Humza Yousaf has insisted the SNP can put a brake on Labour “lurching to the right” if the party holds the balance of power in a hung parliament at Westminster.
Yesterday, UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer ruled out a coalition with the SNP over “fundamental difference” on independence.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar insisted his colleagues at Westminster would reject any coalition or deal with the SNP.
Read more: Starmer rules out SNP deal over independence 'fundamental difference'
He said: “No ifs, no buts, no deals with the SNP."
But the Labour leader refused to rule out working with the LibDems if he needed to, in order to become the next prime minister.
But the First Minister said the reality is if Labour require the number to form a government could see them being more open about working with the SNP.
Mr Yosuaf also stressed that his party would be “prepared to co-operate with Labour” in a hung parliament, but said the SNP would insist that Sir Keir moves back towards a more progressive agenda.
Speaking to LBC Radio in Glasgow, the FM said: “I think what is said in the midst of an election campaign is very different to the real politics once the results come in.
Read more: Analysis: New SNP blueprint lines up Labour as main target
“We are absolutely determined to work with other parties to make sure we lock out the Tories.”
The First Minister said that “it’s very clear to me that Labour is lurching to the right”, pointing to the party confirming it will not undo controversial anti-protest legislation that has been cricitised by the UN.
He added: “Look at the recent announcements around the fact that the Labour party, if they do get into government, won’t unpick legislation that is there to not facilitate protests, to stop lawful and peaceful protest from going ahead.
Read more: Stephen Flynn challenges Rishi Sunak over Coronation arrests
“So we will make sure that we ensure that the Labour party go back to where they should be in terms of the progressive agenda.
“What we’ll also make sure we’ll do in the event of a hung parliament, which is a very real prospect, is we’re prepared to co-operate with Labour but of course, we have demands for it, there will be a price for it.
“We can see already that there’s the possibility of a potential hung parliament so Scotland could hold the balance of power. “
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel