Curran: Sturgeon wants Labour to win UK election

Margaret Curran will say voting Labour is the best way to thwart the Tories. Picture: John Devlin

In a keynote speech, Ms Curran will argue that a vote for the SNP in May could harm Labour’s chances of defeating the Conservatives.

She will say that the SNP spent the referendum campaign urging people to vote Yes to get rid of the Tories.

With a No vote securing Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom, she will say only a Labour vote can keep David Cameron out of Downing Street.

Speaking at a summit of Scottish Labour MPs and election candidates in Perth, Ms Curran will say the key question being asked of politicians by people across Scotland is: “How are you going to make me and my family better off?”

She will say only Labour or the Conservatives will lead the next government and only Mr Cameron or Ed Miliband can become prime minister.

“That’s the choice,” she will say. “Here’s something even Nicola Sturgeon can agree with me on. The best choice for Scotland is a Labour government next year, because we’d deliver what Scotland needs and keep the Tories out of Number 10. ”

She will add: “Today, the biggest threat of continued Tory rule 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.”

She will continue: “People across Scotland will not forgive or forget a party that gives David Cameron five more years in Downing Street. The message to people in your constituencies over the coming weeks is clear.

“If you want to secure the recovery; if you want common sense changes like an energy freeze, a 50p tax rate for the well-off and a jobs guarantee for our young people; if you want to see the back of the Tories on 7 May, vote Labour.”

An SNP spokesman said: “This is desperate stuff by Labour who – after being tied to Tories for the past two years during the referendum campaign – are now clearly panicking at polling showing they are set to lose seats to the SNP.

“The fact is that the SNP will never let the Tories into power. As Tory cuts continue to hit the poorest hardest and the gap between rich and poor widens, Labour need to explain why they blocked the devolution of welfare in the Smith Commission just last week.”

“Next May, Scots have the opportunity to elect a strong team of SNP MPs to make sure Scotland’s voice is heard – and to ensure Scotland gets the powers it needs to move away from failed Westminster austerity and deliver real social justice.”