LABOUR sources have accused the Conservatives of cynically risking the Union in a bid to stay in Downing Street amid increasingly strident attacks on any post-election deal with the SNP.
The Tories are expected to intensify campaigning on the issue north and south of the border this week.
Conservative MPs yesterday warned of a "doomsday alliance" if there was a Labour-SNP agreement after the General Election.
Over the weekend David Cameron called on Labour leader Ed Miliband to rule out any deal with the SNP "if he cares about this country".
His comments followed a similar call from former Tory Prime Minister John Major.
In response, former Conservative chairman Lord Baker claimed a grand coalition between Labour and the Tories might be necessary to ensure the SNP did not hold the balance of power at Westminster.
Labour sources accused the Tories of trying to drum up support for the SNP in order to remain in No 10.
They hit out at the idea of a 'grand coalition' claiming it was a ruse to suggest Labour could work with the Tories, a toxic idea in Scotland.
A source said: "The Tories are trying to maximise the number of SNP seats in Scotland, but that could backfire on the Union".
The Conservatives believe the pressure will help shore up its core vote in England, where the party faces challenges from a number of opponents, including Ukip,.
The row follows calls from a number of Labour MPs who want Mr Miliband to rule out any deal with the SNP.
Opinion polls show Labour on course to lose many of its seats in Scotland to the nationalists in May. Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy is expected to hold on to his seat narrowly but other key seats formerly held by Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are expected to go to the SNP.
Some Labour MPs argue that the party has already lost many voters wavering between Labour and the SNP.
Instead, they should concentrate on wooing former Lib Dems hesitant about backing Labour because they fear an alliance with the nationalists.
However, other Labour MPs argue that ruling out a deal could trigger a backlash in Scotland the party can ill-afford.
Another major sticking point is understood to be fears that ruling out a deal with the SNP would merely open Mr Miliband up to questions about other potential alliances, such as with the Lib Dems.
Yesterday a Labour shadow cabinet member hit out at the SNP, telling the party it was not the "social conscience" of Labour.
Carline Flint said that her party would take no lectures from the SNP about how it could "somehow be more progressive then Labour".
She added: "We are focused on winning a Labour majority government. Let me say this. We do not want, we do not need and we do not plan to have any coalition with the SNP.
"There is going to be a choice at this election between who will sit in Number 10. It is a choice between Labour or the Conservatives forming a majority government.
"Every vote that is cast for the SNP makes it more likely that David Cameron will retain the keys to Number 10.
"The SNP is not the social conscience of the Labour party. They might like to see themselves like that but they are not.
"We are the party that will repeal the bedroom tax, we will raise the minimum wage, we will freeze energy prices, a policy the SNP do not support, and we are a party based on our record over 100 years of supporting social justice and success for working people."
Shadow Scottish secretary Margaret Curran also repeatedly refused to rule out a deal with the SNP.
The SNP's deputy leader, Stewart Hosie, said a deal where his party supported Labour in votes on the budget and any confidence motions was "perfectly viable".
Speaking at a one-day Scottish Labour Party conference in Edinburgh on Saturday, Mr Miliband urged voters to back Labour to help "boot out this Tory government".
Mr Murphy, meanwhile, warned that voting for the SNP would "save" David Cameron and lead to another Tory austerity government for the UK.
However, Angus Robertson, the SNP's General Election campaign director, said: "Only by voting SNP can people make Scotland's priorities the priorities at Westminster.
"People want to empower Scotland, and they want to vote positively for a party 100 per cent focused on Scottish interests - and see the SNP as the only party which stands for that."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article