Salmond pledges 'local champions' for Scotland
Updated on 06 March 2010
With Gordon Brown set to fire the starting gun for the general election within the next few weeks, the Scottish National Party has made sure it is first out of the blocks by launching its campaign.
The party's leader and Scotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, has promised that SNP MPs will become "local champions" for Scottish people.
The event was held in the Edinburgh East constituency, a key target seat for the nationalists.
But there has been bad news in recent opinion polls for Mr Salmond. The last Ipsos-Mori poll showed the first minister's voter satisfaction rating down by 9 per cent, falling behind Gordon Brown's score.
Mr Salmond told Channel 4 News: "You don't win elections on opinion polls.
"You win them by capturing the mood of the people, and we think we're catching the mood.
"People are looking for local champions for their communities and a national champion for Scotland.
"Whatever you poll you take, the SNP are going to gain seats. And if this parliament to come is going to be a hung parliament... I'd like to see it balanced in Scottish hands."
He added: "Plaid Cymru are our Welsh sister party. Together we are being excluded from these television debates, quite unfairly.
"We are working together to make sure we can maximise the influence of Scotland and Wales in the next parliament."
