David Cameron has rejected suggestions that the Tories are endangering the future of the UK with their campaign message that Labour and the Scottish National party are planning to form a post-election alliance to install Ed Miliband in Downing Street.
The prime minister, who warned that the SNP would act as the “chain to Labour’s wrecking ball” in government, said it was right to highlight the “appalling prospect” of a deal between the two parties.
Cameron, who was speaking at the launch of the Scottish Conservatives’ manifesto in Glasgow, said that the two parties would deliver a “coalition of chaos” that would not just threaten the public finances. “Together, they pose a clear threat to the future of our United Kingdom,” he said.
The prime minister widened his attack on the two parties as the Tories step up their warnings about the dangers posed by the recent SNP surge, which will prompt what he called a Labour meltdown. The Tories are seeking to energise pro-union voters in Scotland and encourage wavering voters in England to vote Conservative to avoid a Labour/SNP deal after the election in the event of a hung parliament .
The Tory tactics are infuriating Labour, which has ruled out a coalition with the SNP but is declining to rule out a less formal arrangement for fear that it might give the impression it is disenfranchising Scottish voters.
Labour is acknowledging that it faces historic losses in Scotland. The latest Guardian projection suggests the SNP could win 54 of Scotland’s 59 seats. Labour is projected to win 272 seats, handing the two parties a parliamentary majority of one, were they to join forces in an informal alliance.
The prime minister dismissed criticisms that he is playing a dangerous game with the UK’s future with his suggestion that the largest pro-union party in Scotland – Labour – is intent on forming a post-election alliance with a party intent on breaking up the country.
Cameron said: “Let me answer very directly this issue about the battle here in Scotland. The fact is that Labour is facing a meltdown and is failing to speak out about people’s concerns. I am responsible for many things, but the total failure of Labour in Scotland you cannot lay at my doorstep.
“Every single pollster, commentator and everybody agrees, come 8 May, Labour are going to have a dreadful time in Scotland and are going to be replaced in many many constituencies by the SNP.
“The consequence is Ed Miliband cannot become prime minister without the SNP. That has a consequence for Scotland; it has a consequence for the rest of the UK. It is an appalling prospect of having a Labour prime minister propped up by a group of people who a) don’t want to be in that parliament, b) don’t want to be in that country, c) would like to see the whole thing break up. In the meantime [they] are going to push for an economy with a borrowing, taxing and spending agenda.”
The prime minister spoke out after Downing Street released figures showing that Labour and the SNP have voted on the same side in parliament to illustrate his argument that the two parties are natural bedfellows.
Cameron, who said during the independence referendum that it would break his heart to see the UK break up, moved to show his commitment to the union by rejecting the idea of full fiscal autonomy. Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister and SNP leader, was forced to row back after suggesting in a recent television debate that she favoured full fiscal autonomy seeing all tax raising powers handed to Holyrood. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned that this would create a £7.6bn black hole in Scotland’s public finances.
The prime minister said: “To me the UK is not just a place on the map, it is not just a brilliant future, it is not just our armed forces … it is also solidarity. And that is what the fiscal union is about. That if parts of Scotland have a difficult year the rest of the UK is there for you to help. If parts of England have a difficult time parts of Scotland are there to help.
“Full fiscal autonomy – I think it would be bad for Scotland as the IFS figures demonstrate but it would be bad for the country I love – and that country is called the UK. It is a solidarity union as well as a union of nations. And let’s not forget that.”
The Scottish Tory election manifesto largely repeated commitments on Scotland that were first published in the manifesto for the rest of the UK launched in Swindon on Tuesday. These are to give English MPs a veto over legislation that relates solely to England and to introduce some English-only income tax.
The Scottish manifesto also included a pledge to reintroduce the right to buy a council house in Scotland. But the Tories would have to win a Holyrood election to reverse the SNP policy on the right-to-buy scheme.
Cameron’s criticisms of the SNP and Labour were echoed by Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives. She said: “We need to point out to the voters of this country that [a] dodgy deal is being done by the Labour party – and shame on them for doing it. Shame on them.”
