A FORMER president of the Scottish Trades Union Congress has become the latest prominent Labour Party figure to back a Yes in the referendum.
Pat Kelly, who was also the Scottish secretary of the powerful white-collar PCS union, said UK Labour had lost sight of its values in order to appeal to voters in marginal southern seats.
In the event of independence, he predicted the Scottish Labour party would be "released from the strait-jacket of London HQ" and prosper.
The former STUC boss is the latest in a series of senior Labour figures touted by Yes Scotland in the hope of winning over Labour voters.
Others include former Strathclyde Regional Council leader Sir Charles Gray, former Glasgow Lord Provost Alex Mosson, and former Scottish Labour Party treasurer Bob Thomson.
Despite Yes Scotland using the same tactic for months, the pro-Union Better Together campaign has yet to produce a defector to the No side.
Kelly, a Labour member for 30 years and an early campaigner for a Scottish Parliament, said: "I support independence because I feel that UK governments, both Tory and Labour, have drifted steadily to the right over the past 30 years, and this movement is set to continue.
"To woo voters in the marginal seats of southern England, the Labour Party has lost sight of its core values. It even promises to be tougher than the Tories on benefits cuts, immigration and public spending.
"We now have the opportunity... to vote for governments that reflect our own values."
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "Everyone is entitled to their opinion in this debate and we respect all points of view."
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