ALEX Salmond set course for the general election yesterday, vowing to reject the cuts deemed necessary by Labour and the Conservatives and insisting there was still the cash available to keep public services afloat.
In his keynote speech at the SNP conference in Inverness, the First Minister attacked the "miserable, depressing" prospect of public sector cutbacks, arguing that his opponents could find extra funds if they chose to end Britain's nuclear deterrent.
He vowed to keep spending going on the NHS, schools and public services.
To do this, he said he wanted the coming Westminster election to produce a hung parliament so that the SNP group of MPs could "make London dance to a Scottish tune". A future Labour or Conservative government would be presented with a "shopping list" by Salmond, amounting to some £800 million of funds he claims Scotland is due, as the price of SNP support.
Read further analysis by Eddie Barnes hereWhile Salmond's speech spelled out the party's coming election strategy, the reaction was dominated last night by the First Minister's decision to compare justice secretary Kenny MacAskill to Mahatma Gandhi, following his decision to free the Lockerbie bomber.
Salmond said he had met Gandhi's grandson last week who had reminded him of his grandfather's philosophy. "Sometimes someone has to break the cycle of retribution with an act of compassion. That is what Kenny MacAskill did and we should be proud of him for doing it," said Salmond.
Opponents last night said the comments were "stomach-churning". They also claimed that Salmond's attempt to talk up the prospect of a hung parliament was a "desperate attempt to seem relevant" in a UK general election.
Speaking to a packed hall at the Eden Court theatre in Inverness, Salmond used his speech both to talk up his party's record in power and to make a clear dividing line between him and the other parties on public finances.
The SNP had disclosed last week that it would be backing plans for pay cuts for the top earners in the public sector, but Salmond yesterday made no mention of any further restrictions, instead making the case to keep spending going.
He said: "Over the last few weeks we have seen the London parties queue up to declare that their cuts are going to be bigger and better. What a miserable, depressing vision they offer to the people of the nation."
He said if the UK government wanted to find more money for schools and hospitals it need only cancel the Trident submarine deterrent and plans for ID cards, claiming the nuclear deterrent could build 50 Forth road crossings.
"It is enough to fund the NHS in Scotland for a full decade," he added. Salmond said it was "wrong" to argue that there was no more money for schools and hospitals.
The commitment comes despite warnings from independent economists that as much as £3.8 billion will be stripped from Scotland's £30bn budget over the coming three years, as Whitehall reins in spending.
Finance secretary John Swinney has already been forced to cancel plans for a rail link to Glasgow airport but experts warn that the freeze will worsen over the next few years, forcing ministers to wield the axe elsewhere.
Salmond said he would be basing his decisions on "social democratic values", arguing there was a "moral imperative" to share wealth in tough times.
Turning to the party's bid for an independence referendum, Salmond warned that Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems could be wiped out if they continued to oppose the vote. "Let us be clear, no political party can long deny the right of the Scottish people to exercise self-determination and survive as a political force in Scotland," he said.
He also mounted a direct attack on Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has ruled that the Scottish Government should not be part of a UK government delegation attending the Copenhagen climate change summit in December.
He said: "The reality is that Gordon Brown cannot stand the idea of Scotland being visible in the international community, even when we have passed potentially life-saving legislation."
But Labour MP Anne Begg last night said: "Copenhagen is not a back-slapping exercise to nod about the importance of tackling climate change. The objective is to sign an international agreement to which the United Kingdom will be a signatory. The people of Scotland supported the devolution settlement whereby foreign affairs are conducted on a UK-wide basis."
After his speech, Salmond raised his hands in a victory sign, and took a standing ovation from the party faithful.
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "Once again, the SNP have got it wrong on all the big issues. The SNP government have more money than ever before. Their wasted years and failed schemes like the Scottish Futures Trust mean they are boxing themselves into a corner because they have made bad decisions.
"But the price of saving the Scottish banks and the UK economy from collapse means every party – including the SNP – has to make savings. The difference is Labour will at every stage seek to defend, support and protect frontline services."
The Tories last night called Salmond's speech a desperate attempt to muscle his way into a UK election campaign.
Shadow Scottish secretary David Mundell said: "This is a British general election for a British prime minister and a British government. The SNP is irrelevant, and Alex Salmond is not even standing."
His opponents last night also seized on his reference to Gandhi. Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said: "Alex Salmond seems to have gone over the edge. If he thinks Kenny MacAskill is like Mahatma Gandhi, what on earth does that make him? The reality is that this was the wrong decision taken in the wrong way."
Frank Duggan, president of the Victims of Flight 103 group, described Salmond's comments last night as "extraordinary and preposterous". He said: "I am sure that reconciliation is a noble thing to practise, but not for a minister for justice. Kenny MacAskill's governmental position involved following the law as well as the agreement among nations that (Lockerbie bomber] Megrahi would spend his entire term in Scotland."
Duggan added: "Kenny MacAskill will forever be known for his role in a miscarriage of justice. Reconciliation is not within the portfolio of the chief law enforcement officer of Scotland. Leave that to the clergy and the social workers."
Party may get live TV debate wishA LIVE TV election debate in Scotland involving the main UK party leaders plus Alex Salmond is being considered as part of a compromise deal to head off a legal challenge by the SNP.
Broadcasters are understood to be discussing a special Scotland-only debate, in which Salmond would go head-to-head with Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg in a bid to ensure strict rules on broadcasting impartiality are met.
The Scottish special would be in addition to the three UK-wide debates, involving just the three main UK party leaders, which Sky, the BBC and ITV, are proposing to screen in the run-up to next year's general election.
The plans are being mooted as broadcasters seek to avoid a legal challenge, threatened by the SNP, against the UK leaders' debate. Under their current plans, the debates would be screened in Scotland without an SNP figure, in a clear breach of broadcasting rules.
Under the law, the SNP is defined as a "main party" in Scotland which, as such, must receive the same treatment on television as Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats.
It is understood that the main proposer behind the idea of a fourth debate is Sky, which originally came up with the idea of a leaders' debate in the first place.
The Scottish-only debate might also focus primarily on the constitution, offering Salmond the chance to lay out his case for independence against his unionist opponents. It is understood that Salmond is eager to strike a deal with the broadcasters before the matter goes to the courts. "This could be sorted out in ten minutes," said one senior SNP source.
