This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-32007514

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Alex Salmond predicts vote-by-vote deal with Labour Alex Salmond predicts vote-by-vote deal with Labour
(35 minutes later)
Alex Salmond has predicted a "vote by vote arrangement" between a minority Labour government and the SNP is the most likely outcome of the election.Alex Salmond has predicted a "vote by vote arrangement" between a minority Labour government and the SNP is the most likely outcome of the election.
Scotland's former first minister said his successor as SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, would lead the negotiations.Scotland's former first minister said his successor as SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, would lead the negotiations.
Mr Salmond also said he wanted the SNP to form a "progressive coalition" with Plaid Cymru and the Greens.Mr Salmond also said he wanted the SNP to form a "progressive coalition" with Plaid Cymru and the Greens.
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said his party was "still confident" of winning the election outright.Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said his party was "still confident" of winning the election outright.
And he predicted the SNP would feel the "full fury of the Scottish people if they saved David Cameron's skin".And he predicted the SNP would feel the "full fury of the Scottish people if they saved David Cameron's skin".
Mr Salmond's comments were also seized on by the Tories, with defence minister Anna Soubry branding them "terrifying".Mr Salmond's comments were also seized on by the Tories, with defence minister Anna Soubry branding them "terrifying".
'Big differences''Big differences'
Recent polls have suggested the SNP is on track to win the vast majority of seats in Scotland at the expense of Labour and the Liberal Democrats in May's general election, and the party's membership has surged to 100,000 since the referendum. Recent polls have suggested the SNP is on track to win the vast majority of seats in Scotland at the expense of Labour and the Liberal Democrats in the 7 May general election.
Last week, Labour leader Ed Miliband ruled out forming a coalition government with the SNP in the event of no single party having an overall majority in the Commons following the general election on 7 May. Last week, Labour leader Ed Miliband ruled out forming a coalition government with the SNP in the event of no single party winning an overall majority in the Commons.
Mr Miliband said a formal alliance would "not happen" as there were "big differences" between the two parties, and he also said there would be "no SNP minister in any government that I lead". But Mr Salmond told the BBC's Andrew Marr show that Mr Miliband had not ruled out a less formal arrangement, where the SNP might lend its support on an issue-by-issue basis.
But Mr Salmond, who stood down as SNP leader following last September's independence referendum, told the BBC's Andrew Marr show that Mr Miliband had not ruled out a confidence and supply arrangement. Mr Salmond, a candidate for the Westminster election in the Gordon constituency in the north east of Scotland, said: "I did four years as a minority government and at the end of four years the people of Scotland decided to give the SNP an overall majority.
Such an arrangement would see the SNP lend its support to a minority Labour government on an issue-by-issue basis, rather than through a formal coalition. "That does indicate there was a pretty substantial satisfaction with the four years of minority government."
He said: "I think it is more likely to have a vote by vote arrangement". 'More progressive'
Minority government He added that he hoped the SNP bloc at Westminster after the election would help move the Labour party in a "more progressive" direction, "moving away from austerity".
Mr Salmond is a candidate for the Westminster election in the Gordon constituency in the north east of Scotland. Meanwhile, Jim Murphy told BBC 5Live that the SNP had told people to vote anyone but Labour, adding that the SNP were "interested in the disruption and the demise of the Labour party".
He was first minister of Scotland for seven years from 2007 - the first four of which saw him lead a minority government which had just one seat more than Labour. He also predicted there would be a backlash against the SNP in Scotland if the party was seen to have helped David Cameron remain in power.
He said: "I did four years as a minority government and at the end of four years the people of Scotland decided to give the SNP an overall majority. Appearing alongside Mr Salmond, defence minister Anna Soubry told him the thought he could "be actually controlling in the way that you have described this United Kingdom fills me with absolute horror".
"That does indicate there was a pretty substantial satisfaction with the four years of minority government. "The audacity is astonishing. There was a wonderful debate in Scotland, you lost it. We are a United Kingdom, that is what the people of Scotland wanted."
"This is commonplace elsewhere in the world. There is a great mistake in believing Westminster is the norm. It is not. Westminster is abnormal."
Mr Salmond said that he hoped the SNP bloc at Westminster after the election, along with other parties, would move the Labour party in a "more progressive" direction.
"What does progressive politics mean? It means moving away from austerity," Mr Salmond said.
"It means not spending £100bn on the next generation of nuclear weapons on the River Clyde. It means having a different approach to politics and economics than the conventional parties at Westminster."
Mr Murphy told BBC 5Live that the SNP had told people to vote anyone but Labour.
"The SNP aren't interested in the wellbeing of the Labour party. They are interested in the disruption and the demise of the Labour party," he said.
'Wonderful debate'
"The only alternative prime minister to Labour is David Cameron."
He also predicted there would be a backlash against the SNP in Scotland if the party was seen to have helped Mr Cameron remain in power.
Appearing alongside Mr Salmond on the Andrew Marr show, defence minister Anna Soubry told him: "The thought that we are in a position where you can be actually controlling in the way that you have described this United Kingdom fills me with absolute horror.
"The audacity is astonishing. There was a wonderful debate in Scotland, you lost it. We are a United Kingdom, that is what the people of Scotland wanted.
"Because of the inadequacies of Labour north of the border you guys are now in the position where you can be the power broker."