Nicola Sturgeon launched her SNP party’s campaign in Edinburgh on Friday and blasted the Conservative Party for having “ridden roughshod” over the Scottish Parliament. During her speech, the Scottish First Minister outlined her plan to protect the NHS from a potential trade deal with US President Donald Trump. In a BBC interview, presenter Nick Robinson accused SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford of “jumping on the Labour bandwagon” by discussing the threat of a US trade deal to the NHS.

Speaking on BBC’s Politics Live, Mr Robinson said: “You will know the old phrase that ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.’

“Jeremy Corbyn one day talks about the threat of a US trade deal to the NHS, a week later the SNP says ‘ooh that’s a very good idea let’s talk about that.’

“It was Labour’s point this, you just jumped on that bandwagon.”

Mr Blackford replied: “Not at all, we were waiting for our campaign launch today and the fact is that we’re bringing forward a Bill.

“We are streets ahead of the Opposition and when you talk about Labour the fact is that many of the things Labour are talking about today, free tuition, free personal care, these are things that we’re delivering in Scotland.

“And Scotland is leading the way in the United Kingdom, and we need to make sure that that journey that we’ve been on in devotion in the last 20 years, that we complete with independence.

“Because that’s the way that we deliver for the people of Scotland. I’m afraid what you’ve got is the comparison of flattery that’s coming from the Labour Party, not the other way around.”

Earlier on Friday, Ms Sturgeon told an election rally in Edinburgh: “We will fight tooth and nail any attempt to expose the national health service to a post-Brexit trade deal with Donald Trump.

“That’s why after the election, SNP MPs will bring forward a new law – an NHS protection Bill – to explicitly protect the NHS in all four countries of the UK from becoming a bargaining chip in future trade deals.

“It would prevent companies from taking legal action through investment protection or investor-state dispute resolution mechanisms.

“It would ensure that confidential discounts for expensive medicines would not be at risk.

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“And it would stipulate that, before any trade deal could come into force, the Scottish Parliament and the other devolved legislatures would need to give their explicit content.”

The SNP intends to hold another independence referendum in 2020 following the result of the upcoming December general election but need the Prime Minister’s consent for it to be legally binding.

In the 2016 Brexit referendum, Scotland voted 62 percent to Remain compared to 53.4 percent and 52.5 percent to leave in England and Wales respectively.

Polling expert Sir John Curtice suggested substantial gains in Scotland could be possible for Ms Sturgeon’s SNP at the upcoming general election.

Sir John said: “Somewhere around 45 to 50 seats for the SNP at the moment seems perfectly possible.”

Recent opinion polls have given the SNP around 40 percent of the Scottish vote an almost 20-point lead of the Tories and Scottish Labour Party.

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