THE SNP needs to do more to woo England Nicola Sturgeon has suggested as she appeared to predict Scotland would still be part of the UK in five years’ time.

The First Minister said that she hoped that by the time of the next general election, due in 2020, that she would not be tagged the “most dangerous woman in Britain”.

The SNP leader has previously said that there would have to be a significant change to trigger a second independence referendum.

But she is expected to come under pressure on a second vote from members of her own party at the SNP conference in Aberdeen next week.

At a ‘Women in the World’ summit in London that featured the Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman and Home Secretary Theresa May, Ms Sturgeon was asked why the SNP was so keen on the European Union and not the Union with the rest of the UK.

She said: “This is a point that maybe my party down the years has perhaps not got across often enough.

“One of the reasons to want Scotland to be independent is about wanting to have the economic powers of an independent country.

“It is about not giving up the other aspects about Union between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

“The social, family, cultural unions that exist.

“There are many things between Scotland and the other nations of the rest of the UK that I would not like to see broken.”

She said that Scotland and its neighbours “would always be absolutely the best of friends”.

She added that what she called the “London media” had not always been well-informed about what is happening in Scotland.

But she said she thought that was beginning to change in the wake of last year’s independence referendum and the SNP’s victory in 56 out of 59 seats in Scotland at May’s general election.

And she added that she hoped “by the time we have another general election” that she would not be described as the “most dangerous woman in Britain”.

The Conservatives ran a controversial advertising campaign during the election, suggesting that Labour leader Ed Miliband would be in Ms Sturgeon’s pocket if the two parties entered coalition government together.

Another poster depicted former SNP leader Alex Salmond as a pickpocket.

Asked if she could envisage entering into a coalition with the new Labour leader, veteran left-winger Jeremy Corbyn, Ms Sturgeon also joked “call me, Jeremy”.

But she appeared to play down Labour’s chances of winning in 2020. She said: “I’m not sure Labour will be forming a government with anyone.”

But, she added: “I will always seek to work with progressive people”.

The First Minister was interviewed by Sir Harold Evans, the legendary former Sunday Times editor, at the Women in the World event in London.

The summit was described as a chance to hear women on the frontline of change in politics, business, culture and activism discussing issues from terrorism to gender in a digital age.

On issues of gender, she said she wanted to start to “win” battles on gender equality – for younger women following after her.

“I don’t believe it is right and good for any of us if we continue to under-use the talents of 50 per cent of the population,” she said.

In a separate interview SNP MP Mhairi Black said she might not want to be a future leader of her party.

Ms Sturgeon tipped Ms Black for the top job earlier this week.

The 21-year-old MP for Paisley said the compliment was “incredibly flattering” but added “I might not want to be leader.”

Speaking afterwards she insisted that the job was not an ambition of hers and joked that she was not tempted by “sleepless nights, working seven days a week and constant scrutiny”.