Miliband finally rules out Coalition with the SNP after Sturgeon makes pitch for alliance to 'lock the Tories out of government'

.SNP chief said she would vote Green in England and Plaid Cymru in Wales

• .But she called for deal with Labour after the election to keep the Tories out
• .Ms Sturgeon she she would impose left-wing policies across the UK
• .She said the SNP wanted to do more than just serve Scotland's interests

By TOM MCTAGUE, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE

Ed Miliband today finally ruled out going into coalition with the SNP after the election.

The Labour leader said a formal coalition 'will not happen' - but failed to rule out forming a looser alliance on a vote-by-vote basis.

It comes after Ms Sturgeon had earlier insisted an SNP-Labour alliance was the only way to 'lock the Tories out of government'. 

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Labour leader Ed Miliband said a formal coalition with the SNP 'will not happen' - but failed to rule out forming a looser alliance on a vote-by-vote basis

The Scottish First Minister said she could not understand why the Labour Party would rule out working with the SNP after the election because it would give them the chance to kick David Cameron out of Number 10.

But Mr Miliband this morning attempted to play down the chances of Labour striking a deal with Ms Sturgeon.

Speaking in Leeds, Mr Miliband said the Tories were running a ‘misleading campaign based on the idea of a Labour-SNP coalition’. He said: ‘This idea is nonsense. It will not happen. There are big differences between us.

‘Not just on the integrity of the United Kingdom and another referendum but on fair funding between the countries of the UK. And on fair taxes.

‘In continuing to repeat this claim, the Conservative Party and David Cameron are simply trying to scare people. Labour will not go into coalition government with the SNP. There will be no SNP ministers in any government I lead.’

Ms Sturgeon has consistently played down the prospect of a formal coalition with Labour. She has insisted that a looser alliance between the parties to prop up a minority Labour government is more likely. 

But despite her pitch for a Labour-SNP alliance to keep the Tories out of power, Ms Sturgeon this morning called for English voters to back the Greens in May. 

She also confirmed that she would try to impose the SNP's policies on voters outside Scotland if she was given the chance.

The Scottish First Minister said she wanted to see left-wing policies imposed across the whole of the UK, including more spending on benefits and the end of Britain's Trident nuclear weapons programme.

Ms Sturgeon said this meant voting for the Greens in England - not Labour - even though she claimed an alliance with Ed Miliband after the election was the only way of keeping David Cameron out of Number 10.

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Ms Sturgeon, appearing on ITV's Lorraine show, claimed that if Labour ruled out a deal with the SNP they would be saying they were happy to see David Cameron 'waltz back in to Number 10'

Ms Sturgeon said: 'If you live in Wales I'd advise you to vote vote for Plaid Cymru, if you live in England I think there's an argument for voting Green.

'I'm a progressive politician. In Scotland that means vote SNP without a shadow of a doubt. I want to see as many progressive voices in the House of Commons after the election – that is SNP, Green, Plaid Cymru.'

She said: 'We won't just serve Scotland's interests, although we will most certainly do that.

'But we will seek to do more than that if we get the opportunity, we will also seek to play our part in bringing about positive, long lasting and progressive change right across the UK.'

The remarks will be jumped on by Tory MPs as further evidence that the Scottish Nationalists could prop up a Labour Government even if Ed Miliband fails to win a majority in May.

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David Cameron's chances of remaining Prime Minister have been boosted by the SNP's surge in Scotland

And despite calling on voters to back the Greens in England and Plaid Cymru in Wales, Ms Sturgeon said she it would be 'odd' for Labour to rule out going into Coalition with the SNP.

She said: 'I can't for the life of me see why Labour wouldn't want to work with the SNP. We can lock the Tories out of Government.'

Appearing on ITV's Lorraine show earlier, Ms Sturgeon said: 'If Labour were to rule out working with the SNP, which is a progressive party, they would kind of be saying they would be happy standing back and watch David Cameron waltz back in to Number 10.'

She added: 'I think a lot of people in Scotland would find that very difficult to take, so I watch with interest. I think it would be an odd move for Labour to make to rule out any kind of working with the SNP because it would be signalling that they would rather see the Tories back in government.'

Ms Sturgeon added: 'During the referendum campaign, we were repeatedly told by the Westminster politicians that Scotland was an equal and valued member of the United Kingdom, that, contrary to how many of us feel, our voice did matter within the Westminster system.

'So don't be at all surprised if the SNP, the Scottish Government and indeed Scotland as a whole now starts to take those Westminster politicians at their word.

'We have clear and constructive views on many aspects of UK policy which affect Scotland deeply, views which are often shared by many people elsewhere in the UK. We intend to bring those ideas forward in a positive spirit.'

She said Labour would push for more welfare spending and the scrapping of Britain's Trident nuclear weapons.

The Scottish First Minister made the remarks at a speech to the London School of Economics this morning.

She said a minority UK Government propped up by the SNP could lead to more considered and consensual policies for the whole of the UK.

Ms Sturgeon confirmed the SNP will not enter any formal or informal coalition with the Conservatives but suggested she could use her experience of four years in a minority Scottish Government to strike deals with a minority Labour UK Government.

Speaking at the LSE, the First Minister said: 'The process UK governments follow now allows virtually no time for proper deliberation or consultation.

'That problem is made worse by the way in which successive governments have approached the budget.

'Chancellors take pride in pulling rabbits out of the hat. Surprises are seen as a virtue. They help to create headlines and wrong-foot the opposition.

'It's much more difficult for that to happen in Scotland. The Scottish Government has to publish a detailed draft budget each September, four months before the budget bill is laid before Parliament.