By Paul Hutcheon Scottish Political Editor
First minister Alex Salmond has warned David Cameron he will challenge an incoming Tory government on policies he says the Conservatives have "no mandate" to introduce.
The SNP leader says his administration, as well as civic Scotland, will resist Cameron's plans to cut welfare benefits, replace Trident and slash the country's funding settlement - and oppose any attempt by future Tory ministers to set fisheries and marine policy.
The comments come as the Tory leader celebrates his party's by-election win over Labour in Crewe, which commentators believe makes him favourite to be the next prime minister.
Speaking to the Sunday Herald, the first minister pointed to a recent YouGov poll which showed people in the UK expected the Tories to defeat Labour at the next general election.However, he said the Scottish breakdown of the poll, which showed half as many Scots believe Cameron will take Gordon Brown's job, was significant.
"I think it shows the strength of resistance to the idea of a Tory government," he said.
Salmond expects the Tories to win "three or four seats in Scotland", a tally he says will give the party almost no legitimacy to scrap the Barnett Formula, the scheme that determines increases to Scotland's block grant.
"The reality is that David Cameron intends to cut Scotland's finances but a Conservative government will certainly have no mandate to force this policy down Scotland's throat," he said.
Salmond also said his government would resist some of Cameron's UK policies, such as the Tory plan to "time-limit" unemployment benefit. On the replacement of Trident, which the Nationalists oppose, he said: "Would it be tenable for a Conservative government to impose Trident against the wishes of a majority of Scottish MPs and MSPs? I think the churches and civic Scotland would have something to say.
"Even the attempt to say, we are in control of defence policy', will create some unpleasant difficulties for a Conservative government."
The first minister said the Tories should defer to Holyrood on other areas of policy: "David Cameron will have to be aware that a Conservative government will have no mandate over a range of Scottish policies that have a devolved and reserved overlap, such as fisheries and marine policy."
The remarks appear to hint at the troubled relations an SNP government in Edinburgh would have with a Tory administration in London. A Scottish Tory spokesman said: "A Conservative government will respect the democratic decision-making of a devolved Scotland. Any SNP government should show the same respect to a democratically elected UK government."
