Ed Miliband has been 'bullied ' by the Conservatives into ruling out a coalition deal between the SNP and Labour , SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon claimed tonight . Scotland 's First Minister said the Labour leader had allowed himself to be 'kicked around ' by the Tories and called on him to be 'tougher ' and 'bolder ' . With polls suggesting no one party will have a majority after May 7 and support for the SNP hitting a record high , the Conservatives have ramped up warnings about a post-election deal between Labour and the Scottish nationalists . Scotland 's First Minister , appearing on Newsnight tonight , said the Labour leader had allowed himself to be 'kicked around ' by the Tories and called on him to be 'tougher ' and 'bolder ' She told Evan Davis that Ed Miliband had been 'bullied ' by the Conservatives into ruling out a coalition deal . Labour leader Mr Miliband insisted at the weekend that he is 'not interested in deals ' with the SNP . In the latest of BBC1 's series of leader interviews with Evan Davis , Ms Sturgeon said Westminster politicians were in danger of being 'insulting ' to Scottish voters . She said : ' I 've not ruled anything out here , I 've always said a coalition with Labour is highly unlikely , Ed Miliband has since said the same because he 's been sort of bullied by the Tories to rule these things out . ' The SNP leader said she had not ruled out a confidence and supply deal between the two parties . When it was put to her that Mr Miliband had , she said : ' I think what he says the morning after the election will probably be different to what he says now . 'He 's in an election campaign , he 's trying to cling to the pretence that he is going to get a majority . Everyone else knows that 's not looking likely . 'But what I am saying is I think a vote-by-vote arrangement is both most likely and probably the way in which a big team of SNP MPs can wield maximum influence for Scotland 's benefit . ' The SNP have soared in the polls to a record 54 per cent - while Labour have seen their support cut in half since 2010 . Labour Party leader Ed Miliband delivers a speech at The ARC Theatre & Arts Centre in Stockton-on-Tees today . Commenting further on Mr Miliband , she added : ' I think he should be a bit tougher in not being kicked around so much by the Tories . ' I think he should be bolder in saying that he will respect the wishes of voters because there is a more fundamental point than just how people in Scotland vote . ' A Conservative spokesman said Ms Sturgeon 's interview exposed the threat posed by the SNP . He said : 'Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that she now has Ed Miliband wrapped around her little finger - and will use SNP MPs to 'wield maximum influence for Scotland 's benefit ' . That means more debt , higher taxes , unlimited welfare handouts and weaker defence - so we 'll all pay . The only way to stop this happening is to vote Conservative on May 7th . '
SNP leader ed Ed Miliband had allowed himself to be ' kicked around ' The Scottish First Minister said the labour leader needed to be ' bolder ' She said he had been pushed into ruling out a deal with the opposition by the PM . Ms Sturgeon said the Labour leader would change his stance after round 7 .