Did Ed Balls rule out a coalition with the SNP today?

It is being reported that Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls ruled out the possibility of a Labour coalition with the SNP during an interview with Sky News earlier.

Presenter Dermot Murnaghan suggested that, according to Sky News election projections, “the SNP could more or less wipe out Labour in Scotland.

He then asked:

“You as the largest party would end up in a coalition with them. Is that a deal you could do?”

Ed Balls replied:

“No. And I don’t think anybody is suggesting any suggestion of a deal with the SNP at all. We’re fighting hard for a majority.”

Refusal to talk publicly about the possibility of post-election deals in the event of a hung parliament is standard practice for both Labour and the Tories: to do so would suggest they are not confident of their ability to win an overall majority.

However, Balls’ directness in answering the question and saying no one is suggesting a deal “with the SNP” appears a little more unequivocal than we are used to hearing.

He went on to say that “if you vote for the SNP, I’m afraid you are likely to end up with a Conservative PM”, and that “if you want to have Labour’s plan to save the NHS, you’ve got to vote Labour.”

He added: “I think the choice in Scotland is very clear.”

Decide for yourself. You can watch the full exchange in the video at the top of the page.