THE Medical Research Council has come under fresh pressure to increase funding for the search to find a cure for motor neurone disease (MND).
In a joint letter to the chairman of the UK-wide body, Ed Miliband and Jim Murphy backed calls by campaigner Gordon Aikman to double funding into MND research.
Mr Aikman, 29, a political researcher who has the disease, was honoured in The Herald's Scottish Politician of the Year Awards last year for his campaign, Gordon's Fightback.
In their letter, the Labour and Scottish Labour leaders urged Donald Brydon, chairman for the MRC, to reconsider research funding allocations.
Mr Miliband said: "I have had the privilege of meeting Gordon Aikman and hearing about his campaign.
"His dogged determination to fight for better care for MND sufferers is as selfless as it is inspiring.
"Edinburgh University and others are involved in world leading work to find a cure for MND but much more needs to be done. The Medical Research Council should take a fresh look at the funding available for MND research.
"Only when MND is no longer a death sentence can we be satisfied that we are doing enough."
Mr Murphy said: "Gordon Aikman is a friend and colleague.
"Along with many others, his campaign to raise awareness of MND has been inspirational, putting the need for greater investment in research and nursing care at the top of the political agenda.
"What has been the most remarkable thing about Gordon's campaign is that he doesn't expect to benefit from many of the things he is fighting for.
"This is about making sure that the MND patients of the future get a better shot at survival than those of today.
"There is a powerful case for the Medical Research Council increasing the amount of money it invests in MND research. I hope they will listen to Labour's call."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon increased funding for MND support in Scotland following a meeting with Mr Aikman arranged during The Herald's awards ceremony last November.
She doubled to 14 the number of specialist nurses in Scotland.
Across the UK around £5 million of public money was invested last year in research into MND, a rare, progressive and debilitating disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord.
Mr Aikman, a former Labour official, welcomed the party's backing.
He said: "It is bonkers that in 2015 we do not know what causes MND, never mind what we need to do to cure it.
"Ed Miliband has thrown down the gauntlet. It is now for the other party leaders to match his commitment. Whatever happens in the General Election, patients deserve to know the UK is serious about creating a world free from MND.
"We are poised to find a cure here in the UK: we have top scientists and world-leading universities. Doubling MND research funding will help make that dream a reality sooner.
"It will be too late for me, but we can and we must find a cure for future generations."
A spokeswoman for the MRC said: "The MRC currently spends £3.6million per year specifically on MND research and would welcome any high quality research applications that would increase this figure."
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