General Election 2015: Miliband rules out 'any kind' of deal with SNP if Labour biggest party in hung parliament

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/generalelection/general-election-2015-miliband-rules-out-any-kind-of-deal-with-snp-if-labour-biggest-party-in-hung-parliament-10204707.html

Version 0 of 1.

Ed Miliband has ruled out “any kind” of deal with the Scottish National Party if Labour is the biggest party in a hung parliament next month.

The Labour leader toughened his language on the issue as a fresh poll showed Nicola Sturgeon’s party was on course to pick up dozens of seats from Labour on May 7.

That could leave him dependant on SNP support to get its legislation through the Commons if he heads a minority government.

Mr Miliband has already firmly rejected any suggestion of a coalition between Labour and the Nationalists.

But he went further when he was asked whether he could accept their support for a minority Labour government’s budgets and in a confidence vote – a so-called “confidence and supply” arrangement – in return for concessions. He replied: “I am not interested in deals, no.”

The Labour leader said: “If it is a Labour government it will be a Labour Queen’s Speech, it will be a Labour Budget. It will not be written by the SNP.”

Are you undecided about who to vote for on 7 May? Are you confused about what the parties stand for and what they are offering? Take this interactive quiz to help you decide who to vote for...

Click here to launch

The Conservatives have mounted a fierce campaign attack on Labour in recent days claiming that Mr Miliband would be “held to ransom” by the SNP if he gets into Downing Street.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, said: “There is no way Miliband could conceivably govern except with the help of the SNP, maybe crouching on his back like a monkey or whatever. I don't want to use any more ill-advised animal metaphors, but that is the reality, and I think it is actually deeply alarming.”

A Panelbase survey today put the SNP on a commanding 48 per cent support in Scotland, with Labour on 27 per cent, the Conservatives on 16 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 4 per cent.

That could result in the number of SNP MPs leaping from six to 53, with Labour reduced from 41 to just five. The Liberal Democrats could lose all but one of the 11 seats they won five years ago, while the Tories would lose their solitary seat.