Lib Dems key to Holyrood coalition
The SNP and Liberal Democrats have formed an early coalition over council tax, with the SNP leader heard cheering Lib Dem proposals to scrap the tax.
During a televised debate, the SNP’s leader Alex Salmond cried “hear, hear” as Nicol Stephen outlined the Liberal Democrat’s tax plans. Both parties want to abolish council tax and replace it with a local income tax.
Both party leaders deny they have been in talks over a possible power-sharing administration, but the complementary tax policies have been interpreted as an early willingness to work together.
The SNP have been consistently beating Labour in the opinion polls, raising the prospect they will emerge as the largest party after May 3rd. However, the Holyrood voting system means they would have to form a coalition to take power in government.
The Liberal Democrats are seen as likely coalition partners. In a setback to the nationalists, Mr Stephen implied this weekend that his party would be willing to form a coalition with a second place Labour, even if the SNP win the largest number of seats in the election.
In an interview with Scotland on Sunday, Mr 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.”
The Liberal Democrats’ remain fiercely opposed to the SNP’s keystone call for independence and have said they would block any referendum on disbanding the union, placing them in a natural alliance with the pro-Union Labour party.
However, Labour and the Mr Stephen clash over Lib Dem plans to abolish the council tax. Labour have hit out at the Lib Dem’s and SNP’s tax proposals, claiming the sums “do not add up”.
Despite the prime minister’s advice to move away from negative campaigning, Scottish Labour today launched a “doomsday” attack on the SNP’s economic policy, claiming families could face a £5,000 tax bill under the SNP.
