Sturgeon Vows SNP Will Protect NHS

The Scottish National Party will ensure the NHS in England receives the #8 billion it has requested to keep the service running by 2020, leader Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The nationalists will reverse Labour's devotion to the macho cuts agenda of the Tories'' and deliverprogressive policies for the benefit of the whole UK'', she said ahead of a campaign speech in Dumfries.

The party hopes to secure enough MPs to wield an influence over a minority Labour government - despite Ed Miliband's insistence that a Labour government

is not going to happen'' if he has to rely on SNP support.

Ms Sturgeon said: We all rely at some point in our lives on our National Health Service, but it isn't perfect.

In England the head of the NHS says it needs an additional £8 billion to keep the health service running by 2020.

Yet because of their devotion to the macho cuts agenda of the Tories, the Labour Party have failed to pledge that money to the NHS."

And the Tories have failed to say where they would find the money from."

The SNP will not let that stand. We will protect the NHS. We will vote against privatisation, to undo the damage the Tories have done - and we will always vote for the NHS to have the money it needs."

Proper investment in the NHS in England will generate an extra £2 billion for the NHS in Scotland. That is just one of the policies we know people want - and which we will use our influence at Westminster to deliver.''

She said this Thursday's election is about investing in childcare and education, not Trident nuclear weapons missiles''.

It is about giving Scotland the power and the voice at Westminster that we need to deliver progressive policies for the benefit of the whole UK,'' she said.

By people in Scotland coming together to deliver a strong voice at Westminster, we can put those priorities and those values at the heart of the next Westminster parliament."

And we will do that not just for Scotland - but for the UK as a whole.''