The SNP would not shy away from reducing the number of Scottish police forces to protect frontline policing, Alex Salmond has warned.
The First Minister told the party’s annual conference in Perth yesterday that such measures might be necessary in the face of “the most ferocious series of cuts witnessed in our lifetimes.”
He told the party faithful in Perth Concert Hall that bureaucracy in the police and NHS would come under intense scrutiny in order to maintain the frontline services of both organisations.
“If it comes down to a choice between cops and bureaucracy, between bobbies on the beat and the boundaries of police authorities, then with me it’s simple it’s policemen first, safety first, communities first, bobbies before boundaries,” he said.
“We will economise on police bureaucracy to protect the frontline. We will economise on NHS management to protect the frontline.”
In a rousing address which had one eye firmly on the next election, Mr Salmond called on the people of Scotland to cast off the “Westminster straitjacket” and take control of their own destiny if they want to protect jobs.
Mr Salmond set out his vision of how only independence, rather that just a Scottish Parliament, could deliver the society he craves.
“We face an election in a short while,” he said. “To my mind, the choice is simple. Either Scotland stays in the Westminster straightjacket of low growth, public sector cutbacks and blighted futures or we take responsibility and deliver the better society we all want.
“Should there be any doubt, then what I mean by independence is the profound right to enjoy the same equality of opportunity and to live in more equal communities. What I mean by independence is jobs to protect and create them.
“Is this a grand dream? Yes, but that is the difference between us and the other parties in this coming election. We have the vision and we have the means to deliver it.
“For be assured, I do not want independence for its own sake, but for the sake of the people here and now and those to come.
“I will not be a manager of Westminster-directed cuts nor part of a parliament which acts as a message boy for decisions made elsewhere.
“I want to see a better nation. I want us to act together, in common purpose, to deliver that better land.”
In a well-received speech, which started and ended with a standing ovation, Mr Salmond said the SNP had a legacy to be proud of.
He said they had ended tuition fees and bridge tolls, frozen council tax, ended prescription charges and put an extra 1000 policemen and women on the streets and delivered 1000 extra cleaners in hospitals.
The First Minister pledged to continue the council tax freeze for the next two years and said this alone may turn out to be a “defining issue” in the next election.
However, he acknowledged that there was a “big fight” looming.
“The cuts will be bad,” he said. “The pain will be great but I fight because I know how we should act.”