Alex Salmond yesterday challenged Gordon Brown to work with an SNP government, if the Nationalist leader becomes First Minister after tomorrow's election.

The challenge followed a refusal by the Chancellor to say whether he would work with an SNP administration once, as expected, he becomes Prime Minister.

Mr Salmond said that if the government could talk to former violent adversaries in Northern Ireland, it should respect the democratic wishes of Scots.

This was accompanied by an audacious claim by the SNP leader to inherit the political mantle of the late Scottish Labour leader Donald Dewar, both in his referendum plans and in building national confidence.

Mr Salmond was speaking in Edinburgh on the second last day of Holyrood campaigning, saying he can work with the Westminster government, citing renewable energy as an example.

He said Labour's 50-year dominance of Scottish politics faces its end this week, and that there is no more "divine right" for the party to run Scotland. He said Mr Brown was making a "ridiculous attempt to bully Scotland into doing what he wants, which will backfire badly".

The SNP leader went on to say that formal mechanisms for managing the relationship between Whitehall and St Andrew's House will need to be used if there are different parties in charge on either side of the border.

This is because the joint ministerial committees have not met for the past five years and could involve disputes being resolved through an untested legal procedure.

On the 300th anniversary of the Scotland-England Union, Mr Salmond noted the lack of bunting and celebration. Pushing towards an independence referendum, he stressed there is common ground and room for compromise with the Liberal Democrats, including a ballot option of extra devolved powers.

Mr Salmond sought to link himself to the legacy of the late Scottish Labour leader, stressing that the first First Minister's speech at the 1999 Scottish Parliament opening had not put limits on home rule.

The SNP leader said Mr Dewar was the opponent who "encapsulated best the change in the move to Scottish confidence".

He claimed: "He and I had many debates and spats over the years. But the (1997 devolution) referendum campaign was his finest hour. The referendum framework was Donald Dewar's legacy.

"In particular I liked and admired his first speech to the Scottish Parliament when he spoke of the nature of Scotland and its diversity. That speech did not try to set any arbitrary limit on Scotland's progress. He emphasised that was a matter for the people of Scotland to decide."

An independent think tank, The National Institute of Economic and Social Research cast doubts on the SNP plans to boost Scottish economic growth. It claimed Scottish productivity growth is weak, leaving it vulnerable to fiscal deficits after a few years of North Sea oil providing a financial cushion. It also said that would make it difficult to achieve Irish-style corporate tax cuts.