NICOLA Sturgeon has launched a five-point guarantee to Labour voters after she met former supporters who are now putting their faith in the SNP.

The First Minister said the Labour Party had taken the people of Scotland for granted “for far too long”, and she outlined how a strong team of SNP MPs would stop a Tory government getting off the ground and would stand up for progressive politics at Westminster.

Speaking during a campaign visit to Paisley yesterday, she urged people who still intended to vote Labour to put their trust in the SNP to make Scotland’s voice heard.

And Sturgeon set out her guarantee that SNP MPs would lock the Tories out of Downing Street; put an end to austerity cuts with modest increases in public spending to create jobs and support public services; support an additional £9.5 billion of funding for the NHS across the UK; and promote fair work with a minimum wage of £8.70 an hour and an end to zero-hours contracts.

She added that SNP MPs would never vote to spend £100bn on renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system and would instead invest the money in public services.

The latest YouGov poll showed that 41 per cent of people who voted Labour in the 2010 General Election – around 400,000 voters – intend to vote SNP next month. It also indicated that 71 per cent of 2010 Labour voters thought Nicola Sturgeon was doing a good job as First Minister.

Sturgeon said: “The Labour leadership has taken people in Scotland for granted for far too long – and now they are beginning to pay the price as more and more people put their faith in the SNP.

“From cosying up to the Tories during the referendum campaign to voting for George Osborne’s plans for a further £30bn of austerity cuts, Labour has shown time and time again that they can’t be trusted to stand up to the Tories. In 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992 and 2010, Scotland voted for Labour but ended up with a Tory government – and we can’t let this happen again.

“With more anti-Tory MPs than Tory MPs elected in May we can lock David Cameron out of Downing Street. We’ve been absolutely clear that SNP MPs will vote to stop a Tory government even getting off the ground – Ed Miliband now needs to give the same commitment.”

Sturgeon added that while Labour had “meekly fallen in line” with the Chancellor’s austerity plans and backed the Tories on spending £100bn on a new generation of nuclear weapons, the SNP had put forward a plan to end Westminster austerity and invest money in the NHS, education and childcare, “rather than in weapons of mass destruction”.

“The SNP is the only party which is standing firmly against the Tories’ austerity agenda,” added Sturgeon.

“No wonder more and more people are moving away from a Labour Party which has been far too quick to simply copy Tory policies – and are instead putting their faith in the SNP to stand up for Scotland’s interests.

“For these reasons, today I’m asking people who are intending to vote Labour to instead put their trust in the SNP.

“A strong team of SNP MPs holding the balance of power will lock the Tories out of Downing Street, put an end to austerity and ensure the progressive politics Labour supporters hold dear are firmly on Westminster’s agenda.

“That’s why so many former Labour members and voters have already moved towards the SNP – and why I’m urging others to do so between now and polling day.”