Former SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan has left the party and joined Alex Salmond's Alba party, becoming Alba's first representative in Holyrood. She cited disillusionment with the SNP's leadership and its commitment to Scottish independence as her reasons for leaving.
Her decision was announced at the Alba party conference in Glasgow, where she received a standing ovation. The SNP leadership called on her to step down as an MSP and suggested she was not a significant loss to the party. This defection comes after Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey defected from the SNP to Alba in 2021.