SNP ‘will protect NHS England’ vows Nicola Sturgeon

Nicola Sturgeon has vowed that the SNP will protect the NHS in England. Picture: Getty

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 deliver “progressive 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.