SNP's Nicola Sturgeon: Relax austerity and "free up £180bn"

Leader of the Scottish National Party, Nicola Sturgeon, told Today she thinks austerity measures under a Conservative government have failed.

Scotland's First Minister said she would persuade a Labour government to take a more moderate approach to managing the economy:

"If, over the life of the next parliament, we were to allow modest, responsible, increases in public spending, say 0.5% in real terms, then debt and deficit would still be falling, but we would free up £180bn to invest in infrastructure".