Ed Miliband has ruled out a Labour-SNP coalition in the
event of a hung Parliament after May's election.
The Labour leader said any alliance would "not
happen" as there were "big differences" between the two parties
There will be no SNP ministers in any government I
lead," he said, claiming such talk was "scare-mongering" by his
Conservative opponents.
The SNP has said it could help support a minority Labour
government in power if there is no outright winner in May.
The SNP's rise in the opinion polls has fuelled talk it may
hold the balance of power.
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said earlier on Monday that her
party would strive to bring "positive change across the UK" if it
played any role in the next government, serving the UK's interests as well as
those of Scotland.
Mr Miliband has repeatedly said that talk of any
post-election deal with the SNP was nonsense but has stopped short, until now,
of explicitly ruling it out.
Integrity of UK'
The Conservatives have seized on this to suggest that Labour
is trying to get into power "on the coat tails" of the SNP.
Speaking at a campaign event in Leeds, Mr Miliband said
Labour was striving "100%" for a majority so it could "bring
about the change Britain needs".
On persistent talk from his opponents of a post-election
deal with SNP, he said: "There are big differences between us on a whole
range of issues, not just on the integrity of the UK and another referendum but
on fair funding between the countries of the UK and fair taxes.
In repeating this claim, the Conservatives and David Cameron
are simply trying to scare people. Labour will not go into coalition with the
SNP
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