Alex Salmond warns cuts are coming

Published on Saturday 20 March 2010 19:34

ALEX Salmond has told party activists he cannot prevent cuts in public spending in Scotland, warning that "difficult times are coming" in his pre-election speech to the SNP spring conference yesterday.

Addressing delegates in Aviemore, the First Minister said he could not promise there would be "no pain", nor that he "can stop every cut" heading his way.

But he claimed the return of more SNP MPs in the coming election would lessen the impact by forcing Westminster to heed Scotland's case.

In a speech laying out the SNP's campaign plans ahead of the likely 6 May poll, Salmond sought to characterise Labour and the Conservatives as the "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" of politics, both planning to cut spending too early. He described the fight between the two parties vying for Number Ten as a "phoney war", with the only dividing line being whether the cuts to public spending should start this year or next.

He said cuts that were necessary were to the government's ID card scheme and the Trident nuclear missile programme.

And repeating his hope for a hung parliament, he argued that such a result at Westminster would present a "real opportunity" for Scotland, opening up the prospect of Nationalist MPs haggling with either a minority Tory or Labour administration for a deal in return for support.

But Salmond said that, no matter what those MPs achieved, cuts were still on their way in his own administration.

He said: "I can't stand here today and promise there will be no reduction in spending, or that there will be no pain, that we can stop every cut. No-one can. Scotland will pay a price for Labour's recession."

Listing efforts already taken to reduce costs, he cited the freezing of ministerial and senior civil service pay, a 25 per cent reduction in the number of quangos and a 50 per cent cut in the Scottish Government's marketing budget.

He added: "I can promise you today, this party, this government will work flat out to protect the services that really matter, to protect the front line."

Turning to the general election, he stuck by his prediction that the SNP would win 20 of Scotland's 59 Westminster seats. They hold seven. "The pundits say we can't win 20 seats. Of course we can," he insisted.

He also addressed for the first time the fallout in Glasgow following the resignation of Labour council leader Steven Purcell. To sustained applause, he said: "If there is ever a party that needs shaking to its core, it is the Labour Party in the city of Glasgow."

Salmond said that next week he would flesh out a joint Westminster campaign, to be run in alliance with Plaid Cymru in Wales, likely to lay out demands the two parties would table if they have some leverage.

The two parties, which between them have ten of Westminster's 646 seats, are pinning their hopes on a hung parliament, where the major parties are forced to turn to them to form a government.

He said among those demands would be a commitment to ensure Scotland is part of the first phase of the planned high-speed rail network, which is being planned between London and Birmingham. He also announced a 12 million fund to support the deployment of wave and tidal energy devices.

&#149 The Electoral Commission has made a full, public apology to the SNP over a Conservative complaint about its finances.

The commission admitted it was a "mistake" to write a reply to the Tories before even notifying the SNP that a complaint had been made.