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Salmond makes resignation threat Salmond makes resignation threat
(20 minutes later)
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has threatened to resign if MSPs do not back his government's budget. Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has threatened to resign if MSPs do not back his government's first budget.
The warning of serious consequences, especially for council funding, was made if parliament does not vote yes to spending plans on Wednesday. Mr Salmond's spokesman said he would take the issue "to the people" if the budget fell at Wednesday's crunch vote.
A spokesman for Mr Salmond said he would take the issue "to the people" if the budget fell at the crunch vote. But the Liberal Democrats dismissed the threat as a tactic to divert attention away from "shortcomings" in ministers' spending plans.
He said councils would lose £144m a month - the equivalent, he argued, of a 22% rise in council tax. Despite Mr Salmond's comments, the minority government is still confident of gaining parliament's backing.
Mr Salmond warned there would be serious consequences - especially for council funding - if the budget fell at the 1700 GMT vote.
This is nothing more than an attempt to deflect attention away from the shortcomings of the budget Liberal Democrat spokesman
The government claimed the 32 local authorities would lose £144m a month - the equivalent, it argued, of a 22% rise in council tax.
Ministers have already made several last-minute concessions to the SNP's first budget following opposition demands.Ministers have already made several last-minute concessions to the SNP's first budget following opposition demands.
They included a total of 1,000 new police officers to be recruited by March 2011, and extra cash will be made available to fight climate change. A total of 1,000 new police officers to be recruited by March 2011 and extra cash will be made available to fight climate change.
Despite Mr Salmond's threat, the government said it was confident the budget would be passed at the 1700 GMT vote. And, on the eve of the budget vote, the Conservatives gained a pledge that a new national drugs strategy would be published in the summer, with an emphasis on abstinence programmes and residential rehabilitation.
A Lib Dem spokesman said of Mr Salmond's position: "This is nothing more than an attempt to deflect attention away from the shortcomings of the budget, not least the £1.6bn of efficiency savings which the budget is underpinned by, but which [Finance Secretary] John Swinney has failed to identify."