THE SNP has ignored glaring inequalities in Scotland to pick a fight with England, shadow Scottish Secretary Margaret Curran will say today.

In a speech in Glasgow, the Labour frontbencher will say Scottish ministers' "obsession" with independence is blinding them to policies to help ordinary people.

She will cite research by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that the UK's tax and benefits system under the last Labour government halted the growth of inequality in Scotland.

Ms Curran is expected to say: "The simplistic way the SNP are presenting questions around inequality in the run up to the referendum does not serve us well." She will add: "The SNP want to say that the only gap in inequality that matters is between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

"But I want to say this morning that the SNP are ignoring the inequalities that exist inside Scotland and aren't taking the necessary action to tackle them."

She will also attack First Minister Alex Salmond's claim that London is a "dark star" that is "sucking the life" out of the rest of the country. "There is a failure of logic that says that the best way to solve the problem of an uneven economy, and to increase our prosperity, is to cut ourselves off from the richest part," she will say.

Eilidh Whiteford, the SNP's work and pensions spokeswoman, said: "The inconvenient truth for Margaret Curran is that inequality in the UK increased during the 13 years of the last Labour government. Scotland is a wealthier country in economic output per head than the UK, France and Japan.

"We can more than afford to be independent, and with powers over welfare and pensions we can be a fairer country too - with a transformation in childcare provision, and guaranteed rises in the minimum wage and pensions."