Labour leader Ed Miliband has urged party supporters considering backing independence to remain true to the movement’s ideals and vote No.
He said he wanted to build a fairer Scotland within the UK and insisted it would be Labour, not the SNP, that would bring about the change the country needed.
Mr Miliband, who was in Blantyre yesterday, said the only way to get rid of a Conservative government at Westminster was to vote Labour in the general election next year.
He claimed an SNP government in an independent Scotland would represent a continuation of Tory policies, citing plans for a 3p cut in corporation tax and failure to support an energy price freeze, and the reintroduction of a the 50p income tax rate for higher earners.
Mr Miliband: “I think the SNP, by putting the question of the battle for social justice once again on the agenda, have made a big strategic error, because we are better for social justice.”
But his battle cry was dealt a blow when it emerged that members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ Union (RMT) narrowly backed independence in a referendum ballot by a margin of 1,051-968, with 365 voters undecided.
Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the result was a “humiliation” for the Labour leader, who plans to return north next week to do more campaigning for the Union.
“Coming on the same day as his latest visit to Scotland, it completely demolishes his claims to be the authentic voice of working class, Labour-minded voters across Scotland,” she said.
But a Scottish Labour spokesman said six trade unions, representing 140,000 people in Scotland, were in favour of a No vote.