Stephen hints at scuppering SNP's bid for power

Published on 15/04/2007 01:25

LIB DEM leader Nicol Stephen has opened the door to a 'stop Salmond' coalition deal with Labour after saying it was possible that the largest party in the Parliament after May 3 might not necessarily get into power.

In an interview with Scotland on Sunday today, Stephen agrees that, in principle, there is no automatic right for the party with the largest number of seats to be in government. With Alex Salmond's SNP currently ahead in the polls, his comments clear the way for the Liberals to go into coalition with Labour even if Jack McConnell's party is beaten into second place.

In the interview, Stephen said: "There are examples where the party with the biggest number of votes does not get into power because multi-party coalitions are formed to run the government."