We will support the restoration of the 50p tax rate, a mansion tax and a bankers' bonus tax, Nicola Sturgeon says, asserting that it is right to ask the wealthy to pay more.

When money is tight, we must use our voice and our votes to prevent resources being "squandered" on new nuclear weapons. Unsurprisingly, that is greeted with a lengthy round of applause. She says the party will seek to build an alliance against Trident, and for the £100bn cost of the programme to be invested in other areas.

Victoria Derbyshire

Gill, Leeds:

I hold out a hand of friendship to anyone wanting change, Nicola Sturgeon pledges.

The SNP leader says the number one priority in the party's manifesto is to end austerity, which, she says, has undermined public services and lowered people's living standards and held back economic growth.

We are offering a "clear alternative" to the spending cuts proposed by the Conservatives and Labour, she says, with promises to increase public spending. The debt and national deficit would still fall in each year, but at a slower rate, she adds.

We will not do any deals that put the Tories into power, Nicola Sturgeon tells the room - to applause. We will vote to stop a new Tory government even getting off the ground, she says. But we will make a Labour governemnt bolder and better. We want to make common cause to deliver "progressive change" - citing the party's eight years of experience in government in Scotland.

In a direct appeal to citizens living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Nicola Sturgeon promises the SNP will exercise its influence on any government at Westminster responsibly and in the interests of the whole of the UK.

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This really is a bit of a hero's welcome for Nicola Sturgeon, who declares that this is a manifesto to make Scotland stronger at Westminster.

"The pledge I make today to the Scottish people is this: if you vote SNP on 7 May, we will make your voice heard more loudly than it has ever been heard before at Westminster.

"We will stand up for Scotland's interests at Westminster and we will fight your corner."

Huge cheers and applause greet SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon as she makes her way into the arena, alongside Scotland's deputy first minister, John Swinney. A brief pause to allow photographers to get their shot, and they take to the stage.

Norman Smith
Assistant political editor

Nicola Sturgeon will hail this manifesto launch as "a rare moment of opportunity". If the SNP does as well as the polls suggest, they may well shape the next government and the policies it pursues throughout the UK. They are clear they are looking for some sort of deal with the Labour Party.

They want a Labour administration to adopt many of their key policies, which is why the SNP's manifesto matters so much. Their keynote policies include an end to austerity, with more government spending - including on the NHS and childcare; to scrap the roll-out of universal credit, and to axe Britain's Trident nuclear weapons programme. Labour is saying no formal coalition but they have not absolutely closed the door to a more informal deal.

David Cameron has just begun speaking in Crewe. He's about to clash timing-wise - and politically, of course - with the SNP launch but we'll bring you snippets where we can. He begins by talking about the economy. "It is everything," he says. "I didn't come into this to create some sort of reckless economy only within the M25." The PM says he wants to spread the benefits north and south.

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Image source, Twitter

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Just a reminder that the Scottish National Party will be launching its election offerings imminently. We'll be sure to bring you all the latest. But in the meantime, here's what to expect from the party's manifesto .

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Labour launched their manifesto a week ago. So why have the SNP held their own launch back? Well, it's pretty simple. Postal votes.

The first postal votes land on doorsteps up and down the country today. There were nearly 800,000 Scottish voters registered for postal votes in last year's referendum - one in five voters.

So the plan is to have Nicola Sturgeon all over the airwaves and front pages just as the first votes of this election are cast. They know that the more voters they can get out - particularly while the polls are looking good (and they are looking very good for the SNP) - the better. You can't fault the logic...

Graeme, London:

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David, Dundee @ Scott, London: