This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/6460653.stm

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
SNP slams Labour election tactics SNP claims unprecedented support
(about 22 hours later)
SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon is to use her party conference speech to accuse Labour of running a negative campaign for the Holyrood election. SNP leader Alex Salmond has claimed his party is gaining unprecedented support across Scotland.
She will describe Labour as a party with no new ideas and with nothing positive to say. He told the SNP spring conference that Scotland was being held back by an executive with too little ambition and a parliament with too little power.
The SNP's Holyrood leader will also outline her party's policy priorities. Mr Salmond's claim is based on the party's private polling which suggested the SNP was ahead in all but two regions of Scotland.
These include cutting the size of government, and publishing a White Paper on the timing and wording of a referendum on independence. The survey also claimed the party was ahead in all socio-economic classes.
She is expected to tell delegates on Saturday that the difference between the SNP and Labour is its positive belief that Scotland can match the successes of other small independent countries like Ireland, Iceland and Norway. Support for independence
She will say: "Let Labour campaign in the mire if they want to. It's all they've got left." Mr Salmond again dismissed Prime Minister Tony Blair's warning that the SNP would cost every Scottish household £5,000 a year.
"Labour is a party with no new ideas. They have nothing positive to say. He said Scots were more likely to believe Sir George Mathewson, the former Chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland, who revealed his support for independence on Friday.
"But we do - we offer a vision of a better Scotland, new hope for our country, opportunity for all." The SNP leader launched a sharp attack on Mr Blair for his "petulant" attack Sir George.
Ms Sturgeon will also state her intention to win Glasgow's Govan constituency from Labour. He said: "A confident prime minister doesn't launch a daft attack on arguably the most successful Scottish businessman of his generation."
And she will claim that the location of the conference in the city shows the SNP's commitment to "this great city". Mr Salmond said his party was on the "crest of a wave".
He cited an ICM poll which put the SNP in the lead in all socio-economic groups, a "historic" achievement for the party.
"For a national party, it is extraordinarily important to have that wide canvas across the socio-economic spectrum," he said.
An SNP government will take the decision on independence out of the grip of politicians and put it firmly where it belongs - in the hands of the Scottish people Nicola Sturgeon
The party's deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon told the conference a Nationalist administration at Holyrood would stage an independence referendum in its first term.
And in a clear warning to potential coalition partners like the Liberal Democrats she said this was non-negotiable.
'Negative campaigning'
"An SNP government, in our four-year term of office, will take the decision on independence out of the grip of politicians and put it firmly where it belongs - in the hands of the Scottish people," she said.
"And we will bow to no party that seeks to deny the people of Scotland that right to choose their own future."
Ms Sturgeon went on to accuse Labour of sinking deeper into a "mire" of negative campaigning.
She reaffirmed policy commitments and announced new ones, such as restoring ring-fenced funding of £10m for drugs education in schools.
The deputy leader also said an SNP administration would pioneer a "carbon offset" scheme.
"So our commitment to a new Forth road crossing will go hand-in-hand with increased investment in our railways," she said.