ANNABEL Goldie's Scottish Conservatives are offering to support a minority Labour administration in a "stability pact" after next year's Holyrood election.
The Tory leaderwants to talk up her party as a power-broker and remove the Liberal Democrat position as the minority party with which the Labour or Scottish National parties would have to do deals.
The possible coalition landscape is changing fast, with a report yesterday of Labour and Green leaders in talks, and The Herald seeing a private SNP discussion paper suggesting Nationalists should offer an alliance with Labour.
Miss Goldie has hinted in recent speeches about the need to reinvent the system of coalition government for Holyrood's third term, arguing there is no need for a formal pact and pre-agreed programme.
She has said Labour should be willing to run a minority administration, requiring it to win support from other parties on an issue-by-issue basis. She also said recently that the SNP should drop its objection to doing any deals with Tories, dating back to its hostility to Thatcherism.
Murdo Fraser, the Tory deputy leader, yesterday made clear his party is willing to support Jack McConnell as first minister, backing him in votes of no confidence.
He said: "This is not about propping up any particular party. It is about creating a new parliament in Scotland where issues are debated and agreements reached on an issue-byissue basis. Many see this as preferable to cosy coalition deals behind closed doors, where four years of government is decided in advance".
Although Labour and Tories are traditionally hostile to one another, it is an option with growing appeal to Labour as it can agree with Tories on crime, nuclear power and local council tax policies, whereas there are rifts opening up between the current coalition partners on all those issues and more.
A spokesman for the Labour Party said: "The Tories are so out of touch with the people of Scotland it is understandable they would rather talk about coalition and deals instead of focusing on promoting their own policies. Labour in the Scottish Parliament has a strong record and we will fight to win seats from every party, including the Tories."
The idea was ridiculed by Alex Salmond yesterday, saying it was like the Cold War nuclear tactic of "mutually assured destruction" for both Labour and Tories. He said polling evidence shows hardly any Conservative supporters see Labour as their second preference, and almost all think Labour has been in power too long.
"Meanwhile, for Labour supporters, it is totally demoralising to be given the final proof that New Labour have morphed into the old Tories, " said the SNP leader.
Amid alternative coalition prospects, it was reported yesterday that Mr McConnell has been in talks with Robin Harper, the Scottish Green joint leader, about the prospects for deals after next May's election. A Labour source said he "didn't recognise" the story, which is significantly short of a denial.
The Herald has also learned of private discussions within the Nationalist party, which include the option of talking up a deal with its main rival, Scottish Labour. In a private memo James Robb, one of the SNP's Holyrood hopefuls for next year, has put forward a strategy that would not rule out coalition with any other party, "but our preferred partner is Labour".
Meanwhile David Cameron has steered the Tories to a 10point opinion poll lead in just six months, according to a new opinion poll. The Ipsos/MORI survey put the party on 41-per cent - up 10 since he took over as leader. Labour fell to 31-per cent and the LibDems slipped to 18-per cent.
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