LARGE numbers of Scots remain undecided on how to vote in the General Election according to a poll which offered Labour the faintest glimmer of hope of avoiding electoral wipe-out.

 

Support for the SNP has shot up to 52 per cent, putting the party on course to take 56 of Scotland's 59 seats on May 7, according to one analysis.

Labour has fallen to 24 per cent, as the SNP almost doubled their lead in the space of a month, the latest TNS poll has found.

However, Labour campaigners may take slight comfort from the revelation that 29 per cent of voters remain undecided, a figure that rises to 39 per cent in the key battleground of Glasgow.

Tom Costley, the head of TNS Scotland, said the contest was "really only beginning".

Responding to the findings, Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said: "Let's see what happens on May 7 in Scotland.

"I believe there are many people still making up their minds."

However one Scottish Labour candidate tipped for defeat at the hands of the SNP admitted: "We need a major game-changer at national level if we are to get more than our fair share of don't-knows on May 7."

Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson made an undisguised plea for Lib Dems supporters to vote tactically for her party "if you're looking for an anti-SNP candidate" as she tried to exploit the uncertainty among a large section of the electorate,

The poll came on a day of intense activity on the campaign trail.

Launching Labour's manifesto in Manchester, Mr Miliband sought to portray Labour as the fiscally responsible party, pledging a "budget responsibility lock" that would guarantee every policy was fully costed and required no additional borrowing.

The focus will switch to the Tories today as David Cameron launches his manifesto for a second term in power.

He will brand the Conservatives the "party of working people".

A leaked text message last night suggested that the document would include a promise to exempt all workers who earn the minimum wage from income tax. The document will pledge that a new Scotland Bill, building on the Smith Agreement on extra powers, will be part of a Conservative government's first Queen's speech.

Mr Cameron will say: "At the heart of this manifesto is a simple proposition.

"We are the party of working people, offering you security at every stage of your life."

Urging voters to stick with his economic plans, he will conclude: "My message to Britain is this: we have come this far together. Let's not waste the past five years."

Jim Murphy, the Scottish Labour leader, faced claims he had been "hung out to dry" by the UK party leadership after he suggested Ed Miliband would not have to make cuts over the course of the next parliament.

Mr Miliband, shadow chancellor Ed Balls and shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna were challenged yesterday over comments Mr Murphy made in the televised TV debates last week, when he said "we don't have to make further cuts after 2015 and 2016".

Mr Miliband and Mr Balls both confirmed that Scotland would not be protected from budget reductions, while Mr Umunna said: "The leader of the Scottish Labour Party will not be in charge of the UK budget." Opponents seized on this, with the SNP accusing Mr Murphy of misleading voters.

The SNP launched a manifesto for business, including a demand for the early devolution of air passenger duty.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon and deputy Stewart Hosie also attempt to draw a line under the row over their plan to press for full fiscal autonomy, claiming a think tank study which showed a devo max Scotland would be £7.6billion worse off in the current financial year was "absolutely irrelevant".

According to the Scotland Votes online seat predictor, the SNP will win 56 seats if TNS polling figures are replicated nationally. Labour would hold two and the LibDems one.