Independence the priority for Alliance to Liberate Scotland
BBCThe Alliance to Liberate Scotland party has said independence should be Holyrood's priority following the 7 May election.
The party, led by activist Hazel Lyon, is hoping to maximise the number of pro-independence MSPs returned to the Scottish Parliament.
Glasgow candidate Tommy Sheridan told BBC Scotland News that independence was the answer to tackling poverty, improving the NHS and boosting wages.
The former socialist MSP urged voters not to "waste" their second regional vote by backing the SNP.
"If you give both votes to the SNP, you're voting for unionists," Sheridan said.
"Don't vote for unionists, vote for an independence party – vote for the Alliance to Liberate Scotland and make independence the priority for the next Scottish Parliament."
The Scottish Greens also support independence, but Sheridan claimed they had "done absolutely nothing for independence over the last eight years".
He added: "They don't think independence is a priority – Alliance to Liberate Scotland believe it is the priority.
"Because if you want to tackle poverty, if you want to tackle low pay, if you want to tackle our health service being underfunded, you need independence."
Sheridan, who has previously made controversial comments about the IRA, Hamas and Hezbollah, said Alliance to Liberate Scotland was a "single-issue" party, and that candidates could express their views however they saw fit as long as they backed independence.
Sheridan previously led the Scottish Socialist Party at Holyrood, which won several seats in 1999 and 2003.
He has remained involved in politics as a supporter of Scottish independence group Hope over Fear and became a founding member of Alba, launched by the late Alex Salmond.
The party folded earlier this year due to financial difficulties.
