Labour has now refused to rule out a deal with the SNP more than 100 times

The Daily Mail reports on the possible risk of a Labour SNP deal

Ed Miliband has insisted there will not be a formal Coalition with the SNP
This leaves open possibility of Labour using SNP votes to stay in power
Michael Fallon said there was a 'simple reason' why Labour were refusing
He said Labour needed SNP support to make Mr Miliband Prime Minister
New Tory dossier reveals the 101 times Labour MPs failed to rule out a deal

Labour has now refused to rule out striking a deal with the SNP more than 100 times, analysis by the Tories has revealed.

Ed Miliband has insisted there will not be a formal Coalition, but David Cameron claims this still leaves open the possibility of Labour using SNP votes to stay in power.

The Tories have now compiled a dossier - analysing speeches and interviews by Labour MPs during the election campaign - revealing the 101 times senior party figures have refused to rule out going into power on the back of SNP support.

The threat of an SNP-Labour alliance ramping up government spending has become the central theme of the Conservative's election campaign, with just two weeks to go until polling day.

Conservative strategists believe the prospect of a weak Labour minority government 'held to ransom' by Scottish nationalists could swing the election for Mr Cameron.

The Chancellor George Osborne this morning attempted to ram home the message, claiming that every family would be left £350 worse off if the SNP is left calling the shots in a Labour government.

Launching the SNP manifesto earlier this week, Ms Sturgeon named her price for supporting Labour in any post-election deal.

She demanded her MPs have a say over the running of the whole of the UK, raising the prospect of Scottish nationalists calling the shots on policies which only apply south of the border.

And she unveiled a £140billion 'ransom note' for Britain to drag Labour to the left, including an end to austerity, rising benefits payments and the abolition of Trident as the price Mr Miliband would have to pay for getting into Number 10.

Mr Millband has insisted that Labour would not be pushed around by the SNP, but has repeatedly refused to rule out becoming Prime Minister on the back of its support.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told MailOnline there was 'one simple reason' why Mr Miliband won't rule out a deal with the SNP – because he needs the party's support to get into Number 10.

He said: 'Labour's collapse in Scotland means he can't become Prime Minister without Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond propping him up.'

Mr Fallon said the SNP would 'hold Ed Miliband to ransom' on every vote in the Commons – with English taxpayers picking up the £148billion tab.

He said the SNP would 'demand even more debt, even more borrowing and even more taxes – and will put our economic security at risk'.

Echoing the key theme of the Tory campaign, Mr Fallon added: 'There is only one way to stop the SNP using Ed Miliband to raid your wallet – vote Conservative on May 7.'

Mr Miliband yesterday attempted to play down the prospect of Labour striking a deal with the SNP, saying there would not be no formal 'agreement'.

But the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has consistently claimed the SNP would prefer to prop up Labour by wringing out concessions on a vote-by-vote basis.

Mr Miliband's remarks, on BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show yesterday, appear to go further than his previous pledge not to form a formal coalition with the SNP.

Mr Miliband told Jeremy Vine: 'If you want to ask who is going to write Labour's first Queen's Speech, who is going to write Labour's first Budget, it is the Labour Party, not the SNP.'

Asked if Labour would do a deal with the SNP in the event of a hung parliament, Mr Miliband said: 'There isn't going to be a coalition.'

And pressed on whether there would be 'an agreement', he replied: 'There isn't going to be that.'

It comes after former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has provoked outrage after he was caught boasting: 'I'm writing Labour's budget.'

Secret footage showed Mr Salmond, who is bidding to become an MP, mocking Labour after it slapped down its Scottish leader Jim Murphy, who claimed he would write the party's budget north of the border.

'I knew that [he wouldn't be writing it] already – because I'm writing the Labour Party budget,' Mr Salmond declared to cheers at a fundraising event.

He also joked that he would 'check his top pocket' – a reference to a Conservative election poster showing a miniature Mr Miliband in his breast pocket.

It prompted David Cameron and Boris Johnson to join forces to warn of a looming 'constitutional crisis'.

They questioned the legitimacy of the SNP's plan to try to put Ed Miliband in Downing Street, even if Labour wins fewer seats at the Election.

Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister had tweeted the footage of Mr Salmond with the message: 'This footage will shock you: Alex Salmond laughs & boasts he'll write Labour's budget. Vote Conservative to stop it.'

Mr Cameron said: 'In the last 48 hours the SNP have said 'no money spent on defence projects unless you get rid of Trident'. 'No HS2 unless it starts in Scotland'.

'You have now got Salmond saying he wants to write Ed Miliband's budget. That's before this has even happened. Imagine how much worse it would be, imagine how many pockets would be picked if this were to happen.

'The stakes at this election have always been high. It's about sticking with a plan that's working or risking it with Ed Miliband. But frankly the stakes have got much higher because of what's happening in Scotland with the SNP potentially wiping out Labour.

'The way to avoid that outcome which would be unstable, bad for the economy, bad for jobs, bad for living standards, bad for this country's prospects, the way to avoid it is to vote Conservative.'

The SNP has declared it will never support the Conservatives in a hung parliament, but it is ready to do a deal with Labour, even if it finishes in second place. It would be the first time since 1924 that a second-placed party had formed a government.

Mr Miliband dismissed Mr Salmond's claim in the footage as 'fantasy and nonsense'.

But he again refused to rule out relying on SNP votes in a hung parliament.

'We are going to be writing the first Labour budget,' he told BBC Radio Five Live. The Labour leader insisted he had no plans to negotiate, adding: 'I am going to put a Labour Queen's Speech before the Commons and people will have to decide how they vote.'

Mr Miliband also accused Mr Cameron of 'trying to stir up English hatred against the Scots' by highlighting the threat posed by the SNP's Left-wing agenda.

Responding to the leaked footage, Mr Salmond said Mr Cameron should 'try holding a few public meetings and meeting real people – and develop a sense of humour'.

'The point made in a light-hearted way was that Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy had been slapped down by his party bosses at Westminster and told that he would have no role in a Labour budget,' Mr Salmond said. 'David Cameron is clearly a prime minister with both a people bypass and a sense of humour bypass.'

In full: The 101 times Labour has refused to rule out a deal with the SNP

On at least 100 occasions Ed Miliband, members of his shadow cabinet and senior Labour figures have refused to rule out doing a deal with the SNP after the election.

1. Ed Miliband: 'I don't do hypotheticals' (Interview with Evan Davis, BBC One, 20 April 2015).

2. Ed Miliband: 'I'm not going to get into post-election speculation' (Interview with Evan Davis, BBC One, 20 April 2015).

3. Ed Miliband: 'We don't get into all of the process business' (Interview with Evan Davis, BBC One, 20 April 2015).

4. Ed Miliband: 'There's no coalition with the SNP' (BBC Breakfast, BBC One, 21 April 2015).

5. Ed Miliband: 'I'm not going to go through every hypothetical' (BBC Breakfast, BBC One, 21 April 2015).

6. Ed Miliband: 'Well I am clear there won't be a coalition with the SNP' (Sky News, 4 April 2015)

7. Ed Miliband: 'I am very clear about this. How other parties are going to vote on a Labour Queen's speech will be a matter for them (Sky News, 4 April 2015).

8. Ed Miliband: 'We are not going to have a coalition with the SNP. As for other post-election possibilities, I am not getting into that' (Sky News, 4 April 2015)

9. Ed Miliband: 'Look, honestly, how other parties decide to vote on the basis of a Labour Queen's Speech is going to be up to them' (Q&A in Scotland, 23 March 2015).

10. Ed Miliband: 'I've said I'm not going to have a coalition' (The Agenda, ITV, 9 April 2015).

11. Ed Miliband: 'How other parties end up voting on a Labour Queens speech will be a matter to them' (The Agenda, ITV, 9 April 2015).

12. Ed Miliband: 'We're not going to have a Coalition. (Q&A in Lincoln, 17 April 2015).

13. Ed Miliband: 'I'm working for a majority Labour government' (Q&A in Lincoln, 17 April 2015, ).

14. Ed Miliband: 'We will not have a coalition with the SNP' (BBC Point West, 7 April 2015).

15. Ed Miliband: 'Honestly, how other parties end up deciding to vote, on a Labour Queens Speech, will be a matter for them' (BBC Point West, 7 April 2015).

16. Ed Miliband: 'I want a majority Labour government' (BBC Point West, 7 April 2015).

17. Ed Miliband: 'I'm not about deals and coalitions' (Telegraph, 11 January 2015, ).

18. Ed Miliband: 'I am about one objective. I am going to put forward a manifesto before the British people' (Telegraph, 11 January 2015, ).

19. Ed Miliband: 'I'm making a very very clear statement. I've got an old fashioned view on this, which is a majority government is what we need' (Telegraph, 11 January 2015, ).

20. Ed Miliband: 'There will be no SNP ministers in any government I lead' (Guardian, 16 March 2015, ).

21. Ed Miliband: 'We're going for an all-out majority' (Express and Star, 17 February 2015, ).

22. Ed Miliband: 'I've already ruled out a coalition with the SNP' (Express and Star, 9 April 2015, ).

23. Ed Miliband: 'I don't want to be inconvenient but we're not going to have a coalition with the SNP' (The Agenda, ITV, 9 April 2015).

24. Ed Miliband: 'Labour will not go into coalition government with the SNP. There will be no SNP ministers in any government I lead' (Q&A in Guiseley, 25 March 2015, ).

25. Ed Miliband: 'Labour will not go into coalition with the SNP' (Ed Miliband's Twitter, 16 March 2015).

26. Ed Miliband: 'There'll be no SNP ministers in a govt I lead' (Ed Miliband's Twitter, 16 March 2015).

27. Ed Miliband: 'On this question of what happens after the election, I've got an old fashioned view, let the people decide on May 7th' (Challengers' TV Debate, BBC One, 16 April 2015).

28. Ed Miliband: 'Let's actually see what happens on May 7th' (Young People Manifesto Q&A, 17 April 2015).

29. Ed Balls: 'It's the job of the Leader of the House to speak to all parties' (Speech and Q&A, 20 April 2015).

30. Ed Balls: 'We'll have to wait and see what the election result will be' (Speech and Q&A, 20 April 2015).

31. Ed Balls: 'What I am working on is winning a majority Labour government. That's what we are all about' (Times, 27 February 2015, ).

32. Ed Balls: 'There's no enthusiasm for this kind of discussion with the Liberal Democrats or the SNP' (Guardian, 27 February 2015, ).

33. Ed Balls: 'We've been very clear we won't have a coalition with the SNP' (Telegraph, 14 April 2015, ).

34. Ed Balls: 'Well first of all, any party that says we haven't got to balance the books is irresponsible' (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 15 March 2015, ).

35. Ed Balls: 'I'm not going to get involved in speculation about post-election deals' (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 15 March 2015, ).

36. Ed Balls: 'What we are not going to do at this stage is say anything other than we are fighting for a majority' (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 15 March 2015, ).

37. Ed Balls: 'It's not part of our plans' (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 15 March 2015, ).

38. Ed Balls: 'What I will not do at this stage is say anything other than we're fighting for a majority' (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 15 March 2015, ).

39. Ed Balls: 'We want a majority and that is what we are fighting for' (Post Speech Q&A, 9 March 2015).

40. Ed Balls: 'Well look, first of all, we're fighting for a majority' (Murnaghan, Sky News, 19 April 2015).

41. Ed Balls: 'It's not part of our plans' (Post Speech Q&A, 9 March 2015).

42. Ed Balls: 'We're clear: there'll be no coalition with the SNP' (Newark Advertiser, 7 April 2015, ).

43. Ed Balls: 'We don't need to and will not be reaching some kind of coalition agreement' (The Agenda, ITV, 20 April 2015).

44. Ed Balls: 'We will lay out a Queens speech and a budget and any MP in parliament can choose to vote for it' (Ed Balls, The Agenda, ITV, 20 April 2015).

45. Angela Eagle: 'There will be no SNP ministers' (Any Questions, Radio 4, 3 April 2015).

46. Angela Eagle: 'Well we are going for a majority' (Any Questions, Radio 4, 3 April 2015).

47. Angela Eagle: 'There will be no SNP ministers in any government Ed Miliband runs' (Sunday Politics, BBC One, 19 April 2015).

48. Angela Eagle: 'We will put that Queen's speech to the House of Commons and if that Queen's speech gets through a vote in the House of Commons, we will be able to begin to put it into effect' (Sunday Politics, BBC One, 19 April 2015).

49. Angela Eagle: 'We will speak to any party that has got representation in the House of Commons in order to try to build a majority for a queen's speech' (Sunday Politics, BBC One, 19 April 2015).

50. Harriet Harman: 'Ed Miliband could not have been clearer that if he is Prime Minister, there would be no SNP Ministers in his Government' (Andrew Marr Show, 12 April 2015).

51. Harriet Harman: 'I make it absolutely clear that we're not talking to the Lib Dems, we not doing any deals with the Lib Dems. We have made it absolutely clear that there will be no SNP ministers in any future Labour government' (Andrew Marr Show, 12 April 2015).

52. Harriet Harman: 'If we form the government it's open to members of Parliament from other parties to support our programme when we are in government.' (Andrew Marr Show, 12 April 2015).

53. Harriet Harman: 'We don't want to be having a coalition with anybody because we want to be in an overall majority' (Murnaghan, Sky News, 8 March 2015).

54. Harriet Harman: 'If we had fewer seats because we have lost Labour seats to the SNP, then the only result of that will not be a Labour government in majority or even in coalition with anybody' (Murnaghan, Sky News, 8 March 2015).

55. Harriet Harman: 'I am not planning for a coalition with the SNP or the Lib Dems or anybody else' (LBC, 10 March 2015, ).

56. Harriet Harman 'I've got to reserve my right not answer hypothetical questions and second guess what the voters are going to do' (LBC, 10 March 2015, ).

57. Harriet Harman: 'I tell you we are not plotting and planning for coalition, what we are doing is fighting to win the election' (LBC, 10 March 2015, ).

58. Harriet Harman: 'Well, I'm just basically saying that we are not going into this thinking of a coalition with anybody' (Huffington Post, 10 February 2015, ).

59. Yvette Cooper 'We don't want that, we don't need that. We're campaigning for a majority Labour government' (World at One, BBC Radio 4, 11 March 2015, ).

60. Yvette Cooper: 'We've made very clear that it is actually not what we want, none of us want it, it's just this is not the right thing for Britain' (World at One, BBC Radio 4, 11 March 2015, ).

61. Yvette Cooper: 'Well we've made very clear that it's absolutely not what we want' (BBC Radio 4, World at One, 11 March 2015, ).

62. Caroline Flint: 'We are focused on winning a Labour majority government' (Andrew Marr Show, 8 March 2015).

63. Caroline Flint: 'We do not want, we do not need and we do not plan to have any coalition with the SNP' (Andrew Marr Show, 8 March 2015).

64. Caroline Flint: 'We plan to make sure that we will focus on the issues and win a Labour majority government' (Andrew Marr Show, 8 March 2015).

65. Caroline Flint: 'The SNP is not the social conscience of the Labour Party' (Andrew Marr Show, 8 March 2015).

66. Caroline Flint: 'Well he [Ed Miliband] said no coalition and that is about no coalition no SNP ministers' (BBC News, 17 April 2015).

67. Caroline Flint: 'There is not going to be a coalition with the SNP and there are not going to be any SNP ministers' (LBC, 3 April 2015, ).

68. Caroline Flint: 'The option here is for people to vote for who they want to be Prime Minister' (BBC News, 3 April 2015).

69. Margaret Curran: 'I'm confident we can form a majority government' (Guardian, 10 February 2015, ).

70. Margaret Curran: 'I'm categorically saying I'm fighting for a majority government' (Guardian, 10 February 2015, ).

71. Margaret Curran: 'I'm categorically fighting for a majority government' (Guardian, 10 February 2015, ).

72. Margaret Curran: 'We don't want, we don't need and we are not planning for coalitions' (The National Scot, 8 March 2015, ).

73. Margaret Curran: 'Well, well, not only has Ed Miliband ruled out a coalition, the SNP have ruled out a coalition' (Radio 4, 17 April 2015).

74. Margaret Curran: 'My focus is entirely on getting a majority Labour government' (Daily Politics, BBC Two, 17 April 2015).

75. Lucy Powell: 'A Labour SNP coalition is not at all being discussed, it's not planned, we don't want it, we don't need it' (Question Time, BBC One, 12 March 2015, ).

76. Lucy Powell: 'Well they're not my decisions' (Question Time, BBC One, 12 March 2015, ).

77. Lucy Powell: 'As far as I know what is going on, there is absolutely no prospect of a Labour-SNP coalition' (Question Time, BBC One, 12 March 2015, ).

78. Lucy Powell: 'We said very clearly that we are not going to go into coalition with the SNP' (Murnaghan, Sky News, 29 March 2015, ).

79. Douglas Alexander: 'Listen I'm in the business of a majority Labour government' (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 1 February 2015).

80. Douglas Alexander: 'I'm not going to play that game' (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 1 February 2015).

81. Douglas Alexander: 'Of course she [Nicola Sturgeon] would affect that's what she wants' (Andrew Marr Show, BBC One, 1 February 2015).

82. Douglas Alexander: 'There is not going to be a Labour/SNP coalition' (Paisley & Renfrewshire Gazette, 20 April 2015, ).

83. Tristram Hunt: 'We're not interested in a Coalition with anyone' (Q&A in Worcester, 12 March, ).

84. Andy Burnham: 'He [Ed Miliband] said, very clearly, we are not seeking a coalition with the SNP. We are seeking to maximise Labour MPs to secure a majority Labour government' (Good Morning Britain, ITV, 20 April 2015).

85. Andy Burnham: 'Well we would talk to people. We are all going to have to see will what will happen on May the eighth' (Good Morning Britain, ITV, 20 April 2015).

86. Andy Burnham: 'Nicola Sturgeon got a very clear answer didn't she from Ed Miliband. And that's because we are fighting for a majority' (Sky News, 20 April 2015).

87. Andy Burnham: 'If people want to vote for a Labour government's programme that is entirely up to them' (Sky News, 20 April 2015).

88. Andy Burnham: 'We are going to put out our stall and if other parties want to vote for a Labour Queen's speech that's up to them' (BBC News, 20 April 2015).

89. Andy Burnham: 'We are ruling out, you asked about a coalition, we are ruling that out' (Question Time, 16 April 2015).

90. David Lammy: 'After the general election, you would forge common alliance with parties that you can actually do business with, and the SNP must be part of that story' (ITV News, 20 April 2015).

91. David Lammy: 'There is common ground with other parties, and the SNP would be included in that, and we may need to enter into discussion after the general election' (ITV News, 20 April 2015).

92. David Lammy: 'I want a progressive government. I want it to be a Labour government, but in the event that it's not a Labour government, clearly there is common ground between us on the centre left, and that would include the SNP' (ITV News, 20 April 2015).

93. Jim Murphy: 'Labour have ruled out any coalition with the SNP' (Evening Times, 17 March 2015).

94. Jim Murphy: 'We don't expect, we don't need, we don't want and we are not planning for a coalition with the SNP or anyone else' (Scotsman, 14 January 2015, ).

95. Jim Murphy: 'What most people on the doorstep say to me is that they don't like backroom grubby deals' (The National Scot, 8 March 2015, ).

96. Kezia Dugdale: 'I think what we're setting out to do is to be the largest party. I have no qualms whatsoever about working with the SNP' (The Courier, 5 January 2015, ).

97. Kezia Dugdale: 'Ed Miliband will put forward a Labour Queen's Speech and it's up to the SNP to either vote for it or vote it down' (Daily Politics, 20 April 2015).

98. Lisa Nandy: 'We'll see what the people decide and then we will make a decision' (Radio 5 Live, 17 April 2015).

99. Chris Leslie: 'We have ruled out a coalition with the SNP' (BBC News, 5 April 2015, ).

100. Baroness Prosser: confirmed Labour would work with the SNP 'on a very different basis' to a coalition (Daily Politics, 30 March 2015).

101. Tom Watson: 'It is just not possible for us to do a deal that would allow the SNP to have cabinet ministers' (Teeside Evening Gazette, 19 April 2015, ).

Do you like this post?