Salmond threatens to block a Tory minority government

Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader and a prospective MP, has warned that his party will try to block a minority Conservative government if it holds the post-election balance of power.

Salmond, who stood down as party leader after narrowly losing the bid for Scottish independence last year, is hoping to become a Westminster MP in May and believes the SNP could "hold the power" in a hung parliament.

He told the New Statesman that the Tories would have to go for a vote of confidence, usually the Queen's Speech, but said "it could be otherwise, of course, and we'd be voting against". He added: "So if Labour joins us in that pledge, then that's Cameron locked out."

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There would then be a two-week period to form another government, he said.

The Conservatives accused Salmond of "trying to sabotage the democratic will of the British people", while Labour, which has ruled out a formal coalition with the Scottish nationalists, called his balance of power prediction "bluster and bluff".

Nevertheless, opinion polls suggest the number of SNP seats at Westminster could increase dramatically at the general election.

According to Parliament.uk, the first parliamentary test of a minority or coalition government is the parliamentary vote on an amendment to the Queen's Speech, the government's legislative programme for the session, which is read out by the Queen shortly after the election.

"If the Queen's Speech is amended, the Prime Minister must resign," it says.

However, the New Statesman says that as a result of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, introduced under Cameron's leadership, a specific motion would also have to be passed stating that the "House has no confidence in Her Majesty’s Government".

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will lead any post-election negotiations for the party, but the BBC says Salmond "seems certain to have a role" if he becomes an MP.

Ramsay MacDonald formed the first Labour government in 1924 after the Conservative Party, led by Stanley Baldwin, lost its majority at the general election and then lost a vote on the King's speech.