The former First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond has today launched the election campaign for his newly established party— Alba— in the run up to the Holyrood elections in May.
The campaign is being launched on the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, which was signed on this date in 1320.
According to Salmond, the Declaration of Arbroath contains "profound and modern ideas" despite being 700 years old.
Some interpret the document to be an early expression of 'popular sovereignty'— the idea that the power of the state and its government is underpinned by the consent of its people.
Salmond used the online event to set out his party's "Route to Independence" and a "Declaration for Scotland".
"Supermajority"
Salmond said that the Prime Minister has already made it clear that an SNP majority alone will not be a sufficient mandate for holding a second independence referendum.
The aim of the Alba Party, therefore, is to secure an independence "supermajority" composed of MSPs from all of Scotland's pro-independence parties— the SNP, the Scottish Greens, and Alba.
According to Salmond, the election of a "supermajority" of pro-independence MSPs would force Boris Johnson into agreeing to a second independence referendum.
Salmond said that it is easier for Boris Johnson to ignore a single party than an entire parliament.
According to Salmond, "no one party has ownership of Scottish independence", it is time to "put nation before party."
To achieve this so-called "supermajority", the Alba Party is encouraging its followers to vote for the SNP in their constituencies, but to vote for Alba on the regional list.
Holyrood's voting system means that parties which dominate in constituencies pick up fewer on a regional level.
In 2016, the SNP secured only 4 MSPs on the regional list despite achieving close to a million votes and 41.7% of the vote.
By contrast, the Scottish Conservatives, who finished second on the regional list with 22.9% of the vote, won 24 regional seats.
As a result, Salmond previously described regional list votes for the SNP as the "ultimate wasted votes".