ED Miliband urged Scots not to believe the referendum choice is between an independent Scotland and a Tory Britain.

The Labour Leader said it was not the case the Tories were the dominant force in the rest of the UK and attacked the SNP for following what he described as Tory economic policies.

Mr Miliband was speaking to an audience of Labour Party members and invited undecided voters in Motherwell on his visit to Scotland with the Shadow Cabinet.

He said the opportunity for a fairer society lay with electing Labour to Westminster in 2015.

He added: "The beguiling argument the SNP offer is the only way to get rid of the Tories is through independence.

"The right way is to elect a Labour government next year. It is 22 years since the UK voted in a majority Tory government. Don't believe the idea of a Tory England."

He told the meeting his vision for Britain was for greater equality and better working conditions, outlining plans to end zero hours contracts and increase the minimum wage.

He asked voters in Scotland to contrast that with the SNP vision which, he said, was to give the green light to big companies to lower pay and conditions.

He said: "Alex Salmond's first commitment is not to abolish the bedroom tax or to have a 50p top tax rate it's a 3p cut in corporation tax.

"If you separate two countries what happens is you draw a border between Scotland and England.

"It produces companies who will say, if you don't lower taxes, lower wages and conditions then we will move across the border. It is the race to the bottom and it's going to make inequality worse."

stewart.paterson@eveningtimes.co.uk