SNP doesn't know where to sit under Thatcher's shadow

ALEX SALMOND was furious when the media seized on comments in an interview which appeared to suggest he had some sympathy for Thatcherism. He even called a radio phone-in programme to denounce the idea. "Total tosh," he declared.

But the interview has revived claims that for all its left-wing rhetoric on Iraq, nuclear weapons and policies like scrapping prescription charges, the SNP has a fundamentally right-wing economic agenda.

The First Minister spoke in the interview about why Scotland "didn't take to Lady Thatcher" and said: "We didn't mind the economic side so much. But we didn't like the social side at all."

Labour immediately condemned the remarks, with leadership contender Iain Gray arguing the Iron Lady's economic policies had been devastating for Scottish communities.

"Thatcher's economics had at their core the belief that mass unemployment was not just a price worth paying but necessary in a modern economy," he said.

But a defensive Mr Salmond told radio listeners: "I was commenting on why Scots, in particular, were so deeply resentful of Thatcher and I think here her social message, epitomised in the unfair poll tax and her comments of 'no such thing as society', cut against a very Scottish grain of social conscience.

"That doesn't mean that the nation liked her economic policies, just that we liked her lack of concern for social consequences even less."

Given Scotland's deep-rooted hostility to Thatcherism – the main reason why there is still so little sign of a Tory recovery north of the Border – it is not surprising the First Minister should want to remove any suspicion of sympathy.

But it's not that he was trapped into making his comment. In the interview – with Tory blogger Iain Dale for the magazine Total Politics – it was Mr Salmond who first mentioned Lady Thatcher.

One Labour source says: "It wasn't a slip – it's what he believes. He was sitting, having a cosy chat with a rising star of the Tory Party who isn't a real journalist. He must have felt very comfortable and he just came out with it."

Mr Salmond used to describe himself as a socialist and the party has chosen the label "social democratic", but the SNP's focus on independence as its raison d'etre means it has always included people of diverse ideological persuasions, from Glasgow MSP Bill Kidd on the left to Enterprise Minister Jim Mather on the right.

The SNP took great delight in outflanking Labour on the left when it announced the phasing out of prescription charges – an appropriate tribute to NHS founder, the left-wing Nye Bevan, on the 60th anniversary of the health service, as Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pointed out.

And it has also scrapped the graduate endowment fee which students had to pay after they completed their course.

A senior Labour MSP says: "The SNP has managed to convince a large section of Scots that they are more left wing than Labour.

"But being relaxed about Thatcher's economic policies does let the cat out of the bag. And it's consistent with their pro-business, low-tax stance.

"The SNP wants Irish levels of taxation and Scandinavian levels of public services, but there is a contradiction there and they can't quite make up their minds."

The SNP has cut rates for 150,000 small businesses, reportedly boosting their profit margins by up to a third.

The business community also liked the decision to scrap bridge tolls and a survey earlier this year found 57 per cent of businesses thought the SNP was doing a good or excellent job.

Opposition MSPs argue even the council tax freeze, though a popular move in itself, reflects a right-wing agenda – opting for lower taxation against higher spending on public services.

The tight budget settlement for local government has led to controversial cuts in council services.

The opposition points out the SNP is eager to promote "small government" by abolishing or merging quangos.

And they say Mr Salmond has taken a tough line against local government workers' demands for a pay increase over the current 2.5 per cent offer.

A senior Labour source says: "Whereas at UK level Labour talked right to act left because it's centre-right aspirational voters who decide elections, in Scotland – which is traditionally left of centre – the SNP talks left to act right."

The SNP plays down its relationship with the Conservatives, but Tory MSPs played a crucial role in helping the minority government get its budget through the Scottish Parliament, with business rate cuts speeded up as part of the deal.

And after last year's local elections, the SNP lifted its ban on going into coalition with the Tories on Scotland's councils.

One SNP insider says: "That was a bigger sea-change than many people realised at the time. The Tories were no longer the bogeymen, we could do deals with them."

And the insider adds: "The party has not tied up its economic and social justice arguments. There are a lot of short-term fixes going on. We need to do a bit more thinking."

In his interview, Mr Salmond may have inadvertently highlighted the tensions – some would say contradictions – inherent in SNP policy. But it's strange how, 18 years after she quit the scene, Margaret Thatcher can still haunt Scottish politics.