Allan petrie@Allanpetrie91
When Principles Are Broken
I did not join or help create the Alliance to Liberate Scotland for titles, positions or personal advancement, I joined because it was presented as something different, a movement built on one simple principle, Independence, Nothing less.
We told people across Scotland that this would not become another political vehicle for careerists or grifters, we said clearly that it would not become a refuge for those simply looking for their next platform or parliamentary seat.
It was supposed to be about outcomes before incomes, independence first and always. For many of us, that promise mattered.
I personally spent over six months working to get the party registered, including countless hours amending the constitution and dealing with the Electoral Commission, anyone who has gone through that process knows how demanding it is, the rules are strict, the scrutiny is constant and every line of a constitution must be fought for and defended.
I did not do that work so that the Alliance could simply turn into the same old party politics we set out to challenge, sadly, that is exactly what appears to have happened.
The recent selection of Craig Murray as a candidate has forced me to confront a reality that many of us had hoped would never arise. Murray has spent years moving between political parties and platforms in pursuit of a parliamentary seat, the Alliance was meant to stand firmly against that culture.
Equally concerning to me are his long-standing views supporting gender self-identification policies. For many people this may be seen as just another political debate, but for others particularly women, vulnerable people and those who depend on strong safeguarding protections these beliefs raise very serious concerns.
In my view, such policies/beliefs risk undermining women’s rights, safeguarding for children and dignity and protection for disabled people. These are not abstract issues for me, my own family includes disabled loved ones, including my granddaughter and I will never sit quietly while protections for vulnerable people are weakened.
People can disagree on these matters, but I cannot in good conscience remain part of a political organisation that promotes or endorses a candidate with these views which I believe place those protections at risk.
What makes this situation even more disappointing is not only the decision itself, but how it appears to have been made, instead of the transparency and integrity we promised the public, this was done by deals carried out behind the backs of office bearers and party members, that is precisely the behaviour we criticised in the traditional parties.
Even more troubling is that members who helped build the party from nothing now appear to be pushed aside, while those with long histories of party hopping and political opportunism are welcomed with open arms and even given preference. That is not what we promised the people of Scotland, it is not the movement many of us worked so hard to create.
For years I have fought unionists and devolutionists without hesitation, that is the easy fight, I can do that twenty four hours a day without breaking a sweat but when you find yourself being stabbed in the back by people you believed were dear friends, the damage runs far deeper, it does not just frustrate you it tears something out of you, it takes the fight out of your soul.
Because of this, I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the upcoming election and to leave the Alliance to Liberate Scotland, this is not a decision taken lightly.
The cause of Scottish independence remains just and necessary but independence cannot be delivered by organisations that abandon their founding principles before they have even fought their first election. We promised the people of Scotland something different, that promise has now been broken.
After many years in political campaigning, I will now be retiring from politics, instead, I will return to what I have been doing for more than thirty years standing alongside and defending the most vulnerable people in our society. the people who suffer most from the decisions of political grifters and careerists are often those with the least power to fight back, that is where my time and energy will now return, not for payment, not for titles but as an unpaid volunteer, doing the work that matters most, not giving them false hope to line grifters pockets.
Yours for Scotland
Allan Petrie
