Scots Being Urged to Vote Labour

Scots must vote Labour to ensure the end of Conservative rule at Westminster next year, according to the party's shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran.

Ms Curran is expected to launch an attack on the SNP, who she has accused of trying to sound Labour'', as she gives a speech at a party summit in Perth today. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon could end uppropping up'' another UK Government led by David Cameron, despite already ruling out the prospect, Ms Curran will say.

Her speech to the party's Scottish MPs and general election candidates comes after recent polls showed a slump in support for Labour, and after the SNP saw a dramatic rise in its membership following the independence referendum. A Survation survey published last month put support for the SNP for the general election at 45.8%, compared with 23.9% for Labour. Such a result could see a significant drop in the number of Labour seats in Scotland, which currently stands at 41. Meanwhile the SNP could see its presence at Westminster rise considerably from its current six seats. Ms Curran will rally her party behind social policies such as an energy freeze, changes to tax rates and a rise in the minimum wage. She will say that the vow of more devolution has been delivered by the Smith Commission, and the debate has moved on to how to use those powers. Ms Curran is expected to say:

The question that the vast majority of Scots now want an answer to is 'how are you going to make me and my family better off?' And all the parties in the next election have to answer that question. Here in Scotland only Scottish Labour has a clear answer. We're going to freeze energy prices, and save every Scottish household £120. We're going to make sure the recovery is fair by introducing a 50p tax on people earning £150,000 or more, and lift people out of tax with a new 10p starting rate. And we're going to fix our economy by drawing a line under low-paid and insecure work by ending exploitative zero-hours contracts and raising the minimum wage to £8 an hour over the course of the Parliament. That's a fair and funded plan from Labour, in the face of not a single progressive policy proposal from the SNP.'' Ms Curran said voters face a choice between David Cameron or Ed Miliband for Prime Minister. She will add:Scots voted overwhelmingly to stay in the UK because they wanted the security of being part of it. But they still don't want the Tories. And today the biggest threat of continued Tory rule in Scotland comes from the SNP. No matter how much Nicola Sturgeon tries to sound Labour, she can never be Labour. Because she refuses to support our policies and no matter how much she says she'll never prop up a Tory government, that's exactly what she could end up doing next year. People across Scotland will not forgive or forget a party that gives David Cameron five more years in Downing Street.''