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Nick Clegg looking to “Wipe the smile off Alex Salmond’s face”

Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond

Senior Liberal Democrats yesterday took aim at the SNP as the stage was setĀ for a general election battle to defendĀ the party’s Highland and Aberdeenshire seats.

Lord Paddy Ashdown, campaign chief for 2015, led the chargeĀ against the Nationalists. whomĀ he identified as the “primary opponents” in key constituencies in the north.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said he wanted to “wipe the smile off Alex Salmond’s face” in Gordon, while energy Secretary Ed Davey claimedĀ the SNP was risking massive public spending cuts byĀ relying too heavily on North Sea oil receipts.

The claims made at the first day of the party’s Spring conference in Aberdeen yesterday came against a backdrop of more deflating polling results for the Liberals.

Christine Jardine and Sir Malcolm Bruce at the party's spring conference
Christine Jardine and Sir Malcolm Bruce at the party’s spring conference

A survey by Survation projected support forĀ the partyĀ had slipped toĀ just 4%.Ā The SNP, meanwhile, appears to have extended its national lead over LabourĀ toĀ 21-points.

Danny Alexander, MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, is fighting for his political life, while Sir Robert Smith in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and Lord John Thurso in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross are facing a strong challenge.

The Lib Dem candidate for Gordon, Christine Jardine, is also trailing Mr Salmond in the polls, although the Liberals suggested private analysis showed the seat, and others, could be won.

Lord Ashdown saidĀ the SNPĀ have “taken their eye off the ball” and attacked their record on the NHS, policing and fiscal policy.

He said: “The SNP want to borrow Ā£181billion more, Ā£181billion. The interest on that alone isĀ Ā£4.7billion a year from Mr Salmond’s mountain of debt.

“That’s a new primary school every other day that we have to pay as interest. This is economic irresponsibilty to an almost laughable degree.”

Lord Ashdown hit out at Alex Salmond
Lord Ashdown hit out at Alex Salmond’s ‘mountain of debt’

Mr Clegg, in an evening speech to a rally at the conference centre, said the party’s “resilience” would show through in May.

He added: “That resilience will see off the SNP challenge in the seats we hold. And it will wipe the smile off Alex Salmond’s face in Gordon too.”

Mr Davey, who had earlier announced new powers for North Sea regulator the Oil and Gas Authority, said the SNP was playing “fast and loose” with the Scottish economy. Revised projections from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) this week showed the tax revenues for 2016/17 are line to be about Ā£600million, more than 10 times less than the SNP had forecast in its white paper for independence.

Mr Davey said: “That basically means that your pensions are at risk, your jobs in the health service are at risk, your teachers are at risk.

“The SNP prospectus was a false prospectus and it is a false prospectus that they are putting forward to the Scottish people in May. I hope the Scottish people, who are very canny, who are very canny about money, recognise that it is a false prospectus and demand fromĀ the SNP candidates what would they actually do, how they would make their sums up with this oil price.”

Danny Alexander listens in at the party conference yesterday
Danny Alexander listens in at the party conference yesterday

Earlier, a defiant MrĀ AlexanderĀ brushed the SNP challenge to his seat,Ā chanelling filmĀ starĀ ArnoldĀ Schwarzenegger when he told the conference “I’ll be back.”

HeĀ said: “We’re fighting to save the soul of this country from a clueless Labour party, a heartless Conservative Party and reckless Nationalists.

“Conference, your fortitude in these difficult times has enabled liberalism to deliver so much in these past five momentous years.

“Don’t believe those who write off the Liberal Democrats. Let me tell you. I’ll be back. We’ll be back. And because of us, Britain will be back too.”