Some rare good news for Scottish Unionists

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. As you say, the Scottish Greens are already pro-independence

and so those for whom independence matters above all have already had a viable alternative for their regional list vote. It's really a question of "would you like a party led by Salmond to have some seats in the Scottish Parliament, or the Greens?"

I think it is reasonable to see it as mainly an ego-driven move by Salmond, with a desire to make the SNP dependent on him to get difficult votes through. As you say, wait and see how polling turns out (and I can't remember if polls are very good at predicting the nitty-gritty of how the regional vote works out), but unless the SNP get the parliamentary majority, it seems like a problem for them.