Cameron fury as Salmond
DAVID Cameron and Alex Salmond became embroiled in a row yesterday after the former SNP leader was caught on camera boasting he will write Labour’s first budget after the General Election.
Mr Cameron said that the footage would “shock” voters as he intensified his warnings of an SNP- Labour alliance.
The Tory leader had earlier likened Mr Salmond to a pickpocket in a day of acrimony between the two.
The spat erupted after Mr Salmond, who is set to be one of up to 50 Scottish Nationalist MPs elected next month, was filmed at a rally mocking Labour’s weakness north of the border.
Mr Salmond said: “The Labour financial secretary said on the Andrew Neil programme famously that the Scottish Labour leader will not be writing the Labour party budget.
“But then, I knew that already because I’m writing the Labour Party budget.”
In a jibe at Tory adverts depicting Ed Miliband in his pocket, Mr Salmond continued: “I’ll just check my top pocket. Oh, it’s me! I’m in the top pocket.” Mr Cameron seized on the remarks, posting the footage to his 980,000 Twitter followers.
The Prime Minister wrote: “This footage will shock you: Alex Salmond laughs & boasts he’ll write Labour’s budget. Vote Conservative to stop it.”
With animosity between the pair already sizzling after 2014’ s Scottish referendum, Mr Salmond responded by urging the PM to “get a sense of humour”.
“The point made in a lighthearted way was that Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy had been slapped down by his party bosses at Westminster and told that he would have no role in a Labour budget,” he said.
Joking
“David Cameron is clearly Prime Minister with both people bypass and a sense humour bypass.”
Earlier Mr Cameron was overheard joking about Mr Salmond pinching people’s wallets in remarks broadcast after a TV interview had ended.
The PM, who had just appeared on a viewer call- in for ITV’s This Morning show, made the gag as host Phillip Schofield moved on to the next item.
Mr Schofield said: “Up next, a man who can pinch your wallet, your watch and even your tie without you noticing.”
Mr Cameron, who was off camera, could then be heard saying: “Is that Alex Salmond?”
Co- host Amanda Holden burst out laughing at the remark as the programme went to adverts.
Mr Salmond responded in bullish fashion, saying: “The Tories have been picking Scotland’s a a of pocket for years and have been well and truly rumbled, which is why David Cameron and the rest of the Westminster gang are sinking like a stone in Scotland.”
With polls suggesting a hung parliament after the May 7 election, many experts are expecting Labour will come to a deal with the SNP to form a government.
Tory attack adverts have repeatedly shown Mr Miliband in Mr Salmond’s pocket and as a puppet with SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon pulling the strings.
Mr Cameron has warned that a government partnership between Labour and the SNP would result in a “coalition of chaos”. He was backed yesterday by former PM Sir John Major, who warned of “merry hell” if a minority Miliband administration were propped up by nationalists.
However, Ed Miliband has said that Labour will not strike an “agreement” with the SNP and accused David Cameron of stirring up English “hatred” of the Scots.
The Labour leader’s comments, in an interview on BBC Radio 2’ s Jeremy Vine show, appear to go further than his previous pledge not to form a formal coalition.
Asked if Labour would do a deal with the SNP in the event of a hung parliament, Mr Miliband said: “There isn’t going to be a coalition.”
Pressed on whether there would be “an agreement”, he said: “There isn’t going to be that.”