John Swinney has warned of a “lot of disruption” if MSPs fail to back his government’s budget. 

While, the First Minister insisted his party was ready for an early Holyrood election, he urged opposition parties to back his administration’s tax and spending plans, due to be set out next week, and work for "the collective good."

The SNP is three MSPs short of a majority in Holyrood, which means Finance Secretary Shona Robison needs the support of the opposition to get her Budget Bill through Parliament.

Failing to do so could trigger a vote of no confidence in the government, which could then ultimately spark an extraordinary general election.

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It seems increasingly unlikely that either Labour or the Tories will back the SNP, but both the Greens and the Lib Dems have set out their spending priorities.

Over the weekend, the Scottish LibDems made it clear they will vote down the Budget if it contains any spending on independence.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens have said they will only back the Budget if no cuts to independence spending are made.

Asked by The Herald if he was confident he could get a Budget Bill through Holyrood, Mr Swinney said: “We need other people to assist us in getting the Budget through and I’m saying that if we don’t have enough votes then we don’t have a Budget and there will be a lot of disruption and on [the start of the next fiscal year] April 1 there will be no budget plans in place that will afford public services at the level they will expect.

“That’s the very real, practical difficulty that will be faced and I want to avoid that so I’m saying to all members of Parliament that, of course, we are going to bring forward a Budget, it’s the product of a lot dialogue across Scotland and with other political parties – Shona Robison and Ivan McKee have been involved in a huge amount of discussion.

“We’ll bring forward a proposition that reflects what we think can be delivered within the resources that are available.”

If the Scottish Goverment cannot pass its budget, they must cap any spending at the previous year’s levels, effectively a real-term cut for services including the NHS and local government, ultimately leading to swingeing cuts.

Asked if the SNP were ready for an early election if the Budget fails, Mr Swinney said: “If it was necessary then we would have to be.”

Pressed further on the question, he added: “Yes, we are.”

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The First Minister was speaking after a speech at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, where he outlined his vision for government.  Mr Swinney told the audience: “In a Parliament of minorities, no political party is a mere bystander in the Budget process,” he said.

“More appropriately, they should be seen as partners, certainly that is how I have always seen them in my many years of negotiating budget Bills.

“I hope that is how they see themselves.

“Opposition for opposition’s sake is all well and good where governments have comfortable majorities, but put simply, in the Scottish Parliament today, if there is no collaboration, there is no Budget Bill.”

He added: “We can choose to be mired in party politics, or we can choose to put first and foremost our duty to the people we represent.

“We can act with wisdom in the collective good, we can advance the prospects of the people of Scotland, but only if we are prepared to reach agreement to do so.”

In his address, the First Minister also said his Government would seek to take hard decisions to ensure long term improvements in the country, warning against “surface solutions” which may be easier and more politically rewarding.

“I’m not here to dictate from on high to those on the front line,” he said.

“I’m prepared to roll my sleeves up, and the sleeves of my Government, to properly understand the barriers to progress and to find solutions.”