Alex Salmond power boasts blasted by rivals

ALEX Salmond yesterday boasted he would help to write Labour’s first post-election budget if Ed Miliband needs the SNP’s support after May’s vote.

scottish national party, alex salmond, labour government, snp, trident, ed balls, nicola sturgeonPA

Salmond said he would demand the removal of Trident and a change to the Budget in a Coalition

The former First Minister insisted his party could force changes to Ed Balls’ spending plans as it will hold “the power” in the event of a hung parliament.

He also stated the SNP would demand the scrapping of Trident – the UK’s nuclear deterrent – during any negotiations with Labour.

His comments contradict those of SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon who earlier this month said she would still support Ed Miliband even if he refused to ditch Trident.

Last night, opposition politicians branded Mr Salmond’s comments, which were made in a round of broadcast interviews,  “terrifying”.

Recent polls have predicted the SNP will significantly increase their number of MPs in May’s election.

And with neither Labour nor the Conservatives looking able to win a majority, they could play a key role in post-vote negotiations.

Mr Salmond, who will contest the Gordon parliamentary seat, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “If you hold the balance, then you hold the power.”

Asked whether that meant Budget plans would have to be negotiated with the SNP, he replied: “Yes, any minority government has to negotiate in order to win a majority for its proposal. That is patently obvious. To deny that is to deny reality. If the SNP are in these circumstances it will be very good for Scotland, certainly.”

He said that the SNP would call for an end to austerity, the scrapping of Trident and full fiscal autonomy for Scotland.

Asked what he’d do if his demands were refused, Mr Salmond said he would propose amendments to the Budget, for example, suggesting that the high-speed rail line should start from Scotland instead of London.

“Let’s say, for example, instead of this very, very slow fast rail coming up from London, I think we should start it from Edinburgh or Glasgow to Newcastle and I put that down as a Budget amendment,” he said.

“It would have substantial support in the north of England from the other parties and will carry the House of Commons. What does Mr Balls do then?"

Alex Salmond is taking the votes of people in Scotland for granted and planning back-room deals with Labour from a TV sofa in London

John Lamont, Scottish Conservative chief whip

Pushed on whether renewing Trident was a “red line” for the SNP that would prevent a deal with Labour, Mr Salmond said: “You couldn’t have a coalition or a confidence and supply, but a vote by vote is what comes up in the House of Commons.”

He added that he felt that Scottish independence was “now inevitable”, hinting a new referendum could be included in the SNP’s manifesto for the 2016 Holyrood elections.

Conservative MP Anna Soubry, who also appeared on Marr’s show, was horrified by Mr Salmond’s comments.

She said: “The thought that we are in a position where you can be actually controlling in the way that you have described this United Kingdom fills me with absolute horror.

“The audacity is astonishing. There was a wonderful debate in Scotland, you lost it. We are a United Kingdom, that is what the people of Scotland wanted.

“Because of the inadequacies of Labour north of the Border you guys are now in the position where you can be the power broker.”

John Lamont, Scottish Conservative chief whip, said: “Four weeks before postal ballots go out, Alex Salmond is taking the votes of people in Scotland for granted and planning back-room deals with Labour from a TV sofa in London. Even for him, this is stunning arrogance.”

But Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said the SNP would have “no bargaining chips” to control a minority government as they have already ruled out working with the Tories.

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