Jeremy Corbyn has ruled out a formal pact with the SNP – but insists he would welcome Nationalist support for his policies.
The Labour leader had come under pressure from within his own party to make the statement after Dave Anderson, his shadow Scottish Secretary, said he would be open to a coalition if it kept the Conservatives out of power.
Speaking to activists ahead of a hustings in Glasgow with Owen Smith, the man challenging him for the top job in the party, Mr Corbyn also slammed the SNP’s economic policy.
He said the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) statistics, which revealed a Scottish deficit of £14.8 billion in 2015/16, showed independence would not be in the best interests of Scotland.
Mr Corbyn said: “I won’t be looking for an alliance from the SNP. I will welcome support for our policies from any other party.”
He added: “A Scottish deficit of £15 billion raises a huge question mark over the central economic mission of the SNP.”
The current UK boss also refused to say he supported Scottish leader Kezia Dugdale, who has given her backing to Mr Smith.
He said: “I stand just as Scottish Labour did in May on an unashamedly anti-austerity platform with policies that will ensure that no-one across Scotland and the rest of the country is left behind.
“I’m therefore disappointed that my friend Kezia Dugdale does not sign up to this programme at the moment.”
He added he hoped the pair could continue working together if he is re-elected at the Labour conference in Liverpool next month.
Tonight we're holding a #LabourLeadership rally in Glasgow https://t.co/wiKETk5orE & tomorrow in Dundee. RSVP here → https://t.co/U3W0UEu4hD
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) August 25, 2016
Meanwhile, Mr Corbyn has also announced that a Labour government would create a Scottish investment bank to “unlock the potential” of small businesses in the country.
He said: “We will create a Scottish national bank under Scottish control and backed by the national investment bank.
“With £20bn of lending power to deliver funds to local projects and Scotland’s small businesses.
“Just 8% of lending to small businesses in the UK goes to Scotland, compared to one third who that goes to London and the rest of the South East.”
