Two of the fringe parties at the Holyrood election yesterday decided to drop plans to stand separately and instead threw in their lot together.

Scottish Voice, the party founded by landowner David Stirling which launched a month ago with neither candidates nor policies in place, yesterday found an element of both when it agreed to forge an alliance with NHS First.

In return the health campaigners gain a wealthy backer committed to combating the current Holyrood party system.

Candidates will include Gaille McCann, co-founder of the campaign group Mothers Against Drugs and former Labour councillor in Glasgow, named by The Herald yesterday as an NHS First candidate.

It is expected about four candidates will stand jointly under the alliance, although there will also be a number of candidates standing for Scottish Voice in its own right. Both parties believe that Labour has caused problems for the health service and say that although the NHS has the funding it needs, the money is not being spent wisely.

NHS First leader Mev Brown said: "Given that we agree on so much it makes sense to combine our efforts to provide a single alternative for Scots who want real change."

Mr Stirling said: "Scottish Voice fully supports Mev's commitment to improving the NHS and Gaille McCann's impressive record of success in her campaign against drugs. We are confident we will be able to break the hold of machine politics on Holyrood."