Could Holyrood ever be abolished?

Although Alex Salmond and his Alba party have understandably been getting most of the attention, the separatists aren’t the only side riven with divisions over a new challenger. Unionist relations, especially between the Conservatives and partisans of George Galloway’s ‘All for Unity’ outfit, grow more rancorous by the day.

To the former, the latter resemble little more than a band of egotists hell-bent on clawing their way into Holyrood even if the result is fewer pro-Union MSPs. The latter, having largely abandoned their original idea of ‘uniting to win’, are pitching themselves to angry Unionist voters as a chance to clear out the old guard and have a ‘real opposition’.

Maybe they’ll end up getting Galloway into the Scottish parliament, maybe they won’t. But A4U’s long-term grip on the ultras is less certain. The man himself might abandon them once ensconced in Holyrood — for some reason he is described only as their ‘lead candidate’, not their leader, and in any event, his longstanding support for the Irish republicanism probably limits his appeal with some committed British Unionist voters.