General Election 2015: This cynical arrangement between Labour and the SNP would make a mess of Westminster

Being kept in office by the SNP would turn into a nightmare for Labour

"Nicola Sturgeon’s interests are not the interests of the UK, nor the interests of my country. If Ed Miliband aspires to be a statesman he should realise that a government formed with such a partner is a poisoned chalice." (Getty)

As a Conservative, I hope that we will win enough seats to form the next Government, and I will be canvassing and campaigning to that end this week. But the polls show a stalemate, and almost anything can happen.

The next best result would be the return of the current Coalition – which Nick Clegg is campaigning for – but it crucially depends upon the number of seats the Lib Dems can hold. The Coalition has been very successful. It has been one of the few Governments since the War that has not performed a U-turn on its economic policy – Heath, Blair and Brown all turned, and paid for it. George Osborne, supported by Danny Alexander, has kept his hand to the plough and will go on to the end of the furrow. Michael Gove, supported by David Laws, has driven up standards in English and Maths, and created 4,000 academies – an irreversible change for the good.

The Coalition has also done something which every single party government has shrunk from – the reform of the welfare budget. Even Margaret Thatcher could not touch that. In foreign affairs, meanwhile, it has kept Britain out of Syria.

History will be kind to the Cameron/Clegg Coalition – but it is not standing for re-election.

Now that the Scottish Nationalist Party manifesto has been launched, there is the real possibility of a Labour Government winning fewer seats than the Conservatives – and less of the overall vote – but being kept in office by Nicola Sturgeon. This may seem like a dream ticket for Labour, but actually it would be a nightmare for them. Every SNP vote at Westminster for Labour would drive another nail in the coffin of the Scottish Labour Party – no future for them when English Labour coalesces with the party that destroyed their power-base north of the border. The Kingmaker would be Nicola Sturgeon and Ed Miliband would have to dance to her tune.

Such a Government would put at risk:

1. The future of the United Kingdom. Sturgeon wants independence and will commit to that in the Scottish election next year. Her support at Westminster is a stepping stone to a referendum in 2017.

2. The end of deficit reduction. The Scots are big spenders of English money.

3. The defence of this country, which Nicola Sturgeon has said she will hold to ransom by trying to scrap Trident.

4. Economic growth – the word “business” never crosses Nicola Sturgeon’s lips: she is a great spender, not an earner.

5. The discrediting of Westminster and the House of Commons – because each vote would have to be bought, turning the House into a market rather than a legislative assembly, just like the 18th century.

"History will be kind to the Cameron/Clegg Coalition – but it is not standing for re-election" (Getty)

The cynical deceit at the heart of a Labour/SNP “arrangement” would make Westminster a mess – which is grist to the SNP mill, as the party wants to be shot of England for good. The SNP, having lost the independence referendum, is now transforming itself into a poison pill, knowing that England would rather reject it than swallow it.

There will be an English backlash at the basic unfairness of Scottish MPs voting on English domestic matters when the same MPs are banned from voting on those same matters in Scotland. This is an affront to democratic accountability for each nation’s affairs. Nicola Sturgeon believes in higher taxes: England should say, “No taxation without representation.”

The backlash could well be exploited by nationalists, and it will be the task of the Conservative Party to ensure that the resentment felt by England is recognised but redressed in a sensible way. Nicola Sturgeon’s interests are not the interests of the UK, nor the interests of my country. If Ed Miliband aspires to be a statesman he should realise that a government formed with such a partner is a poisoned chalice.

Whichever party has the most seats in England should seek to secure an agreement between the three main English party leaders – Cameron, Miliband and Clegg – to set up a constitutional commission to report on bringing forward devolution proposals. This commission would also need to decide how devolution in the UK should be managed, and how England and our Union should be governed – possibly even with an English parliament, and a clearly defined relationship with the other three parliaments. The House of Lords could become an elected chamber responsible for the non-devolved powers such as foreign affairs, defence, the currency and overall economic policy.

If this cannot happen, then the Conservatives should ask for England to have the same degree of autonomy as Scotland. The English voice must be heard. As Chesterton said:

“Smile at us, pay us, pass us, but do not quite forget,
For we are the people of England that never have spoken yet”.