Atlas Shrugged

It’s long been very clear the connections between elements of the Unionist movement and the far-right, from the loyalist riots in George Square in 2014 to the ultra-unionist campaign group A Force for Good (AFFG) and the wider tendrils of the post-Brexit spasms of un-filtered racism.

As the immaculately coiffured Lord Offord presides over a shambolic election campaign, the far-right are prominent in Scottish politics and at Holyrood elections more than ever before. But there has also long been an element, admittedly very small, but an element of far-right politics within the independence movement itself.

As Heckle recently reported:

“A new pro-independence party which counts ex-Alba politicians Tommy Sheridan and Craig Murray among its election candidates has links to the ultra-unionist far-right.”

“The Alliance to Liberate Scotland (ALS), launched in 2025 and formally registered as a political party in February 2026, initially united three fringe parties: the Independence for Scotland Party (ISP), Independents 4 Independence (I4I), and Sovereignty, previously known as Restore Scotland. It has now absorbed significant parts of the Alba Party, which has gone spectacularly bust following founder Alex Salmond’s death. Since its launch, ALS has fractured with the ISP’s withdrawal last weekend.”

“All of ALS’ current and former constituent parts are influenced by reactionary politics to varying degrees … However, Sovereignty and at least one of its leading figures also have historic and current links to the British far-right and anti-migrant street politics, which have apparently gone unnoticed within the wider independence movement.”

Heckle continues:

“Dr Alan McManus, the Sovereignty candidate for the Cumbernauld & Kilsyth constituency and the Alliance to Liberate Scotland’s lead candidate on the Central Scotland regional list, is a regular attendee and speaker at rallies organised by A Force for Good (AFFG), the ultra-unionist campaign group which regularly stages counter-demos to independence marches and rallies.”

“AFFG was founded and is led by Alistair McConnachie, a former Scottish organiser for UKIP prior to his expulsion for Holocaust denial in the early 2000s. A long-standing climate change sceptic, McConnachie stood in the 2021 Holyrood election alongside two former members of the neo-Nazi British National Party (BNP) under the label “Independent Green Voice”, which may have cost the pro-independence Scottish Green Party two seats by confusing voters.”

Heckle are not alone in pointing out these problems.

Blood and Soil

The blogger James Kelly has pointed out that Sovereignty have a unique position where they want no economic immigration at all, but simultaneously want a ‘right to return’ for the Scots diaspora. In other words, their objection to immigration is not on the basis of what perceived problems it might cause for services and housing etc but is based purely on race.

See: “Alliance to Liberate Scotland” angrily defend their pact with the far-right

He also notes that ‘the far-right have almost totally taken over the “Alliance to Liberate Scotland” fringe party in the Highlands & Islands region’.

He lists the following Sovereignty candidates:

None of this should come as a surprise, though it does need some unpacking.

Strange Bedfellows

How are such strange bedfellows possible at all? How did Craig Murray and Tommy Sheridan end up in a party with such far-right candidates and ideas?

Part of it is about desperation, the endless search for validation and a platform for promotion often supercedes political thinking or principle.

Second of all, there’s a sort of reductionism to all the language that renders them virtually meaningless:

‘Independence, Nothing else. Nothing less.’

‘Outcomes not incomes.’

Or you have the repeat of the venerated Alex Salmond:

‘Scotland is a country not a county’

…as if it was some great insight or oratory rather than an utterly banal statement.

Or you have rheumy-eyed men ending speeches with ‘The dream shall never die.’

Such reductionism is reflective of an empty political project. It might have vestiges of radical policies but they are contained within a deeply reactionary vessel. ‘Independence, Nothing else. Nothing less’ leaves many unanswered questions and – as we have seen – the door open to absolutely anybody.

The same phenomenon can be seen when the project was ‘Get rid of the Tories’. The problem was always, yes, and then what?

If Alba acted as some kind of containment device, all bets are off now that it has disintegrated. The nativist, ethno-nationalism politics of the far-right, which have blossomed in England have washed over the border, and the same logic works here too.

The multitude of tiny parties, projects and campaigns that best express these tendencies have some things in common: a disabling sense of victimhood; a reactionary puritanical sense of ethnic nationalism; a cultural conservativism that’s often deeply reactionary; communications that are riddled with anti-English sentiment; and a nostalgic commitment to fossil fuels. In short, it’s back to the 70s.

Right to Reply

We offered the Alliance to Liberate Scotland a right to reply. Here’s their leader, Hazel Lyon:

“Alliance to Liberate Scotland notes the media enquiry concerning one of the organisations that participates under our banner, the Sovereignty Party. Alliance to Liberate Scotland is a single-issue alliance. Our sole policy and purpose is to achieve Scottish independence through democratic means. We bring together individuals and groups from across the political spectrum who share that one objective. We do not adopt, endorse or campaign on any other policy positions.

[ see Resisting Left Melancholia | Verso Books].
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I think the groups described here are riddled with such cultures, dominated with what one nationalist friend called ‘angry old men talking to each other over and over’.
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The accusation against people calling out the far-right or the Alt-Nats is that this is some form of ‘puritanism’ or ‘gate-keeping’. I think it’s more like developing some critical thinking and trying to develop a political project that a) is future-focused and inclusive b) has political coherence and authenticity c) in such desperate times needs to be specifically anti-fascist d) in such desperate times needs to be specifically focused on the climate catastrophe e) says something (anything) to the young.
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These shards of shards of parties are unelectable, and in five weeks time we will see lots of sair heids and lost-deposits, but the wider issues of lack of political direction or coherence are withstanding.
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It could be said to be a failure of the influence of the Left that such projects are tainted by the far-right. That might be in part true, although the personal responsibility of individuals with big platforms engaging unquestioningly in such projects has to be stated. The real sadness is that there is still potential for a movement that is genuinely populist, disruptive and insurgent and that draws energy and ideas from the radical roots of the Green Left, and in doing so recognises the complexity of our present crisis and the failures of the past.