THE Liberal Democrats have delivered a rebuff to the SNP and its attempts to persuade them into a coalition after this year's Holyrood elections.
Tavish Scott, the Scottish Lib Dem deputy leader, has ruled out the possibility of a deal with the Nationalists, insisting that if he had wanted to advance the cause of a "separatist party", he would have joined the SNP rather than the Lib Dems, and
he reiterated his opposition to a referendum on the issue of Scottish independence.
The move will be seen as confirming that his party is committed to another four years of coalition with Jack McConnell's Labour, if the two parties win enough seats at Holyrood this May. Previously, the Lib Dems have said that they would speak first to whichever party was the largest in the Scottish Parliament after an election.
An SNP spokesman last night said that the Lib Dems' ruling out of a referendum on independence was anti-democratic. Last week it emerged that the Nationalists were pondering a deal that would leave the possibility open of a coalition if there was no referendum.
Scott said: "We will not allow ourselves to be the back door to Alex Salmond's separate state. We don't believe in independence. If I wanted to put a separatist party into power, I would be a nationalist. I would have joined the SNP. We are not going to bring the machinery of the Scottish government to a halt for an independence referendum."
Until now, the Liberals have had a policy of talking to whichever party gets the most seats in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood elections. But Scott said that their stance was under review.
The Shetland MSP added that the two main parties, Labour and the SNP, were presenting voters with a false choice, between separation on the one hand and stagnation on the other, and argued that the Lib Dems offered a more positive alternative.
But an SNP spokesman said that the Liberal-Democrats were being anti-democratic.
He said: "The people of Scotland will decide. The duty of politicians such as Tavish Scott is to listen to what the people say and then act on it. Scott calls himself a Liberal Democrat, but he seems to have little regard for democracy. It is clear from opinion polls that more than 80% of Scots want to decide through a referendum whether Scotland should be independent. Scott's opposition to this seems very odd for someone who calls himself a democrat."
With the SNP riding relatively high in the opinion polls, observers have highlighted the possibility of the Nationalists being the largest party at Holyrood after this May's election. The proportional system of the Scottish Parliament means it is unlikely that any party can win an overall majority, meaning that the SNP would have to do a coalition deal with others, just as Labour has done deals with the Lib Dems since 1999.
Meanwhile, the SNP has stepped up its anti-Trident campaign with a leafleting drive across the country.
The Nationalists' leaflet states: "Look at the hole Trident missiles make", highlighting the multi-billion-pound cost of the new system.
SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon, campaigning in Glasgow, said: "Like the people of Scotland, we are far more interested in investing in schools, hospitals and other public services, than wasting £25bn on weapons of mass destruction."
Local community leaders, including Dumbarton Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, say that the jobs from the base are vital to the area. She claims that 7,000 people work directly at the base, with another 4,000 jobs dependent on it locally.
