Party pressure on Miliband to rule out deal with nationalists

ED MILIBAND has been urged to “do a Wilson” and rule out any deal with Nicola Sturgeon as senior Labour sources claimed that most members of the Shadow Cabinet believed the party leader should publicly reject a post-election alliance.

Lord Donoughue, former Head of the No 10 Policy Unit under Labour Prime Ministers Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, told The Herald: “It’s absolutely essential that the Labour leader comes out as soon as possible, well before the election, against any deal with the Scottish Nationalists. That way he will make potential SNP supporters realise they can’t vote Scottish Nationalist and get a coalition government.”

The Labour peer insisted it was unacceptable to have separatists doing deals with a Labour administration as they would seek in various ways to undermine the UK.

“I was there in 1974 when Harold Wilson ruled out a coalition with the benign Liberals. It is possible to rule out undesirable deals, as Wilson did, and end up as Prime Minister. Ed Miliband should not be afraid of doing a Wilson; after all Harold won four out of five elections.”

Lord Donoughue argued that by ruling out a deal the Labour leader would be regarded by the public as acting out of “courage and principle” and added: “It would be entirely to his credit.”

The peer claimed several Labour colleagues in the Lords supported this line; Lord Foulkes, the former Scotland Office Minister, has already urged the party leader to reject any tie-up with the SNP.

Another colleague said: “Ed should not do any deal with the nationalists. He should challenge them to vote him down,” noting how this was what happened in 1979 – the anniversary of which falls on March 28 – when SNP MPs voted against the Callaghan govern- ment and “heralded in” 13 years of Margaret Thatcher as PM.

At Westminster, there is a growing belief among the party’s MPs that the Labour leader will announce he is ruling out a postpoll deal with Ms Sturgeon’s party. One source said he had been reassured it would be done “at the right place and at the right time”.

Another suggested it is Jim Murphy, the Scottish Labour leader, who is particularly fearful what impact ruling out a deal with the SNP could have on those soft Labour voters who voted Yes in September’s referendum and who might now be torn between voting Labour and supporting the nation- alists on May 7. Most voters in Scotland, when asked in opinion polls, say their preferred option is a Lab-SNP alliance.

The Labour leadership has thus far held the line the party does not want, is not seeking and will not need any deal with the SNP. Their mantra is vote Labour, get Labour. Yet the opinion polls suggest this is not yet having an impact on Scottish voters.

But many figures in the party are viscerally opposed to having any post-poll arrangement with the nationalists. Indeed, there are suggestions some might resign their party membership if any deal with the nationalists were ever done.

“Most of the party wants Ed to rule it out. Most of the Shadow Cabinet, indeed, most MPs want him to rule it out,” said a senior insider. It is suggested Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls and Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham, are among those most keen for their leader to rule out any deal with Ms Sturgeon before the election.

Party sources pointed to growing disquiet in England, where candidates in Lab-Con marginals fear David Cameron and his colleagues, by constantly raising the spectre of a Lab-SNP alliance, will help them lose their contested seats.