SNP plots a ‘coalition of chaos’

May warns voters not to be tempted by Sturgeon’s plan for ‘progressive alliance’ with Labour and Lib Dems

BRITAIN will be run by a “coalition of chaos” if voters are tempted by Nicola Sturgeon’s plan for a “progressive alliance” of SNP, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, Theresa May warned last night.

After securing Parliament’s backing for a June 8 election, the Prime Minister said the country faced a “clear choice” between “strong and stable” leadership under the Conservatives, or a coalition thrown together to “prop up” Jeremy Corbyn.

Tory activists have been warned that complacency is the biggest threat to the party’s expected victory, which Ms Sturgeon, the Scottish First Minister, will try to exploit. Meeting SNP MPs in Westminster yesterday, Ms Sturgeon raised the prospect of an unofficial alliance of opposition parties – rather than a formal coalition – to defeat the Conservatives.

She said: “If the Parliamentary arithmetic lends itself to the SNP being part of a progressive alliance to keep the Tories out of government, then the SNP will seek to be part of that, as we said in 2015.”

Mrs May was quick to seize on the comment, knowing that talk of a coalition between Ed Miliband’s Labour and Ms Sturgeon’s SNP helped sink Labour at the last general election.

Meanwhile, Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, said there was “a real danger of Mr Corbyn and Ms Sturgeon cooking up a deal to suit both their purposes”.

In her first stump speech of the campaign, Mrs May appealed directly to the electorate as she asked them to “put their trust in me” and “give me the mandate to fight for Britain”. She immediately took the fight to the Opposition, flying to the target seat of Bolton North East, a Labour marginal that voted for Brexit in the EU referendum.

With a 21-point lead over Labour in some polls, Mrs May is confident she can wipe out the 4,377 majority of the sitting MP David Crausby, and Labour sources have privately conceded that any of their MPs with a majority of less than 5,000 in a pro-Brexit constituency could be out. Staring straight down the lens of a television camera, Mrs May said: “It is only with the Conservatives that you get the strong and stable leadership that this country needs to see us through Brexit and beyond.

“Only we can give that plan for a stronger Britain, for a more secure future. But only you can give us the mandate. So vote for the strong and stable leadership this country needs. Give me the mandate to lead Britain.

“Give me the mandate to speak for Britain. Give me the mandate to fight for Britain, and give me the mandate to deliver for Britain.”

Mrs May said the opposition parties “want to unite together to divide our country”.

Labour took almost seven hours to

issue an official statement ruling out a coalition deal with the SNP or a progressive alliance, but the statement left open the possibility of an informal pact with opposition parties if the election results in a hung parliament.

The Liberal Democrats ruled out a Labour-LibDem coalition.

Sir Vince Cable, who is fighting to regain his former seat in Twickenham on June 8, said there was “no prospect” of an electoral deal with Labour under Mr Corbyn’s leadership.

In the first YouGov poll taken since Mrs May called for a snap election the Conservatives are in the lead by 48 per cent, an increase of four per cent on the last poll taken a week ago, according to The Times.

Labour is on 24 per cent, with a one per cent increase since the April 12-13 poll, the Lib Dems remain at 12 per cent and Ukip has dropped down three per cent to just seven per cent of the vote.

Last night The Times reported that Mrs May is expected to soften her stance on migrant targets and alter her longstanding opposition to taking foreign students out of immigration totals by changing the way student numbers are calculated.

Sources told the Daily Mail that her three election pledges are bound to be ending EU free movement and withdrawing from both the single market and the European Court of Justice.

MPs supported Mrs May’s call for a snap election by 522 to 13, after the Prime Minister urged them to put their faith in the people. She said: “I have made my choice to do something that runs through the veins of my party more than any other.

“It is a choice to trust the people...let us put forth our plans for the future of this great country, let us put our fate in the hands of the people; and then let the people decide.”

Mrs May said Mr Corbyn was “simply not fit to lead”. She said: “There are three things that a country needs: a strong economy, strong defence, and strong, stable leadership. That is what our plans for Brexit and our plans for a stronger Britain will deliver.” Mr Corbyn, she said, “would bankrupt our economy and weaken our defences”.

Mrs May’s election team, led by Sir Patrick McLoughlin, the party chairman, will meet today to draw up a list of target seats that could deliver a majority approaching 100. The Conservatives are expected to publish their manifesto in the week starting May 8.

Last night Paul Ryan, a senior Republican Congressman and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, praised Mrs May during a speech in London. He told a debate organised by Policy Exchange: “Times like these call for bold leadership, and Theresa May is certainly setting the standard.”

Mr Ryan added that the “United States stands ready to forge a new trade agreement with Great Britain as soon as possible, so that we may further tap into the great potential between our people”.