THE record 3000 delegates filling a cavernous hall at the SEC were the most visible audience for Nicola Sturgeon's speech to the SNP conference yesterday, but not the only one.

 

Nor, arguably, were they the most important, as their votes can be taken as read.

But the First Minister offered several pointers to the other audiences she has in mind.

In order to scare out their vote, the Tories have portrayed the SNP as a threat to democracy (this from a party which governs with one MP in Scotland), and Sturgeon was determined to correct that caricature for people south of the border.

Turning the attack on her attackers, she pointed out those politicians now gasping in mock horror at the prospect a powerful SNP, also begged Scots to stick with the UK in the referendum.

They can hardly complain if the same UK political system delivers the result forecast by the polls - a hung parliament and a Nationalist group with unprecedented power.

Going one better, the First Minister pointed out those same Conservatives were the defenders of the profoundly undemocratic House of Lords, and pledged to work for its abolition.

After nailing the lie about an SNP surge harming democracy, she moved on to what the SNP could do for England, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as Scotland.

Aiming to reassure those unfamiliar with the party, she sought to dispel the myth of the SNP as selfish wreckers, intent only on screwing over the rest of the UK to featherbed Scotland.

Instead, she presented the SNP as a progressive party driven by social justice which obviously wanted independence for Scotland, but was not blind or indifferent to problems elsewhere.

Empowered at Westminster, it would work to end austerity and improve the welfare state.

The First Minister even presented a list of UK-wide aspirations.

It could not have been further from the charge of "narrow nationalism".

All of this advertised the party to the rest of the UK to calm jangling nerves.

But perhaps the most intriguing audience was the Labour Party.

For Sturgeon's plans to bear fruit, she needs to strike a deal with a minority Labour government.

Ed Miliband has not ruled out any informal arrangement, as he may end up relying on it.

But he also knows he would have to sell such a deal to his party, many of whom are hostile to the SNP.

Hence Sturgeon highlighting common goals such as Lords abolition and a public NHS, and her visceral opposition to all things Tory.

This message was intended to resonate deep within Labour, with those who miss the radical spark that brought them into the party.

Miliband knows the SNP's success is due to Salmond and Sturgeon talking like the lost conscience of Labour in Scotland.

If the same tactic strikes a chord with Labour supporters south of the border, it won't cost Miliband any seats, but it would make arranging a deal easier.

It would see him govern, the SNP assist, and the country improve.