SNP against coalition with Conservatives - Alex Salmond

Published on Friday 16 October 2009 11:28

THE SNP would not enter a formal coalition with the Conservatives if the upcoming general election results in a hung parliament.

Party leader Alex Salmond said in a radio interview this morning that the party would instead attempt to seek concessions on an issue-by-issue basis.

The First Minister denied Labour's accusation that the SNP would "prop up" a Conservative government and said that the SNP would be seeking economic rather than constitutional changes from any minority government,

In an interview on Good Morning Scotland, Mr Salmond said expanding the SNP ranks at Westminster to at least 20 MPs is achievable but "a tough target".

"The European election is an indication that if we put the right message across and work hard, an advance on that sort of scale for Scotland is possible."

Will the upcoming general election result in a hung parliament?

An enlarged group of SNP MPs in a hung parliament would be able to achieve substantial gains for Scotland, said Mr Salmond.

"Of all the politicians in these islands, I'm probably the one with most experience of minority government."

He said the first act of a new government at Westminster after the general election will be to introduce an emergency Budget.

"Budgets have many votes, and in each of these votes in a balanced Parliament there will be the opportunity to win gains for Scotland," said Mr Salmond.

He cited a continued acceleration of capital spending for Scotland as an example of a concession that could be extracted in a hung Parliament.

And he pointed to the influence of two Green MSPs at Holyrood as an example of the clout that could be brought to bear in Budget talks.

"In a balanced Parliament situation, you are looking for economic and social gains that can be won by a bloc of SNP MPs working for Scotland.

"I think the constitutional issue in Scotland, whether it be the referendum on independence, the progression of Scotland to have real powers in the Parliament, that's the thing that's going to be advanced within the Scottish Parliament context."