will ever vote for them to make them the force they once were again.

However, there is a more interesting question, which was the headline for this article 24 hours ago until it was changed, which was 'why are the SNP still in the lead in the opinion polls with all their woes and unpopular policies'...or something like that, we're paraphrasing.

The answer to that is also obvious surely, but worth restating, because in an honest appraisal of that question lies the real strategic answer to that which motivates all YES supporters - how, concretely, can independence be won?

The poll quoted in this article shows the SNP at about 38%, with Labour somewhere in the mid-twenties. This is down for the SNP since their high water mark of 2015, and even on polls of a few years back. It would be enough for the SNP, as Scotland's largest perceived indy party, to win a majority of seats, though perhaps less seats than some are suggesting because of Unionists voting for the candidate most likely to beat the SNP in certain areas.

Yet support for YES or for independence is now regularly polling 8-12% points above what the SNP polls on its own - usually either just short of the 50% mark or just over it, when don't knows are excluded. It is clear that while almost every independence supporter voted for the SNP back in 2015, there are now a statistically and electorally significant layer of independence voters whose support for indy is not diminished, but who are no longer attracted to vote SNP.

The Salmond stitch up, front loading EU membership into the SNP's independence 'offer' (yes, there are indy supporters who don't share the view that the EU is the best thing since sliced bread and remember that being in it until 2019 didn't stop things being s**t for years), procurement and infrastructure problems such as the ferries and the A9, gender ideology, and the gap between service delivery in reality, and what is proclaimed to be the case by machine politicians, in the NHS, education and elsewhere, have all taken their toll.

However, because of loyalty to the idea of independence and the SNP's long history as the major party of independence, many voters who want independence are still sticking with them for now, though they may not be happy with this or that policy position or or particularly inspired by a lacklustre leadership.

The biggest problem arises with the current position being promulgated by the SNP leadership: that winning a majority of seats at the next GE alone would be or could be a mandate for independence. As we've noted above and as noted in almost all the polls, the SNP could win a majority of seats with just 38% of votes cast. No-one, absolutely no-one, outside the tone deaf SNP leadership considers 38% of the vote to be a mandate for independence. It's a road to nowhere that leaves the Blairite and Tory Westminster politicians chortling up their collective sleeve.

If a proper referendum continues to be blocked, and a Westminster or Holyrood GE is to be used to secure an undeniable mandate, then that mandate has to win a majority of the popular vote for pro-independence parties as well as a majority of seats.

That's where the Scotland United for Independence idea comes into its own. (This platform has previously referred to it as the Max the YES concept). A single pro-independence candidate in each constituency for the General Election, negotiated and agreed by all the independence parties (SNP, Greens, Alba, SSP, ISP etc), to stand purely on the issue of independence, and under a Scotland United for Independence ticket, would mobilise ALL available pro-indy votes and could win both a big majority of seats and over 50% of the popular vote.

Divisive issues, such as the EU, gender ideology, juryless trials, would be set aside in order to maximise every percentage point of independence unity. Normal party politics could resume ONCE independence has been secured, and major issues (such as the EU, or monarchy or republic) could be put to the free and newly independent sovereign Scottish people in referenda at that time.

We would all need to set aside party tribalism in the meantime, of course. The SNP would remain the biggest independence party and it would be SNP members contesting the majority of seats under a Scotland United ticket, with a minority of seats being contested by ALBA, Green members, prominent YES activists etc under the same United ticket.

But if we cannot set aside tribalism and party politics EVEN once to put cause before party and secure independence for Scotland, perhaps we are not worthy of the free and independent nation we all desire to see?

Whatever your party politics, we hope you will consider this option - the Max the YES/Scotland United option - as a potentially checkmating move that would put the opponents of independence on the back foot and UNITE all pro-indy forces once again as we were united in 2014, only this time with the numbers to win.

Forward together!

SCOTLAND UNITED FOR INDEPENDENCE!

Why is Labour not dominating Scottish politics after all the SNP's woes? THE latest major poll didn't seem like great news for Labour showing that despite the myriad of troubles which have hit the SNP, the party was still…

A bunch of corporate f**kwits have just BANNED this pointed political cartoon from Alba, saying it is potentially slander.

No, it isn't. Tory elites of both the blue, pink and liberal yellow varieties have been sucking the resource lifeblood out of Scotland for 50 years.

Please share, and help defeat the censors.

📣 InverYESs will be holding a street stall today from 11-2pm.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 👀 🗺️ You can find us on the High Street (beside Lush)

✍️ Come along for information and leaflets to pass onto to your friends and neighbours.

We will be promoting Chain of Freedom Scotland
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 ⛓️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤝🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
A human chain of supporting Scots who believe we have the right to choose how our Country is governed.
On Saturday 14th October we will join in solidarity across the country to show those who suppress and oppress our citizens of our freedoms.

✍️ So come along, register your place in this historic event. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
🚎 InverYess are organising a bus to the event / a few seats left so book yours today!

We will also be joined with members of Highland Salvo team.

Everyone

https://www.albaparty.org/denisefindlay/alba_equalities_roadshow

ALBA Equalities Roadshow We stand at a crossroads in Scotland’s history and need bold plans to achieve Independence. Then we can take radical action to ensure that the scourge of inequality has no place in our great nation.Join us as we travel.

Call to charge second home owners in Scotland four times normal council tax SCOTLAND should follow Wales by introducing a council tax premium of four times the normal rate on second and empty homes, says the STUC...

Where's the real radicalism? (Part One)

The Point gives a shout out for some basic socialist ideas our chuntering political classes seem to have abandoned.

Thoughts?

(for info and discussion)

Call to charge second home owners in Scotland four times normal council tax SCOTLAND should follow Wales by introducing a council tax premium of four times the normal rate on second and empty homes, says the STUC...

Please share widely.

"An independent Scotland must decide for itself how to best create a Just Transition in a way that benefits the people of Scotland - not Westminster, whose banditry has stolen Sotland's oil and gas for decades for the ruinous right wing projects of a ruinous right wing state."

Please share widely.

An independent Scotland must decide for itself how to best create a Just Transition in a way that benefits the people of Scotland - not Westminster, whose banditry has stolen Scotland's oil and gas for decades for the ruinous right wing projects of a ruinous right wing state.

If SNP members rose up and made it clear that independence, cause and country, came first before party politics,, and supported the Scotland United for Independence idea, then far more than one third of Scots would back it

All independence supporting Scots would back it.

Third of voters back Alba Yes alliance plan at next election, poll finds A THIRD of Scots say victory for a Yes alliance at the next General Election would be a mandate to begin independence talks with the UK Government,…

This is a very bad idea.

You win soft No's and undecided's over by giving them a clear choice and vision to vote for, not by enabling a survival route for the UK of Gordon's Brown federalism for the MSM to herd them towards.

If you agree please share and say.

SNP should 'consider' multi-option independence referendum, says Jamie Hepburn THE SNP should consider the prospect of a multi-option referendum on Scotland’s future, the Minister for Independence has said.

AS SUPPORT FOR INDY ONCE AGAIN HITS 53%....

For an agreed Scotland United for Independence ticket at the next Westminster General Election.

Please share on your social media platforms if you agree. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✊✊✊

PS Support for independence staying strong at 53% according to latest Survation poll, while support for SNP has dropped to 41%.

The twin messages are clear: 12% more people currently prepared to vote for indepndence than to vote for the SNP as a standalone party.

And more voters beginning to make a clearer distinction between indepndence as a united goal, and the SNP's party politics and record.

That's a good thing. surely?

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23544124.scottish-independence-support-53-per-cent-new-poll-finds/

AS SUPPORT FOR INDY ONCE AGAIN HITS 53%....For an agreed Scotland United for Independence ticket at the next Westminster General Election.

Please share on your social media platforms if you agree. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿✊✊✊

PS Support for independence staying strong at 53% according to latest Survation poll, while support for SNP has dropped to 41%.

The twin messages are clear: 12% more people currently prepared to vote for independence than to vote for the SNP as a standalone party.

And more voters beginning to make a clearer distinction between independence as a united goal, and the SNP's party politics and record.

That's a good thing. surely?

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23544124.scottish-independence-support-53-per-cent-new-poll-finds/

SCOTLAND UNITED FOR INDEPENDENCE: SUPPORT GROWS FOR TURNING THE NEXT WESTMINSTER GENERAL ELECTION INTO A 'SINGLE TICKET' ELECTION ON INDEPENDENCE.

There is much in this article from Dr. Elliot Bulmer to applaud.

We might caveat or re-phrase this or that where he touches on the question of the consitution of a future independent Scotland and how we we construct it democratically. We should not be too prescriptive lest we discourage some people from voting for independence...and that includes favouring Dr. Bulmer's own preferences for a liberal-democratic state closely integrated with the EU.

We have always said that in an independent Scotland, that the sovereign people should decide on major constitutional/existenital issues through mass direct democracy - referenda, in other words: for example: whether or not we should join the EU, or EFTA (like Norway, Switzerland and Iceland), or neither; whether we should retain the monarchy or become a modern democratic republic; whether we should join NATO or remain neutral and a force for peace and negotiation in the world.

A simllar principle might be extended to Scotland's council and community areas to decide on major local issues, as appropriate.

But we absolutely agree that there is now only one way forward to actually achieve independence, and that is a Scotland United for Independence ticket at the forthcoming general election, where all independence parties and the YES movement agree a single candidate for each constituency, standing on the single issue of a mandate for independence.

FORWARD TO INDEPENDENCE!

LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE!

If United for Independence wins a majority of the seats, we claim that as a mandate THE first step to winning is to know what we want.

"My credo, in meme form.

As a Marxist, a Darwinist, a scientific rationalist and a complexity theorist I'm a huge fan of the late and much missed Scottish literary left, Iain Banks, and in particular the socialist-libertarian hi-tech society he envisages in his Culture novels, which I'd advise any left-winger on the planet to read and familiarise themselves with.

They provide a humane philosophical and political reference point for anyone interested in transcending capitalism and building a better society.

If the seven points below chime with you, feel free to copy and print, or share."

- Steve Arnott, via The Point

(PS for anyone interested in exploring Banks's Culture further with other aficionados, we have a regular Culture reading and discussion group on the Nexus - SF/Other Worlds Forum. Go to Nexus at https://www.facebook.com/groups/492028555734216 and check out Culture related posts.)

My credo, in meme form.

As a Marxist, a Darwinist, a scientific rationalist and a complexity theorist I'm a huge fan of the late and much missed Scottish literary left, Iain Banks, and in particular the socialist-libertarian hi-tech society he envisages in his Culture novels, which I'd advise any left-winger on the planet to read and familiarise themselves with.

They provide a humane philosophical and political reference point for anyone interested in transcending capitalism and building a better society.

If the seven points below chime with you, feel free to copy and print, or share.

- Steve Arnott, via The Point

(PS for anyone interested in exploring Banks's Culture further with other aficionados, we have a regular Culture reading and discussion group on the Nexus - SF/Other Worlds Forum. Go to Nexus at https://www.facebook.com/groups/492028555734216 and check out Culture related posts.)

"The only good thing about having senile old Tories about is that they sometimes reveal the true Tory mindset unwittingly. They just can't help it.

An appropriate question to ask is that, if, in the third decade of the twenty first century in the seventh richest capitalist 'country' on the planet, we have people who can't afford a cheese sandwich (or a decent house, or their energy bill, or a wee holiday, or basic access to entertainment and the internet...or the kind of education and healthcare only the rich can buy...), then HOW, WHERE and WHY did we f**k up so badly over the last 50 years?

And for how much longer can we afford capitalism and Toryism?"

Ann Widdecombe: don’t have cheese sandwiches if you can’t afford them Ex-Brexit party MEP says there is no ‘given right’ to low food prices despite families struggling with cost of living

THE SCOTTISH PEOPLE ARE SOVEREIGN: WE BEND THE KNEE TO NO-ONE

On a day a farcical, feudal ceremony took place in London, providing continuity for the privileged and circuses but no bread for the gullible, it was heartening to see thousands of free, rational and progressive Scots march through Glasgow for an independent, democratic and forward looking Scotland.

Well done AUOB for organising again, and all - from all indy parties and none - who were able to get along !

In Scotland, the people are sovereign, not any unelected individual on the spurious basis of a hereditary bloodline.

What a pity First Minister Humza Yousaf was not able to keep his pledge to attend the march from only a handful of weeks previously, and instead was at that mind numbing circus in London, and - as far as we can ascertain - voluntarily swearing a cringemaking, unnecessary and obsequious oath of allegiance to the British Crown.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alba-highland-hoolie-tickets-605116077477

Alba Highland Hoolie A Real Highland Hoolie