Alex Salmond: I will help write Ed Balls' first Budget

The former First Minister says he will threaten to sabotage the first Budget of a minority Labour government unless Mr Balls accepts SNP demands for billions of pounds more spending Alex Salmond has claimed he will force Ed Balls to agree to the SNP's spending plans

Alex Salmond has claimed he will help write Ed Balls’ first Budget after the general election by threatening to sabotage it unless it includes billions of pounds of extra spending.

In his most explicit statement yet on how he would intend to turn the screw on a minority Labour government, he said that if he did not get his way, he would table amendments to the Budget such as starting the high-speed rail line from Scotland instead of London.

The former First Minister claimed he could force through the change with the support of northern MPs from other parties, giving Mr Balls little choice but to bend to SNP demands such as an extra £180 billion of borrowing.

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr, he insisted this would not mean increasing taxes on middle England but he would support reintroducing the 50p top rate of income tax. He said the SNP, Plaid Cyrmu and the Greens would work together to force through “progressive” spending commitments.

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He also admitted the SNP could still support a minority Labour government on a vote-by-vote basis even if it renews the Trident nuclear deterrent, despite Nicola Sturgeon previously describing this as her most important “red line” demand.
Anna Soubry, a Tory MP and Defence Minister, who was appearing on the same programme, described the interview as “one of the most frightening I have ever heard.”