Nicola Sturgeon named her price today for putting Jeremy Corbyn in power: a Scottish independence referendum next year.
The SNP leader and Scottish First Minister warned Boris Johnson not to stand in the way of a new separatist vote as she suggested she would be prepared to help the Labour leader become prime minister.
The Scottish First Minister said she would not do any deals with the current prime minister if the there was a hung parliament but was open to an informal arrangement with Labour.
Mr Johnson has constantly said he will not grant a new referendum, but launching the SNP’s election campaign today in Edinburgh Ms Sturgeon said that if it is the largest party in Scotland after the election, it would give them a mandate.
‘My intention is that the people of Scotland decide Scotland’s future in an independence referendum next year,’ she said.
‘The SNP already has a cast-iron mandate for an independence referendum, based on our explicit manifesto pledge for the 2016 Holyrood election.
‘So if the SNP wins this election in Scotland, the question should not be to me or to the SNP; what will you do if Westminster refuses?
‘The question must be to Boris Johnson and to Westminster; what gives you the right to block the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland?
‘That is an undemocratic, untenable and unsustainable position.’
Ms Sturgeon told the campaign launch in Edinburgh today (pictured) : ‘I’m no fan of Jeremy Corbyn, but you must work with what is in front of you’
Mr Johnson (pictured today in Mansfield) has constantly said he will not grant a new referendum
Mr Corbyn has previously said he would be open to a new Scottish independence referendum, albeit not in the immediate future
Ms Sturgeon also said that a vote for her nationalist party was ‘a vote to escape Brexit’
Ms Sturgeon she was open to a ‘progressive alliance’, suggesting she could back Mr Corbyn in exchange for a new referendum.
She said: ‘I’m no fan of Jeremy Corbyn, but you must work with what is in front of you … we would drive a hard bargain.’
Mr Corbyn has previously said he would be open to a new Scottish independence referendum, albeit not in the immediate future.
The last referendum in 2014 saw the country vote 55-45 in favour of staying in the UK.
Ms Sturgeon also said that a vote for her nationalist party was ‘a vote to escape Brexit’.
But Tory Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: ‘Today Nicola Sturgeon admitted that she and Corbyn will make 2020 the year of two more chaotic referendums.
‘If Jeremy Corbyn wants to get his hands on the keys to Number 10 he would have to rely on votes from Nicola Sturgeon and the price tag of that support is clear for all to see – another Scottish independence referendum in 2020.
‘A vote for Nicola Sturgeon or Corbyn will only lead to more parliamentary gridlock and a year lost to referendums on Brexit and Scotland.
Earlier the FM had warned that the NHS is ‘not for sale at any price’ today in a blast at Donald Trump over a post-Brexit trade deal.
Ms Sturgeon unveiled plans to introduce a law blocking the health service from being picked off in international commerce agreements at the SNP election campaign launch this morning
Ms Sturgeon claims that despite health policy being devolved to the Scottish Parliament, the UK Government could still ‘sell off’ the NHS in trade negotiations
She unveiled plans to introduce a law blocking the health service from being picked off in international commerce agreements at the SNP election campaign launch this morning.
The Scottish First Minister plans to introduce the NHS Protection Bill in the next parliament, claiming it will ensure the health service is not used as a ‘bargaining chip’ in trade deals.
Ms Sturgeon claims that despite health policy being devolved to the Scottish Parliament, the UK Government could still ‘sell off’ the NHS in trade negotiations.
Opposition parties have expressed concern about the possibility of the NHS being opened up to American healthcare companies in a trade deal, after US President Donald Trump said ‘everything was on the table’ during a joint press conference with then prime minister Theresa May.
Ms Sturgeon said: ‘We will fight tooth and nail any attempt to expose the national health service to a post-Brexit trade deal with Donald Trump.
‘That’s why after the election, SNP MPs will bring forward a new law – an NHS protection Bill – to explicitly protect the NHS in all four countries of the UK from becoming a bargaining chip in future trade deals.
‘It would prevent companies from taking legal action through investment protection or investor-state dispute resolution mechanisms.
‘It would ensure that confidential discounts for expensive medicines would not be at risk.
‘And it would stipulate that, before any trade deal could come into force, the Scottish Parliament and the other devolved legislatures would need to give their explicit content.’
Donald Trump said ‘everything was on the table’ during a joint press conference with then prime minister Theresa May earlier this year
The proposed NHS law stands little chance of passing unless Boris Johnson loses power in the December 12 election, or there is a hung parliament.
If the Conservatives win the SNP could introduce it as a private members’ bill, but unless the government agrees to back it, it is likely it would lose when put to a vote.
The First Minister called on opposition parties to support the Bill.
She said: ‘All parties say they oppose including the NHS in trade deals – so I challenge every party to today commit to backing this Bill, and stopping the Tories trading our NHS for trade deals with Donald Trump.’