General election 2019: Johnson warns against Corbyn-Sturgeon 'coalition of chaos'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50537600

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Boris Johnson has launched his party's manifesto with a warning against a Labour-SNP "coalition of chaos".

Speaking in Shropshire, the prime minister said a Conservative government would "get Brexit done".

And he outlined plans to invest in the NHS, which would see £2bn passed to the Scottish government to spend north of the border.

But he warned a Labour minority government propped up by the SNP would be "nightmare on Downing Street".

A deal between the SNP and Labour raised the prospect of two referendums in 2020, he said.

Both parties want another vote on Brexit.

The SNP wants a second referendum on Scottish independence next year, though Labour does not want such a vote in the "early years" of government.

Mr Johnson said: "I don't want to waste 2020 on two more referendums. I want it to be an exiting and productive year, a year of prosperity and growth.

"Do you want to wake up on Friday the 13th of December and find a nightmare on Downing Street? A Corbyn-Sturgeon coalition of chaos?"

The SNP has ruled out a formal coalition with Jeremy Corbyn's party in the event of a minority Labour government.

But Nicola Sturgeon has said they would support Labour on certain votes in return for government support of specific policies.

Labour says it will not do any deals with other parties.

Continuing his speech, Mr Johnson said he "confidently prophesised" that in 10 years' time "people will be passionately proud of their Scottish identity, and their Welsh and Northern Irish, and - yes - their English identity. And that will be a great thing.

"But we will also all be a proud strong and whole United Kingdom, more united than ever, flying that red, white and blue union flag that represents the best of our values, from democracy and the rule of law."

He said his 59-page manifesto is "a vision for the future in which we unite our country".

Mr Johnson concluded: "This is going to be a very, very important election" and "very, very closely fought".

What does the Conservative manifesto say about Scotland?

What are the other parties promising? Our general election policy guide covers where the parties stand on key issues like Brexit, education and the NHS.

For the health service in England, Mr Johnson promised 50,000 more nurses and the creation of 50 million more GP appointments.

The increase in funding for the NHS in England would mean a funding boost of £2bn would be passed to the Scottish government to spend here.

But as health is devolved to Holyrood, it will be up to the Scottish government to decide how the extra funding is spent.

An additional £1bn will come as a result of other funding commitments made today.

Speaking after the launch, the Scottish Conservatives' interim leader, Jackson Carlaw, said voters now had a "clear choice"

"This was a bold, confident manifesto launch which makes clear that a vote for the Scottish Conservatives will stop indyref2, get Brexit sorted and move the country on," he said.

"The spending proposals in the manifesto will mean an extra £3bn being made available to the Scottish government. The big commitment to support nurse recruitment would mean 5,000 nurses and an extra five million GP appointments for Scotland if it was replicated here."

What are the other parties saying?

The SNP have not yet unveiled their manifesto, but they said the Conservative manifesto showed the Tories "remain wedded to dragging Scotland out of the EU against [its] will, continuing to squeeze spending on essential public services and to trade deals with Donald Trump which threaten [Scotland's] precious NHS."

Labour unveiled at their own manifesto launch on Thursday a plan to invest £100bn of investment in Scotland over the next 10 years if they are in government.

And the Lib Dems have been campaigning for "transformational investment" in mental health services and for Brexit to be cancelled.

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