NICOLA Sturgeon will launch the SNP's General Election manifesto today arguing that her party's call for extra public spending would deliver an extra £2bn for the Scottish NHS.

 

The First Minister is also expected to describe the document as a blueprint for how her party could work with Labour to change the entire UK.

The launch comes just hours after Prime Minister David Cameron branded the SNP leader a "hostage-taker" demanding "more borrowing, more taxes and more welfare".

The manifesto is also expected to include calls for the devolution of all tax and spending to Edinburgh, an end to austerity and cuts to disability benefits and better pensions for wounded war veterans.

The SNP is expected to outline where it would back Labour on number of issues including to reduce English university tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000.

The party will also commit, like Labour, to new powers for the energy regulator Ofgem, to control prices and force energy firms to pass on cuts to consumers.

The document, which will be launched in Edinburgh, will also include a call for a real-terms spending increase of 0.5 per cent a year.

The First Minister was accused of wanting to bankrupt Britain when she set out the policy in a speech on London earlier this year.

The SNP say the move would give an extra £24 billion to the NHS across the UK, including an extra £2 billion in Scotland.

Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, has called for an extra £8 billion a year for the NHS by 2020.

The Tories and the Lib Dems have said they will provide that money, while Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said his party will ensure the health service has the resources it requires.

Yesterday Ms Sturgeon said: "We can end the Tory agenda of cuts, privatisation and patient charging is threatening the future of the NHS south of the border - which will also protect Scotland's budget and NHS.

"The SNP at Westminster will seek to build bridges between progressive parties to deliver change - and safeguarding the future of the NHS is an example of what can be achieved.

"The SNP will always vote to keep the NHS in public hands - and the opportunity to take action will benefit people across the UK."

The SNP has already said that it would back Labour's plans to repeal controversial Tory changes to the health service in England.

The party has faced accusations that it wants to meddle in "English-only" issues such as the health service.

But Ms Sturgeon insists it has to vote on matters affect the English NHS because they can have significant knock-on effects for Scotland.

Scottish Labour MSP Jenny Marra said that the SNP's plans were "all over the place".

"They want full fiscal autonomy which would cost Scotland £7.6bn leading to huge cuts to our NHS. On top of that now they say they want a plan which even their own economists admit would increase the debt."

Yesterday the First Minister reiterated her call for a gradual handover of the tax and spending powers, amid growing pressure on the SNP over the issue.

Independent experts have warned that the move would create a more than £7 billion shortfall in Scotland's finances, in part because of failing oil prices.

Opinion polls suggest the SNP could win up to 56 of Scotland's 59 seats.

Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy has accused the SNP of failing to cost their policies.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie MSP said: "The SNP plan is built on a mountain of ever growing debt and is therefore unsustainable. In contrast the Lib Dem plan is built on the solid costed foundations of targeted fair tax increases and a growing economy. I care too much about the NHS to build it on a mountain of debt. Our plan will deliver an £800m boost to Scotland's NHS and will enable us to provide extra support for mental health. The SNP do not have a good track record on the NHS. When they took their eye off the ball to focus on their independence plans cancer waiting times were missed, hospital beds were cut and A+E units went into crisis. These shoddy plans show once and for all that the SNP are all about the flashy headlines and not the substance our health service badly needs to deliver the best in patient care."