General election: SNP would support 'progressive alliance' in event of a hung parliament, says Nicola Sturgeon

The SNP will look to be part of a progressive alliance with Labour if the general election results in a hung parliament, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

Scotland’s First Minister and SNP leader said she did not think Jeremy Corbyn was “credible as an alternative prime minister”, but that she would nonetheless seek to work with Labour and others to “pursue progressive policies” in the event of a hung parliament.

Speaking to Andrew Neil in a BBC interview on Sunday, Ms Sturgeon said: “If there was to be a hung parliament of course we would look to be part of a progressive alliance that pursued progressive policies.”

But she added that the outcome of the election was likely to see a Tory majority, and that her priority was to encourage voters in Scotland to vote SNP.

She said: “But let’s get back to the reality of this election. The reality of this election, even with a narrowing of the polls, is that we’re going to face a Tory government perhaps with a bigger majority.

“So my priority in this election is to say to people in Scotland: if you want Scotland’s interest to be protected and our voice heard, then you’ve got to vote SNP to make sure that’s the case.

“Voting Tory deliveries Tory MPs who’ll rubber stamp Theresa May and voting Labour in Scotland risks letting the Tories in.”

When asked whether she would prefer Ms May or Mr Corbyn in Downing Street, Ms Sturgeon said: “I don’t want a Tory prime minister. I don’t want to see a Tory government.”

She also said she was “proud” to see the SNP’s left-wing policies borrowed by Mr Corbyn, concluding that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery".

Following Ms Sturgeon’s comments, Conservative party chairman Patrick McLoughlin said a deal between the SNP and Labour “would mean Jeremy Corbyn propped up by a weak and unstable coalition just days before the Brexit negotiations start – putting at risk the deal we need to get”.

He said: “Corbyn and the rest would put up taxes, weaken our defences and increase immigration. And we know he would give in to Sturgeon’s demand for another independence referendum because he’s absolutely fine with that.

“In the days of shock election results, Jeremy Corbyn could become PM – and the polls are tightening.”

The Conservatives also posted a tweet reading: “Nicola Sturgeon confirms to Andrew Neil that she would prop up a ‘progressive alliance’ in a coalition of chaos under Corbyn. Don't risk it.”

The Tories have frequently claimed in the lead-up to the general election that any coalition between Labour and other political parties would usher in a “coalition of chaos”.

In response to Ms Sturgeon's comments, Labour disputed that the party would do any deals with other parties, claiming there was "only one alternative and that's Labour".

A Labour spokesperson told The Independent: “We couldn’t be clearer on this: no deals. There’s only one alternative government and that’s Labour.

"The only way to get the change we need, to build a fair economy and strong public services is to vote Labour.”

While the Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders have consistently rejected the idea of forming alliances, the Green Party has supported the progressive alliance movement, and a number of local Labour and Lib Dem parties have defied their national parties and formed local alliances in an effort to oust Tory MPs.

Recent polls across the UK have shown the Tory lead over the Labour Party is narrowing.

Estimations for the best-case scenario have been revised by the Tories from a majority of 200 down to 80, while the projection for the worst-case scenario is a hung parliament, in which no party is able to get a majority.