Edinburgh - The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) was Monday launching its manifesto for Britain's general election next month, after which it could play a central role in government.
Leader Nicola Sturgeon is expected to say the party would fight to end austerity cuts and scrap Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent if it ends up supporting a minority Labour government after May 7.
Opinion polls suggest that the SNP is set to make huge gains in Scotland, the only place in Britain where they stand for election.
The party currently has six seats in the House of Commons but is expected to sweep to victory in the majority of Scotland's 59 seats, mostly at the expense of Labour in one of its traditional heartlands.
As neither centre-left Labour nor Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives is expected to win an outright majority, this means they will likely have to team up with a smaller party or parties in order to govern.
AFP
