NICOLA Sturgeon will use a keynote speech south of the Border tomorrow to call for a decisive shift away from austerity and a move towards major investment in jobs and public services.

Speaking in the Labour-supporting stronghold of Sheffield, the First Minister will say that the UK Government must reverse its austerity policies and give people "more grounds for hope".

Sturgeon is expected to use the address to tell a sold-out audience of 1200 people that the vote to leave the European Union was also a vote against the "damage done" by the austerity policies of the UK Government.

Sturgeon, will use her speech on Scotland and the UK: economic policy after the EU referendum to urge the Chancellor to support growth, invest in jobs and back public services.

Sturgeon, speaking at the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute, will say: “Austerity has already caused huge social harm and brought no economic benefit – it has failed, categorically and comprehensively, on its own terms.

“So the Chancellor of the Exchequer needs to change course in his Autumn Statement in a fortnight to invest in the economy and support public services, offering hope for the future rather than playing on the fears of the present.”