An informal deal between Labour and SNP is possible

ED MILIBAND might have yesterday ruled out a formal coalition between his party and the SNP after the general election but he pointedly did not rule out an informal deal.

daily express comment, ed miliband, snp, alex salmond, scottish nationalists, donald tusk, david cameron, poldarkGETTY

The SNP could do a deal to prop up Labour on certain legislation in Parliament

As the head of a minority government, Miliband could still take office as prime minister and make deals with the SNP on individual pieces of legislation as he goes along.

Such a situation would not violate his promise made yesterday but would still mean Miliband in Number 10 with Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond, who is seeking election to the House of Commons, exerting a strong influence over the work of the government.

Sturgeon is keen on such an arrangement. Yesterday she pointed to the opportunity for Labour and the SNP to "work together to keep the Tories out of government".

Miliband has ruled out a coalition in the hope that it will hoodwink voters into thinking that he will have nothing to do with the SNP after the general election. But after watching the Lib Dems' popularity plummet no small party is likely to join a formal coalition after the election and Miliband's pronouncement changes very little.

His most likely route into office is still with the help of the Scottish Nationalists, an outcome he very deliberately did not discount.

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No help from this EU chief

PRESIDENT of the European Council Donald Tusk is right that David Cameron faces a difficult task when it comes to securing new terms for Britain's membership of the EU. He is correct to say that treaty change is a difficult and laborious process that would take months or even years to carry out.

But what he fails to acknowledge is the barrier to reform presented by Eurocrats - including Mr Tusk - who are intractably opposed to reform and refuse to enter into meaningful negotiations. He may claim to have a desire to help Mr Cameron but his comments revealed a dismissive attitude towards the renegotiation efforts and no desire to water down the commitment to "ever closer union".

If Mr Tusk and his like continue to regard the suggestions put forward by our Prime Minister with such arrogance and disdain the clamour for a British exit will grow ever louder.

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Poldark makes a splash

THE plot of Poldark sees Ross Poldark, played by Aidan Turner, return from the wars to find Elizabeth engaged to his cousin. In Sunday night's episode his decision to go skinny dipping went down well with the show's female fans. There can't be much sympathy with Elizabeth's decision to move on so quickly.

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