Labour's only Scottish MP has accused Jeremy Corbyn of a lack of understanding of the political dynamic in Scotland by failing to rule out an alliance with the SNP.
Ian Murray, who resigned as shadow Scottish secretary in June, said the SNP's proposal for full fiscal autonomy would create a £7.6 billion hole in Scotland's economy.
His successor Dave Anderson, the English MP appointed to shadow the Scotland and Northern Ireland portfolios, said an SNP alliance may be a price worth paying to stop another Conservative government.
Read more: Why the furious Labour reaction to talk of deals with the SNP
Writing in the Daily Record, Mr Murray said: "Jeremy Corbyn isn't interested in being Prime Minister. Owen Smith, the other candidate, understands the need for a Labour Government.
"He knows that to help working class families get a fair crack of the whip, we need to appeal to as many people as possible.
"Supporters of Jeremy Corbyn appear to be doing the exact opposite.
"In recent days my successor as shadow scottish secretary, Dave Anderson MP, suggested there could be a deal between Labour and the SNP to form a UK Government.
"This isn't the first time Jeremy and his allies have shown a lack of understanding of the political dynamic in Scotland.
"During the passage of the Scotland Act, the SNP were forced by right wing Brexiteer Tories to table an amendment that would have blown a £7.6 billion hole in Scotland's finances.
Read more: Over 200 Scottish Labour members call for Jeremy Corbyn resignation
"People across the UK need a Labour Government.
"Only an Owen Smith win will restore credibility to our battered party and give hope that the Tories can be thrown out of office."
Asked about an SNP coalition on Thursday, Mr Anderson said: "It is far too early to even contemplate that, but what I am not prepared to do on behalf of the Labour Party nationally is to rule that out completely.
"If that is the price we have to pay to prevent another rabid rightwing Tory government then, I tell you what it is, we have got to at least think about it and discuss it."
Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay, who supports the re-election of Mr Corbyn, rejected claims that a deal would be struck with the SNP.
He said: "Progressive alliances are not an option when you are engaged with a party that is not progressive. The SNP have cut council budgets more than (George) Osborne, cut 140,000 college places and failed to support a 50p tax rate on the wealthiest.
"When the SNP take the right decisions, and genuinely oppose austerity, they will find themselves in the same voting lobby as Jeremy Corbyn's Labour."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel