Ed Miliband today hit back at claims that the SNP would hold him to ransom in government by warning that a vote for Scottish nationalists would mean a decade of “Tory austerity”.
Mr Miliband came out fighting with a speech in Clydebank after the SNP’s Alex Salmond claimed his party could dictate parts of a Labour government’s first budget.
Mr Miliband argued that only his party could “fight for social justice” in Scotland as another poll today suggested Labour was facing a wipeout at the hands of Scottish Nationalists.
Mr Miliband said: “It is time to get rid of these Tories. It is time to put an end to their extreme plan for the next five years. It is time to fight for social justice in Scotland once again.
“Every vote in this election that might allow the Tories to be the largest party is a vote for Tory austerity to continue. Because these Tories don’t need a majority. They will do anything they can to remain in power. And Scotland cannot take that risk.”
Speaking on the BBC yesterday, Mr Salmond reflected on his party’s potential gains at the election and said: “If you hold the balance, then you hold the power.”
Asked if shadow chancellor Ed Balls would have to negotiate a budget with the SNP, Mr Salmond said: “Yes, any minority government has to negotiate in order to win a majority for its proposal. That is patently obvious. To deny that is to deny reality.”
Explaining how he would respond if Labour refused to deal with him while challenging him to vote down a Labour budget, he suggested he would use parliamentary process to squeeze demands from Mr Miliband’s party.
He said: “Let’s say, for example, instead of this very, very slow fast-rail [HS2] coming up from London, I think we should start it from Edinburgh or Glasgow to Newcastle and I put that down as a budget amendment. It would have substantial support in the north of England from the other parties and will carry the House of Commons. What does Mr Balls do then?”
Mr Miliband has ruled out a full coalition with the SNP but not a more informal arrangement, on a vote-by-vote basis, for example, something Mr Salmond also said was possible.
A Guardian/ICM poll today showed Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP was way out in front in Scotland on 43 per cent, 16 points ahead of Labour. On a uniform swing, the SNP would leap from six MPs to 43, leaving Labour with 12 seats.
