article_snippet: But, following mounting pressure from senior colleagues, Ed Miliband last night tried to draw a line under speculation about a Labour-SNP government by ruling out a formal coalition.
article_snippet: Ed Miliband said a formal coalition with the SNP 'will not happen' - but failed to rule out forming a looser alliance on a vote-by-vote basis .
article_snippet: Ed Miliband said there would be ‘no SNP ministers’ in any government Ed Miliband leads after May’s general election.
article_snippet: But Ed Miliband pointedly refused to rule out a deal that would see the resurgent Scottish nationalists prop up a minority Labour government in key Commons votes –
article_snippet: ‘Ed Miliband’s statement is absolutely fine from our point of view, because formal coalition with seats in a Labour-SNP government has never been our preference.
article_snippet: But working with Labour in a looser arrangement, I certainly wouldn’t rule out because I want to see SNP MPs in the House of Commons pushing for progressive change.
article_snippet: As long as there are more SNP and Labour MPs than there are Tory MPs, we can lock the Tories out of government, there is no question about that.
article_snippet: Mr Miliband’s chances may indeed depend on the professor coming to some arrangement with SNP.
article_snippet: A still looser arrangement is possible, whereby a minority Labour government would negotiate with SNP to win SNP backing on every major vote.
article_snippet: William Hague, the Leader of the Commons, said an issue-by-issue deal between Labour and SNP would be ‘even worse’.
article_snippet: In the past, SNP imposed a ‘self-denying ordinance’ on SNP MPs which prevented SNP from voting on most
article_snippet: Labour leader in Scotland Jim Murphy (left) said the party would not make any 'backroom deals' with the SNP .
highlights_snippet: But SNP chief called for deal with Labour after the election to keep the Tories out .
  