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?''
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