Salmond signals preference for Labour minority rule The Scottish National party would favour a Labour minority government over a new coalition, Scotland's outgoing first minister Alex Salmond has signalled, as he predicted it could win more than 25 seats in Westminster next May. His confidence that the Nationalists are poised to play a pivotal role in post-election manoeuvring rests on polls showing collapsing support for Labour in Scotland, as well as a surge in new members that has made the SNP the UK's third largest party despite drawing on less than a 10th of the total population. Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Salmond's deputy and successor as party leader and first minister, is emphatic there is no chance the Conservative party, which is widely unpopular in Scotland, would gain any "succour or support" from the SNP, he said. She has declined to rule out the possibility of the SNP joining a coalition with Labour. Mr Salmond stressed the decision would be hers, but suggested his preference would be for a Labour minority government if May's election resulted in a hung parliament. Mr Salmond, who steps down as leader of the Scottish National party on Friday, two months after losing the independence referendum, reiterated he has not decided whether to stand himself for a Westminster seat in May. It currently has six of Scotland's 59 seats in the House of Commons. The experience of the SNP's 2007-2011 minority administration in Edinburgh's assembly showed such an arrangement can be successful, Mr Salmond said, waving aside objections that governing without a majority might spook investors. "The best positioning for parties in that situation [of a minority administration] is to negotiate point by point," he said. Mr Salmond also suggested the SNP could be flexible on its longstanding principle of not voting on Westminster legislation that does not directly affect Scotland. He noted that in the past the party has on occasion voted on non-Scottish bills such as the introduction of university tuition fees and of foundation hospitals. In an apparent hint the price of such co-operation could be high, he said such an approach would make the SNP's negotiating position stronger. "The influence you have in a parliamentary situation doesn't just come from voting, it can come from not voting," he said. Believe me, it's a position redolent with opportunity and the more freedom of movement you have in these matters, the better. It was a good bet that the SNP would gain more than 25 seats in May, Mr Salmond said, noting recent extremely low support ratings for all the main UK party leaders.