Both Votes SNP

The arrival of the Alba Party brought competition for the pro-independence vote - at least on the regional list. Rather than welcome the new party the SNP had grown accustomed to being the sole voice for independence. Combine that with the recent court cases involving the Alba Party leader, Alex Salmond and the reception to the new party could best be described as "frosty". Although the details of the D'Hondt voting system, used for Holyrood elections, means that the winner on the constituency ballot has almost no chances of taking any regional seats the SNP have pursued as strategy of "Both Votes SNP" to try and eliminate the perceived threat posed by the new party.