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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 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 first budget. | Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has threatened to resign if MSPs do not back his government's first budget. |
| Mr Salmond's spokesman said he would take the issue "to the people" if the budget fell at Wednesday's crunch vote. | Mr Salmond's spokesman said he would take the issue "to the people" if the budget fell at Wednesday's crunch vote. |
| But the Liberal Democrats dismissed the threat as a tactic to divert attention away from "shortcomings" in ministers' spending plans. | But the Liberal Democrats dismissed the threat as a tactic to divert attention away from "shortcomings" in ministers' spending plans. |
| Despite Mr Salmond's comments, the minority government is still confident of gaining parliament's backing. | Despite Mr Salmond's comments, the minority government is still confident of gaining parliament's backing. |
| The government 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 | 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. | 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 budget following opposition demands. | |
| A total of 1,000 new police officers will be recruited by March 2011 and extra cash will be made available to fight climate change. | |
| 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. | 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." | 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." |