ED MILIBAND will “work well” with Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP after the election, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey has said.
The Unite boss said he “expects” Ed Miliband to work with any progressive party, confirming that he is sure Miliband will be the next prime minister.
Sturgeon and other SNP figures have repeatedly called for Labour to work with the party to “lock out the Tories”, but Miliband seemed to rule out any kind of deal last weekend.
Despite this, polls have consistently shown that neither Labour nor the Conservatives will win an overall majority, and McCluskey said he could see Labour and the SNP working together after the election.
Although he was campaigning for Labour, McCluskey insisted he had not “come to Scotland to attack the SNP”, saying they have emerged as a “credible alternative” to the Labour Party.
Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, he said: “It would be wrong of me to launch an attack against the SNP who have a manifesto that is anti-austerity, which is Unite’s policy, and many of the issues that they talk about are in line with the policies of my membership.
“They have undoubtedly changed the contours of the political scene and we have to respond to that, in particular the unions.”
He went on to say he was in Scotland to show people the “radicalisation” that has taken place in the Labour Party, admitting it had lost the people’s trust. This is reflected in the Unite membership make-up in Scotland, which he said is now “pretty much split” between SNP and Labour.
“It’s a trust issue. Whether we like it or not, the SNP appear to have gained some trust of the Scottish working class,” he said.
McCluskey said he thought both Sturgeon and Miliband were impressive during the debates and rebuked the Daily Mail for its headline claims that Sturgeon is the “most dangerous woman in Britain”.
He said: “It’s extraordinary what they come up with,” he said. “These are the mouthpieces of the ruling elite, so in some ways it’s a demonstration of them panicking. I’m sure she’ll wear it as a badge of honour.”
Although one of Miliband’s biggest supporters, McCluskey has previously been vocal in his opposition of the decision to appoint Jim Murphy as head of Scottish Labour.
McCluskey had described Murphy’s appointment as a “death sentence” for Scottish Labour and last year spoke of the new leader as the “candidate of reheated Blairism”.
Murphy has also been vocal in his criticism of McCluskey and Unite, especially in the aftermath of the Falkirk selection scandal where he claimed the union had “well and truly overstepped the mark”.
The pair seemed to make sure they steered clear of each other during the trade union boss’s trip north of the Border this weekend, despite him meeting several other candidates.
Speaking about Murphy and his campaign, McCluskey said he is “supporting his efforts to change”, adding that there are issues that he has “wanted to hear for a while” being talked about in Scotland.
Despite the message of support, he added: “Once this is all over, depending on what’s happened, it may be that we have to re-examine where we are.”
McCluskey spoke with anti-Trident candidate Katy Clark and Govan candidate Iain Davidson during his time in Scotland.
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