Gordon Brown has entered the General Election battle, outlining an economic plan he claimed could re-unite Scotland after last year's referendum.

 

The former Prime Minister unveiled detailed proposals to rebuild the Scottish economy on new technology, finance and maximising production from remaining North Sea oil reserves.

He also called for a huge increase in house building to boost construction and said newly empowered city councils and further education colleges should be at the heart of a national plan to eliminate youth unemployment.

Outlining his vision in a lecture in Glasgow, Mr Brown reached out to Yes voters, arguing last year's referendum resulted in a "unifying demand for change" from those on both sides of the independence debate.

"My programme is for the right kind of economic, social, cultural and constitutional change - change which I believe can unite what is today still very much a Scotland divided by the referendum, commanding the support of the vast majority of both Yes and No voters and helping us to repair the divisions that have since September embittered Scotland," he told an audience at Parkhead Congregational Church in the East End.

Mr Brown delivered the inaugural John Wheatley lecture as a prepares to step down as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath after 33 years at Westminster.

His vision will form the basis of his pitch to voters as he tours the country in the run-up to May 7 in an effort to shore up support for Labour.

In a message aimed at Yes voters, he argued the SNP have "recognised that absolute sovereignty is an impossibility in the modern world" by seeking to share the UK pound and remain in the EU.

He said the referendum had proved "we Scots are sovereign" and could "determine our own destiny" but urged people to back further devolution for Holyrood, a cause he championed during the independence campaign.

Backing "a modern equivalent of Scottish home rule within the UK," he said neither "the old independence" nor "the old devolution" would serve the country adequately.

As reported earlier, Mr Brown used the lecture to call for the UK Government to enter deals to part-own North Sea oil field which faced premature closure as a result of falling prices and rising costs in the industry.

But he also argued Scotland had to "prepare for a post-oil economy" and must create 100,000 jobs in fields such as medical science, robotics and other new technology.

A new Scottish School of Finance should be set up to safeguard the future of the financial services industry, he argued, while City Deals, similar to Glasgow's, should be extended to Scotland's other cities, creating up to 40,000 jobs.

He said house building should be doubled to meet shortages and create construction jobs and apprenticeships in science and engineering trebled as part of a drive to end youth unemployment.

Mr Brown also called for more vocational training in schools.

The former Prime Minister said: "Nationalist leaders cannot continue to sell people the illusion that the answer to the profound social and economic change that is transforming the lives of millions of Scots is primarily a constitutional one.

"Even If the SNP seem happy to spend their time talking about hung parliaments, post-election deals and coalitions, we will spend our time talking about new Scottish jobs, new Scottish businesses and new Scottish technologies, and how we can benefit from leading a global economic revolution.

He added: "I'm not asking people to suspend their support for Scotland by voting Scottish Labour at the next election just to keep the Conservatives out, important as that is.

"I'm asking people to support Scottish Labour at the coming election because we are best equipped to meet the needs and aspirations of the Scottish people. "

SNP deputy leader Stewart Hosie said: "Whatever good ideas Mr Brown has now, by definition he didn't implement them in the 13 years when he was chancellor and prime minister."