Baron Moonie of Bennochy would prefer the Tories in power to an SNP pact
A LABOUR member of the House of Lords has attacked the prospect of a post-election SNP-Labour deal by stating he would rather keep the Conservatives in power.
Lord Lewis Moonie, the former MP for Kirkcaldy, was responding to controversy surrounding Labour policy representative Robert McNeill, who proposed voting Conservative to stop the SNP in Scotland.
On Monday, McNeill, a member of Scottish Labour’s policy forum, promoted tactical voting for the Conservative party in seven different Scottish constituencies.
SNP supporters argued that continued cooperation between the unionist parties undermined Labour’s claims to oppose the Tories.
On Twitter, some posters pointed to previous comments made by Lord Moonie stating that he would prefer working with the Tories to the SNP.
Last month, Moonie, referring to Labour members, said “many of us would rather form a coalition with the Tories!” than work with the Scottish National Party.
He also recommended that Ed Miliband and David Cameron get together to tell the SNP and other parties “to eff off”.
Lord Moonie reacted angrily to the tweets suggesting that he supported a Tory-Labour deal: “No, moron, I said it [a Tory-Labour deal] would be better than one with the SNP.”
Senior members of the Labour party have expressed concern, including leadership candidate Neil Findlay MSP, that working closely with the Conservatives in the referendum has damaged the party.
SNP MP Pete Wishart criticised Moonie’s comments: “This pro-Tory attitude seems to be pervasive throughout the Labour Party in Scotland – having been hand in glove with the Tories for two-and-a-half years in the No campaign.
“No wonder more people in Scotland now trust the SNP rather than Labour to keep out the Tories.”
The SNP has ruled out any election deal with the Conservative party, but faces a challenge to form a working agreement with the Labour party.
In contrast, Labour members claim that only a vote for their party guarantees a change in government at Westminster.
Lewis Moonie had not replied to requests to comment at time of publication.
Picture courtesy of Dan Kitwood/PA Wire