Jim Murphy wants Yes & No union to stop Cameron

Murphy at yesterday's meeting. Picture: John Devlin

Murphy has convened a meeting of Labour supporters who voted Yes and No to independence to urge them to put the referendum behind them and work together to evict David Cameron from Downing Street.

He warned during the meeting in Tollcross, Glasgow,  that voting for anyone other than Labour could return the Conservatives to power.

His call comes a day after Cameron warned that a vote for anyone other than the  Conservatives was a vote that could put Labour leader Ed Miliband into No 10, potentially propped up by the SNP.

At a specially arranged meeting designed to bring Yes and No voters together, Murphy spoke of uniting voters from both sides of the constitutional debate.

Ever since he was elected Scottish Labour leader, he has made a concerted effort to  attract support from Yes voters, even though he was one of the most prominent Better  Together campaigners.

With the SNP riding high in the polls, Murphy knows he must reach out to the Yes vote if he is to avoid Labour making huge losses to the Nationalists. “Although we voted in different ways last September, we all want change for Scotland. We all care about Scotland’s future,” he told 40 Yes voters, who had joined with another 40 No voters at the Glasgow event  titled “Changing Scotland”.

Murphy said: “In the election in May we have an opportunity to shape a better future. We can change Scotland by getting rid of David Cameron. We need to stop the Tories being the largest party across the UK.

“And the way to do that is by voting Scottish Labour. To those who want rid of David Cameron – let’s unite and get rid of him in May. So either Labour or the Tories will form the next UK government.

“Any seat the SNP take from Scottish Labour is a seat off our total across the UK. And that makes it more likely the Tories will be the largest party and form the next government.

“Now, I read the opinion polls just like everybody else. They don’t make happy reading just now. Not just for my party, but for Scotland. Because as things stand, it could be Scotland that sends David Cameron back to Downing Street by accident. Just imagine that. The country that fought so hard against Mrs Thatcher.”

Last night, SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said: “This clumsy attempt by Jim Murphy to make people forget his toxic alliance with the  Tories will impress no-one, and is one reason why more and more people are putting their trust in the SNP to represent Scotland.”