The SNP would try to curb British military interventionism as part of any post-election deal with Labour, according to the nationalists’ leader in Westminster.
Angus Robertson, the MP for Moray, said that his party would push for a “post-imperial” foreign policy, just as it blocked military action in Syria in 2013 along with Labour in the House of Commons.
His move comes as a new Times poll by YouGov shows that Labour has made no progress clawing back votes in Scotland.
Westminster voting intention figures in Scotland have Labour on 27 per cent, unchanged since the start of last month; the SNP is on 46 per cent, down two points; the Conservatives on 18 per cent, up three points; and the Liberal Democrats unchanged, on four points.
If there were a vote on whether Scotland should be an independent country, 49 per cent would vote “yes” and 51 per cent would vote “no”.
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The personal ratings of Jim Murphy, the Scottish Labour leader, have fallen back to 26 per cent, down from 33 per cent at the start of last month.
In an interview with The Times, Mr Robertson said that his party would encourage Labour to make greater co-operation a key part of any post-election confidence and supply deal.
With the SNP on course to become the third largest party in the Commons, Mr Robertson, 45, a former journalist who was born in Wimbledon, southwest London, is likely to feature heavily in post-election discussions.
He said that his party “will not assist, actively or passively, the Conservative party remaining in Downing Street”, even if it puts forward an enhanced federalism deal.
The SNP has also made clear that it will almost certainly not go into formal coalition with the Labour party, fearing that it would suffer like the Liberal Democrats. It is proposing instead a looser relationship, voting Ed Miliband into Downing Street if the parliamentary arithmetic allows, then deciding how much of its legislative agenda to back.
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This could include elements on further powers to Scotland, slowing austerity, reform of the House of Lords and the voting system, and foreign affairs.
Foreign affairs could be a key link between the SNP and Labour, with a less adventurous approach to defence and security than under the previous three governments.
Mr Robertson said: “[We want to] properly reset the approach to foreign affairs away from a misguided post- imperial pretence and exploring the options of how one can be a force for good that leads by example. Part of that equation is scrapping nuclear weapons and engaging with the international community to try to break a cycle of justification for weapons of mass destruction.”
He added: “We have some in the Whitehall bubble who prefer to run around like extras in Dr Strangelove pretending to be a world power rather than seeing the shortcomings and making the right decisions. We need an honest debate about our foreign policy priorities, what defence capability needs to be met and what is affordable.”
Mr Robertson highlighted how the SNP helped to persuade Mr Miliband to vote against military action in Syria as an example of successful joint working.
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“I am confident that we can work on the basis of trust and mutual respect,” he said. “There are examples of us doing so already. The joint approach we took on Syria is an example where I worked with Ed Miliband and others.
“We helped ensure the UK made the right decision not to get involved in another badly judged military intervention. I spoke to Ed Miliband a number of times and with other colleagues. We did it on Syria, I believe we can on other things too.��