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Miliband tries to woo Scots to progressive union

LABOUR leader Ed Miliband painted a picture of a more progressive Britain during an Edinburgh speech yesterday in a bid to bolster support for the union.

He launched a political charm offensive targeted at traditional Labour voters ahead of September’s Scottish independence referendum. 

Appealed for them to join his party’s “mission to change Britain,” Mr Miliband told his audience: “By voting No you can say yes to the biggest progressive change for a generation.”

Pledges to restore the 50p top rate of income tax, “ban” zero-hours contracts for 90,000 exploited Scots and axe the bedroom tax were among Labour’s pledges if they won the next general election.

But a Scottish exit from the union could put progressive policies in jeopardy as the country has always been “instrumental” in making change happen. 

The speech is designed to shore up support in Labour heartlands, motivating traditional supporters who have backed the Scottish nationalists at recent elections or stopped voting altogether. 

It comes in response to a massive drive by left-wing independence supporters to register working-class voters ahead of the referendum.

But there was dissent from within Mr Miliband’s own ranks yesterday as longstanding Labour member and lawyer Fiona Cook condemned him for campaigning alongside the Tories against independence. 

“I joined the Labour Party because I wanted to be part of a movement for social justice,” she said. 

“I’m disappointed that we’ve not had a debate about independence in the past.”

The speech also comes after a poll showed there is a majority in favour of independence if the Tories look set to win the next general election. 

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