Alex Salmond and the 'giant gap' in the Scottish independence movement

Alex Salmond, Scotland's former first minister and champion of his country's independence movement, died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 69.

The former MP and MSP collapsed during a conference in North Macedonia and was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. His party, Alba, said the probable cause was a heart attack.

Tributes have been paid from across the political spectrum, with Keir Starmer describing Salmond as a "monumental figure of Scottish and UK politics". Salmond served as first minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014, and was leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014.

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Nicola Sturgeon, his successor as first minister, acknowledged their troubled relationship but recognised their achievements together. "For more than a decade we formed one of the most successful partnerships in UK politics," she said.

What did Salmond do for independence?

The "shock of Alex Salmond's death is reverberating around every corner of UK politics", said Sky News. A "Marmite figure", Salmond certainly "divided opinion", but he was "respected as the giant who was instrumental in delivering the 2014 Scottish independence referendum".

His death leaves "a giant gap in the future of the independence movement" and it is a "testament to his legacy" that figures from across the political spectrum have paid tribute to him over the weekend.

Salmond "cemented his place in British political history" in May 2011 when he led the SNP to an "extraordinary" overall majority at Holyrood, winning 69 of 129 seats in the Scottish parliament, said The Guardian.

The result "established the SNP as a formidable political force" and confirmed "that a referendum on Scottish independence was inevitable".

Although the independence movement would go on to lose the referendum – the no campaign won by 55% to 45% – Salmond had still succeeded in taking independence from a largely fringe view to "normalising independence as a popular position".

But his legacy is marked by controversies. After stepping down as first minister following the referendum defeat, Salmond had a public fallout with Sturgeon over her government's handling of harassment complaints against him. He was also acquitted of sexual assault charges in 2020.

He went on to found an alternative independence party, Alba, and he hosted his own show on the controversial Russian broadcaster RT, but suspended it following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

What will happen to independence now?

Scottish politics is "in flux", said the BBC. After 17 years in power at Holyrood, the SNP under John Swinney heads towards the 2026 Scottish parliamentary election "on the heels of a thumping by Labour in this year's general election". And with the UK Supreme Court ruling that Westminster's approval is needed for another independence referendum, there is "no obvious mechanism" for the SNP to advance its cause in the near future.

Salmond "leaves behind a deeply fractured movement". Yet he predicted in 2014 that the "energised activism" of pro-independence supporters would not fade away. In the "decade since the vote, that has proved prescient", said the BBC. While there is clearly "no immediate prospect of Scotland becoming independent", Salmond championed the cause that is now the "mainstream aspiration of nearly half the electorate".

Can anyone step into his shoes?

Without Salmond, Alba is "unlikely to survive as a political force", said The Guardian. The party's only MSP, Ash Regan, is not expected to win a seat at the next Holyrood election, and in the July general election, Alba won just 0.5% of the national vote.

There are also questions for the wider nationalist movement. "With Sturgeon now a largely inactive backbencher who may not stand again for Holyrood, Swinney is the only established nationalist leader left." There are "a handful of possible candidates in the younger generation", such as Swinney's deputy, Kate Forbes, and the party's Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn. But until the next Holyrood election in 2026, Swinney "will be the last veteran standing".

The challenge for the wider nationalist movement "is to find a charismatic leader of equivalent quality to Alex Salmond to take it to the next level", said Sky News. "The stage is looking for its new star." But it seems "unlikely the movement will ever see the likes of him again".