Party leaders clash over SNP's record in power

ALEX Salmond and Labour leader Iain Gray today traded insults in Holyrood clashes over the SNP's record in power.

Mr Gray accused the First Minister of a string of broken promises and said: "Isn't this why one of our papers asks today on his record, has it all just been big talk from a wee man?"

Mr Salmond brushed this aside with a joke about his weight, saying the jibe was "very comforting indeed".

He went on to mock Mr Gray as the first Scottish Labour leader to be less popular than the leader of the Scottish Tories.

The clashes came shortly after the 10th anniversary of the first Holyrood elections and near the mid-point of the SNP's term in office.

Mr Salmond began by noting that all parties should take some satisfaction from the advent of an institution that had changed life in Scotland "fundamentally and for the better".

Mr Gray began his attack by saying Mr Salmond's cabinet had found time this week to "slap themselves on the back".

"Did they find time to think about the 1,000 teachers cut from our schools, the 1,000 apprentices made redundant still waiting on their training guarantee, the 20,000 construction workers on the dole because of the First Minister's failure to build schools and hospitals?

"Some of these people might be watching, because they are certainly not at work," said Mr Gray.

"Can the First Minister look them in the eye and tell them how well he is doing?"

Mr Salmond hit back: "That's the kind of question that probably sounded all right when he was rehearsing it with Andy Kerr" and went on to tell of "overwhelming evidence from the opinion polls of public support for the SNP.

Mr Gray turned to Mr Salmond's "list of so-called achievements" and mocked some of them.

"'Reviewed modern apprenticeship programmes' – he means he cut them," said the Labour leader.

"Number 41 – 'develop a North Sea supergrid'.

"How did I miss that? Where is he hiding it – in the basement of Bute House?

"Not so much wired to Norway – more like wired to the moon."

And the claim "Scottish Futures Trust achieved" showed Mr Salmond was "having a laugh at our expense".

"In two years it has delivered two meetings, one email, and not a single school or hospital," said Mr Gray.

Mr Salmond said the North Sea grid and other achievements were "hugely important" to Scotland and turned to a list of 50 SNP commitments "already met or exceeded by this Government".

He went on to list the first five of the achieved commitments – the council tax freeze, the small business bonus scheme, abolishing Forth and Tay bridge tolls, reversing the decision to close A&E departments at Monklands and Ayr hospitals – "good job we didn't start downgrading Monklands in recent events, is it not?" – and 1,000 more police.

"The Labour Party should perhaps wonder why in the long miserable years of Government they did not manage to achieve any one of these 50 commitments."

Mr Gray countered by highlighting commitments not delivered like a £2,000 grant for first-time buyers, a promise to "ditch" student debt, carers still waiting for funding, children in unreduced class sizes, teachers "on the dole" and pensioners means-tested for free central heating.

"He did not mention his local income tax, just ditched," said Mr Gray.
"So many promises broken in so little time.

"I don't have time to go through all of them.

"Isn't this why one our our papers today asks on his record, has it all just been big talk from a wee man?"

Mr Salmond told him: "I must say I am delighted about the description of my size – very comforting indeed."

He said Mr Gray could hardly complain about the non-implementation the local income tax when Labour had voted against it.

And the SNP had been unable to achieve its commitment to cancelling the Edinburgh trams project and use that money for other purposes, Mr Salmond went on.

"I wonder, is there anybody else in this Parliament, anybody on the Labour benches, even Iain Gray, who thinks he was wise to combine with the Tories and the Liberal Party and foist that project on the people of Scotland?"

Mr Salmond went on: "Iain Gray has something to celebrate as well.

"It's just that he's unable to quarrel or question the 50 commitments met by this Government.

"He is unable to explain why he is the first Labour leader in history in Scotland to be less popular not than an SNP leader – but to be less popular than the Tories' leader in Scotland."

Mr Gray accused Mr Salmond of resorting to "desperation".

"There are two signs of desperation in politics," he said.

"One is to tell the electorate lies in order to get their votes– that's what local income tax is about.

"The second is when the First Minister is reduced to reading out polls – especially polls that he bought and paid for himself."

The Scottish Building Federation said the Scottish Futures Trust had "destroyed" 20,000 jobs, and this had also been described as a "scandal" by Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, who said it could cost a further 15,000 jobs.

Labour was doing all it could to secure 15,000 jobs for young Scots in the budget package, and 11,000 jobs were secured on the Clyde yesterday and a further 1,000 created.

"Thanks to his Futures Trust, the First Minister is destroying Scottish jobs faster than Margaret Thatcher did 30 years ago," said Mr Gray.

Mr Salmond retorted that 10 years ago, unemployment in Scotland was 25% higher than the UK average, but despite the present recession and "difficult times", Scottish unemployment was 25% below the UK average.

"Iain Gray's complains about our firm action to accelerate the economy in Scotland and create jobs through our plans – he should look south of the border and wonder why their plans are not being quite as successful," said Mr Salmond.

He went on to suggest Mr Gray was "in denial" about £500 million "of Labour cuts" planned for Scotland next year.

The threat to Scottish jobs came not from an SNP Government but from those cuts – "real term cuts in public spending planned for the next few years".

"The fortunate thing is that not just in opinion polls but in real elections, the people of Scotland have the opportunity to decide for economic powers for this Parliament and independence for this country."