LABOUR PRESS SALMOND ON ELECTION PROMISES COMMITMENT
 
ACCUSES FIRST MINISTER OF BEING ‘FEART’ OVER TV DEBATE
 
LABOUR today kept up the pressure on SNP leader Alex Salmond to confirm whether his government intended to implement its election promises – following his failure on Monday’s Newsnight programme to answer presenter Jeremy Paxman’s repeated questioning on his commitment to keep his election promises.

On the programme Alex Salmond was asked ten times if the SNP would implement its manifesto promises – and ten times he refused to answer.
 
Labour’s Frank McAveety said: “Alex Salmond has had a night’s sleep and time to mull over his answer to Jeremy Paxman’s very simple question. Last night the First Minister was too feart to debate Scotland Office Minister David Cairns. Given his later non-answers on whether he intended to keep his manifesto promises, we now know why Alex Salmond wasn’t prepared to debate his record in the studio.
 
“It is becoming clearer by the day that the SNP have cynically broken their word to the Scottish people. They made lots of promises before the last election – and they are now breaking their flagship election promises. He should apologise for trying to hoodwink the people of Scotland."
 
Labour’s Glasgow East by-election candidate Margaret Curran added:
 
“The fact that Alex Salmond refused to debate David Cairns on whether he would keep his manifesto promises speaks volumes. The people of the East End of Glasgow in this by-election expect politicians to mean what they say. On the evidence of the SNP leaders’ failure to answer the most basic question about whether he would keep his promises – why should the people of the East End trust the SNP on their local promises if they can’t keep their national pledges.
 
“If Alex Salmond won’t come clean I challenge Councillor Mason, the SNP candidate to confirm whether his party and its ministers intend to keep the promises they made to the Scottish people last May. The people of Glasgow and Scotland deserve an honest answer to that question.”