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SNP leader moves to allay English concerns

SCOTTISH nationalist leader Nicola Sturgeon has sought to allay English concerns about the influence her party could wield in Westminster following the General Election, as David Cameron warned that a Labour/SNP administration could put recovery into reverse.

With Scotland dominating the campaign with 17 days to go to the May 7 poll, Mr Cameron warned that an Ed Miliband government propped up by the SNP would be "a match made in hell" for the UK economy.

But as she launched the SNP's manifesto in Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon, pictured, insisted that her party would use whatever influence it gains "responsibly and constructively".

The SNP's spectacular surge in the polls since last September's failed independence referendum has led to predictions that the party could seize as many as 56 of Scotland's 59 seats, leaving it holding the balance of power in Westminster.

The Scottish First Minister said her party would "not do any deals which would put the Tories into power", fuel-ling expectations that she will pursue some sort of partnership with Labour in a hung Parliament, even though Mr Miliband has ruled out formal coalition.

The SNP's priorities in any such deal were made clear by the party's manifesto, which proposed an end to austerity, real-terms spending increases of 0.5 per cent a year on public services across the UK and the abolition of the Trident nuclear deterrent.