CAMERON'S PLANS TO STEAL SCOTS MONEY AND VOTES

CAMERON'S PLANS TO STEAL SCOTS MONEY AND VOTES

SALMOND - TORY LEADER "CAN RUN BUT CAN'T HIDE" ON CASH RAID

SNP leader Alex Salmond today (Tue) set off on the second day of a whistle-stop rail tour of key constituencies by laying down a challenge to Tory leader David Cameron, who is expected in Scotland later today for only his second trip north of the border in the entire election campaign.

Mr Salmond, who was speaking as he set off from Edinburgh's Waverly Station for a tour which will take in seats including Linlithgow, Falkirk and Glasgow East, called on Mr Cameron to admit his plans to steal Scotland's cash and its votes.

Mr Salmond said:

"David Cameron is planning to steal Scotland's cash. He has refused for weeks now to give straight answers to straight questions about Tory plans for Scotland's budget - he has ducked and dodged and ducked again, refusing to admit what he has up his sleeve.

"We know, thanks to his would-be Chancellor George Osborne, that the Tories are planning a special 'Cameron Cut' just for Scotland, on top of the savage spending cuts for vital public services that they plan right across the UK.

"Maybe that explains Mr Cameron's reluctance to step over the border during this election campaign - but he will not be able to dodge this issue forever. He can run but he can't hide, and sooner or later he will have to tell the people of Scotland exactly what he and his party have planned for this country.

"And not content with stealing Scotland's cash, Mr Cameron also plans to steal the votes of other parties by counting Labour and Lib Dem votes towards a Tory mandate in Scotland.

"The Conservatives know that they are going nowhere in Scotland with their support flat-lining in the polls - that's why they want to take all non-SNP votes here as counting towards their right to rule north of the border.

"People thinking of voting Labour and Lib Dem should bear that in mind before they go to the polls - a vote for either of those parties will be counted as justifying a Tory Government's mandate in Scotland even if the Conservatives have no MPs here.

"Labour are finished while Nick Clegg is preparing to do a deal to get into bed with the Tories, which means votes for the Lib Dems and Labour in Scotland are wasted.

"All the London parties are part of a cosy Westminster consensus and all of them have Scotland's budget in their sights. Only a vote for SNP local and national champions can protect Scotland from the shared cuts agenda of all the London parties."