THE regional elections on May 5 will be a referendum on the union with

Tory England, not on Mr Major, according to the SNP.

The Nationalist campaign, launched simultaneously in Glasgow and

Aberdeen, also condemned the failure of Labour councils to halt the

advance of Conservative Government measures.

In Glasgow, SNP's vice-convener for local government, Renfrew District

Councillor Jim Mitchell listed Ravenscraig, Gartcosh, Rosyth, water

privatisation, and the gerrymandering of local government.

He said: ''The Labour Party have failed abysmally. They might as well

have been on Mars for the good they have done the people of this

country.

''This election will be a referendum on the union with Tory England

and is an opportunity for the Scottish people to start the countdown to

independence. The best way to end Tory rule is to stop them at the

border.''

Party leader Alex Salmond said the election was about whether any Tory

Prime Minister should be running Scotland.

''This election is not a referendum on water privatisation, although

that will be the issue that dominates the election. And this election is

not a referendum on John Major. The fate of John Major will be decided

in the shires of England,'' he said.

''This is not a referendum about one individual Tory. It is about how

to end Tory rule of Scotland and start the process of change. The SNP is

the only force to which Westminster pays the slightest bit of

attention.''

The SNP is fielding 370 candidates -- the largest number of any party

-- under the banner Power For Change, although Mr Salmond would predict

only that there would be Nationalist gains in every region.

Mr Mitchell said: ''The SNP is now six points higher in the opinion

polls than we were at the same stage during the last regional elections,

while Labour is eight points lower. It is a foregone conclusion that the

Tories are in for a hiding -- the question is who is going to give it to

them?''