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| - Scotland's new Alba party, led by former first minister Alex Salmond, on Wednesday promised to push hard for an independence referendum immediately after elections next month. Voters go to the polls to elect new members of the Scottish Parliament on May 6, with independence a key issue again, seven years after a failed vote on breaking away from the UK. The leading pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP), led by Salmond's successor Nicola Sturgeon, has promised a vote by the end of 2023. But Alba said it will call for immediate talks on a referendum with the UK government in London as soon as a new Scottish government is formed. In its manifesto, called "Shake Things Up", Alba promised to propose a motion on the subject in three weeks' time. "Immediately the new Scottish government is formed it should begin to negotiate with Westminster on both the delivery of a referendum and the terms of independence," it said. Alba also called for preparations for a Scottish Central Bank and a new currency for Scotland, as well as a written constitution. It also calls for an "early and rapid return" to the European single market. It proposes Scotland join the European Free Trade Association and through this gain admission to the European Economic Area. Scotland could then decide whether to negotiate for EU membership, it added. A majority of Scots voted against Brexit in 2016. Alba's independence proposals are more detailed than the SNP's, which has promised to seek voters' backing for a referendum in the first half of the new parliament. Both parties, however, will face entrenched opposition in London, as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly ruled out granting powers for a new vote to be held. The last referendum in 2014 saw Scots reject independence by 55 percent to 45 percent. But a series of opinion polls have indicated increasing support for a breakaway. If Westminster refuses to allow a fresh vote, Scotland must urgently pass a referendum bill and be ready to fight it in the courts, while applying "diplomatic pressure and international legal action", Alba said. Salmond launched Alba in March, vowing to boost the number of pro-independence lawmakers in the devolved parliament in Edinburgh rather than undermine the SNP. It has 32 candidates standing for regional non-constituency seats that are allocated according to a proportional voting system. If successful, it hopes to create a "supermajority" for independence in the legislature, which is already dominated by the SNP. Salmond has had strained relations with Sturgeon, his former deputy and political protegee. He was first minister from 2007 to 2014, going on to front a show on the Kremlin-funded RT television, before facing a raft of sexual harassment claims he believes were politically motivated and orchestrated by his SNP rivals and enemies. He was cleared at a criminal trial of all wrongdoing but accused Sturgeon of misleading parliament over her government's handling of the complaints. She was found not to have breached the ministerial code and survived a no-confidence vote. am/phz/dl
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