I NEVER thought I'd say this but the stark truth of this election is that the Tories are depending on voters in Glasgow and across Scotland to win the general election.

 

Normally the Tories write Scotland off but this time they need us to keep them in power.

You may not have thought of it like that before.

But it is true, and should give us all pause for thought as we finally make up our mind who to vote for on May 7.

If we Scots turn our back on Labour we are doing what the Tories want.

Because however, unpredictable the election result is there is one thing that is crystal clear ... either Labour or the Tories will be the largest party in Britain after May 7.

And the party with the most seats always forms the government.

So the choice is Labour or Tories.

Any seats that Labour lose to the SNP will make it more likely that the Tories will emerge as the largest party and cling to Downing Street for another five miserable years.

Labour is doing well in England, including in London and the working class cities such as Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester.

And the canvass returns in English marginal seats are encouraging for Labour.

But losses in Scotland could cancel out these gains.

Ed Miliband is having a good campaign.

His reputation has grown the more voters have seen and heard from him.

People increasingly see him as a potential Prime Minister.

No wonder David Cameron is running scared of debating Ed.

And Labour has the right policies to build a fairer, more equal country.

We will tax bankers' bonuses to guarantee a job or apprenticeship for all young people, and older unemployed people, and we will increase by £1000 the bursaries of poorer students.

We will introduce a Mansion Tax on properties worth £2 million - the vast majority of which are in the south of England - to fund an extra 1000 nurses in Scotland.

And through fair and progressive measures such as a 50p tax rate for high earners, outlawing tax-dodgers, and we will pay for an extra 500 GPs in Scotland and establish properly funded mental health and cancer funds.

Labour will take on the big energy suppliers and prevent them from increasing our bills, we will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, abolish the bedroom tax and end the need for foodbanks, and increase the minimum wage to at least £8 an hour.

These are policies worth voting for.

We have it within our grasp to kick out the Tories next week..

When it comes to the UK general election, Labour is the change that Glasgow needs.

And the only way to get a Labour government is to vote Labour on May 7.