Ed Miliband says Cameron leads party that ‘uses’ Scotland

The Conservatives' decision to target the role the Scottish National Party could play in the next House of Commons shows that it no longer "even pretends" to represent all of the United Kingdom, Labour leader Ed Miliband has said.

In recent days, the Conservatives have circulated an internet image of a statesmanlike former SNP leader, Alex Salmond, coupled with an awkward-looking Mr Miliband appearing out of Mr Salmond's breast-pocket to mock Labour's need for SNP votes if Mr Miliband is to form a government.

Polling research shows that the campaign attack is having an effect on voters in England, who fear instability if there is another hung parliament and who dislike the possibility that Scottish nationalists could wield significant power in Westminster after May 7th.

However, Mr Miliband, who ruled out a coalition deal yesterday with the SNP, rounded on prime minister David Cameron, saying that the Conservatives' language proved that he now leads a party "that now simply wants to use Scotland as a political device.

“[It is] a Conservative party that does not even try and pretend it can represent the whole country. The Conservative party is now a real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom,” the Labour leader said.

However, Mr Miliband's decision to rule out a coalition with the SNP adds little to the public debate, since one was not on offer – a point that was sharply illustrated within minutes by Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon.

“I don’t think what Ed Miliband has just said changes anything pretty much at all. I have said repeatedly that a formal coalition between Labour and the SNP was highly unlikely, [and] would not be my preference,” she said.

So far, a succession of opinion polls in Scotland report that the SNP is set to inflict near-terminal damage upon Labour in the 41 constituencies where it has MPs, unless there is a significant turn in events in the next two months.

Making it clear that the SNP will be a strong voice in Westminster, Ms Sturgeon said Scots were "repeatedly told by the Westminster politicians that Scotland was an equal and valued member of the United Kingdom – that, contrary to how many of us feel, our voice did matter within the Westminster system.

“So don’t be at all surprised if the SNP, the Scottish government – indeed Scotland as a whole – now starts to take those Westminster politicians at their word. We have clear and constructive views on many aspects of UK policy which affect Scotland deeply – views which we know are often shared by many people elsewhere in the UK. And we intend to bring those ideas forward in a positive spirit.”

Speaking in London yesterday, the Scottish first minister gave a few early signals about the demands the SNP would have if their votes are required to keep a minority Labour administration in office.

However, the early signals are deliberately designed to appeal to those who voted Labour in Scotland in the past, concentrating on calls for looser public spending and welfare changes to help society’s poorest.