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SNP conference: Nicola Sturgeon urges voters to dump Labour SNP conference: Nicola Sturgeon says party could hold balance of power
(35 minutes later)
Nicola Sturgeon has used her first speech as SNP leader to predict the party could hold the "balance of power" after the next general election.Nicola Sturgeon has used her first speech as SNP leader to predict the party could hold the "balance of power" after the next general election.
Ms Sturgeon said her party would never do a deal which would put the Conservatives into power in the event of a hung parliament. Ms Sturgeon said the SNP would never do a deal which would put the Conservatives into power in the event of a hung parliament.
But she said Scotland could gain much from a Labour government at Westminster that depended on SNP MPs for support.But she said Scotland could gain much from a Labour government at Westminster that depended on SNP MPs for support.
And she predicted that Scotland will one day become an independent country.And she predicted that Scotland will one day become an independent country.
The SNP is aiming to win a majority of Scottish Westminster seats next May, with recent polls suggesting the party is on track to significantly increase the six seats it already holds.The SNP is aiming to win a majority of Scottish Westminster seats next May, with recent polls suggesting the party is on track to significantly increase the six seats it already holds.
'Proudest moment' Speaking at the SNP's annual conference in Perth, Ms Sturgeon said the odds on a hung parliament - in which no single party has an overall majority at Westminster - were shortening every day.
Ms Sturgeon, who will become Scottish first minister next week, said succeeding Alex Salmond as SNP leader was the "proudest moment of my life". But she described claims that voting Labour would keep out the Conservatives as the "biggest con trick in Scottish politics", and said Scotland had still "ended up with the Tories" despite voting Labour at the last general election.
She also paid tribute to Mr Salmond as a "champion of our nation" and a "hero of our movement". Ms Sturgeon added: "Scotland could well hold the balance of power in a Westminster parliament with no overall majority.
And she said the SNP's best days were still to come, despite the "No" vote in September's independence referendum. "If that happens, I promise our country this. You won't need to have voted Labour to keep the Tories out, because that's what we'll do.
Ms Sturgeon also used her speech to outline measures for boosting business and the economy, and to significantly increase pre-school nursery provision in Scotland. "My pledge to Scotland today is simple - the SNP will never, ever, put the Tories into government.
"But I ask you to think about this. Think about how much more we could win for Scotland from a Westminster Labour government if they had to depend on SNP votes."
Ms Sturgeon said Labour would be forced to "deliver real powers for our parliament" as well as rethinking the "endless austerity that impoverishes our children" and thinking again about "putting a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons on the River Clyde."
And she said Labour's alliance with the Tories in the "No" campaign ahead of the independence referendum proved the party had "lost its soul".
Ms Sturgeon, who will become Scottish first minister next week, had earlier said succeeding Alex Salmond as SNP leader was the "proudest moment of my life".
She paid tribute to Mr Salmond as a "champion of our nation" and a "hero of our movement".
'Free childcare'
And she said the SNP's best days were still to come, despite the "No" vote in September's referendum.
Ms Sturgeon also used her speech to pledge that the Scottish government would double the hours of childcare available to three and four years olds from 16 hours a week to thirty hours a week if it wins the next Holyrood election in 2016.
She said she wanted to "unite this country in a national endeavour to give every child - no matter their background - the best opportunity in life."
"We already deliver 16 hours a week of free childcare for all 3 and 4 years old. From August next year, that entitlement will extend to 27% of 2 year olds as well," she added.
"That is more hours of childcare than in any other part of the UK and we should be proud of that. But so important is good quality, extensive childcare to the school performance and life chances of young people, that we will go further still.
"I pledge today that our 2016 manifesto will set out an ambitious plan to increase childcare provision.
"By the end of the next parliament, my commitment is that all 3 and 4 year olds and all eligible 2 years olds will receive, not 16 hours, but 30 hours of free childcare each week."
And she also said the small business bonus - which will help almost 100,000 small businesses next year to the tune of £165m - will continue for the entire lifetime of the next parliament if the party is re-elected.
Her keynote address comes after Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont last month quit her job, accusing Westminster colleagues of treating the party in Scotland like a "branch office".Her keynote address comes after Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont last month quit her job, accusing Westminster colleagues of treating the party in Scotland like a "branch office".
She told delegates at the conference: "Scotland's patience with Labour - or the 'dinosaurs' as Johann Lamont affectionately calls them - is running out fast, and they know it.
"They've got no positive case to make, so they will fall back on the same desperate mantra as before.
"You've got to vote Labour, they'll say, to keep the Tories out."
Ms Sturgeon added: "That is the biggest con trick in Scottish politics and we must not fall for it again.
"Scotland did vote Labour at the last general election, but we still ended up with the Tories - and if the people of England vote Tory again next May, it won't matter how we vote.
"A Tory government is what we'll get. Or worse, a Tory/UKIP government.
"If that happens, the very last thing Scotland will need are Labour MPs who cosy up to the Tories."
Ms Sturgeon went on to tell the conference: "What we will need are strong SNP MPs who will stand up to the Tories, challenge the despicable politics of Nigel Farage and fight Scotland's corner."
In a repeat of the SNP's strategy at the last UK election, Ms Sturgeon said Scotland could hold a balance of power in the event of a hung parliament in 2015.
"If that happens, I promise you this - you wont need to have voted Labour to keep the Tories out - because that's what we'll do," she will say.
"My pledge to Scotland today is this - the SNP will never put the Tories into government."
Elsewhere in her speech, Ms Sturgeon promised to extend the Scottish government's small business bonus scheme - set to help almost 100,000 firms next year - for the lifetime of the next five-year parliament, if the SNP is re-elected in 2016.
'Strong economy'
She said: "Our success as a nation depends on a strong economy - that is a simple reality.
"My job as first minister will be to champion the interests of Scottish business at home and around the globe.
"That is a task I will embrace with relish."
The SNP leader added: "Scotland must always be an environment where ideas flourish, businesses locate and jobs are created.
"Because then and only then do we have the tools to do what should matter to all of us - and that is to eradicate the poverty that scars too many of our fellow citizens."