Alex Salmond forms his own party to fight the Scottish elections

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. But some senior figures in the party believe that the former SNP leader’s plan could offer a “dream ticket” for pro-independence Scots, under a proportional voting system which is designed to make it difficult for an individual party to secure the kind of overwhelming majority in the Scottish parliament that would act as a mandate for a referendum. “But if you’ve got those numbers, it changes the degree of seriousness which has to be given to the independence movement.” Mr Salmond argued that Scotland’s additional member system of electing a parliament means that the vast majority of SNP votes on the regional list are “wasted”. “And the independence debate will be recast, not as the Tories against the SNP, but as Boris Johnson against Scotland’s parliament representing Scotland’s people.” Under Section 30 of the Scotland Act, the prime minister’s agreement is needed for the Scottish government to call a referendum, something which Mr Johnson insists he will not grant, on the grounds that the 2014 vote in favour of the union should stand for a generation. In comments which betrayed no sign of openness to any rapprochement with the party’s former leader, the spokesperson added: “At this time of crisis, the interests of the country must come first and should not be obscured by the self-interest of someone who shows no sign whatsoever of reflecting on serious concerns about his own conduct – concerns which, to put it mildly, raise real questions about the appropriateness of a return to public office.” But Mr Salmond insisted his party will take a “positive” stance towards the SNP.