 Mr Salmond said donations outstripped the Tories |
The Scottish National Party has expressed delight at the latest figures on party funding. The statistics from the Electoral Commission showed the Nationalists received �550,518 in donations in the last quarter of 2006.
That was the highest amount the party has received since records began some six years ago.
Nationalist leader Alex Salmond said the party was ahead of the Tories when electoral area was taken into account.
The Tories received �5.3m during the same period.
Mr Salmond said his party was benefiting from the ongoing 'cash for honours' scandal at Westminster.
He added: "The SNP is actually one of the few parties that people can give money to with no suggestion there is any ulterior motive whatsoever.
 |  I would like to know how much of the finance of the Labour Party campaign is being raised in Scotland |
"All we have to offer people is a principle and idea, a political programme to change Scotland for the better."
The figures showed that the Scottish Green Party raised �25,915, the Scottish Socialist Party �17,915 and the UK Liberal Democrats �2.3m.
Mr Salmond questioned how much of the money raised by the UK Labour Party - �2.64m in the last quarter - would go towards the upcoming Holyrood campaign.
The Banff and Buchan MP also asked how much of a recent �2m gift from steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal would be spent in Scotland ahead of May's elections.
Mr Salmond added: "I would like to know how much of the finance of the Labour Party campaign is being raised in Scotland.
"I suspect as far as the Labour campaign is concerned, he who pays the piper calls the tune, that London is calling the tune because London pays the piper."
True cost
But Labour's campaign chair, Cathy Jamieson MSP, said that Mr Salmond had misrepresented the nature of the SNP's campaign funding.
She added: "Over the last year, the Scottish Nationalists have raised less than �1m, 35% of which has come from the public purse through state funding.
"For the Labour Party's election campaign every penny spent in Scotland will be raised in Scotland.
"Alex Salmond must come clean on how much of taxpayers' money he spends on political campaigning.
"It's no wonder he has such difficulties explaining the true cost of his expensive plans for separation when he cannot explain the true cost of his own election campaign."
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