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Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has accused Nicola Sturgeon of forming a doorstep “alliance” with the Tories to thwart Labour’s election chances.

The Labour heavyweight questioned why the SNP is campaigning hard in Labour constituencies if they are committed to dumping Boris Johnson from Downing Street.

He also implied that some in Sturgeon’s party would prefer a Tory victory this week as it would boost the SNP.

In an interview with the Daily Record, McDonnell hit out after opinion polls showed the Tories holding a comfortable lead over Labour.

His party’s offer to Scotland centres on £100billion of investment over ten years if Jeremy Corbyn becomes Prime Minister.

However, Labour’s campaign in Scotland has been dominated by a u-turn over indyref2 made by McDonnell in the summer.

(Image: Daily Record)

Labour had previously been staunchly opposed to another referendum, but McDonnell said his party would not block a re-rerun of the 2014 vote.

The switch was aimed at wooing pro-independence voters and has fuelled speculation of a Labour/SNP pact after the election.

Despite the olive branch on indyref2, Labour activists are angry that Sturgeon has campaigned in the Scottish seats won by their party in 2017.

They believe the SNP should focus their resources on the 13 seats secured by the Scottish Tories two years ago.

McDonnell said: “It’s interesting that they’re not concentrating on the Tories, isn’t it? This bizarre Johnson/Sturgeon alliance that seems to be emerging practically on the ground.”

Asked who he believes the SNP wants to win the election, he said:

“If you look at it, some would argue that having Boris Johnson might benefit the SNP because people would be so alienated. But in arguing that, and doing that, it means large numbers of Scottish people would suffer.”

He said the Tories and the SNP Government, who have been accused of failing on devolved public services, have a mutual interest in talking about independence:

“All they want to talk about is the constitution issues. The last thing they want working people to talk about is their living standards, the quality of their lives, what’s happening to their public services.

“It’s almost like a conspiracy: let’s not talk about the real world, let’s talk about constitutional issues. And in that way they have hijacked the political debate.”

McDonnell believes a Labour Government pursuing left-wing policies would make the argument for independence “increasingly irrelevant.”

On whether he believes Sturgeon’s view is that a Labour Government would weaken the case for independence, he said: “It may well do.”

(Image: Daily Record)

Asked to explain his message to pro-independence voters on why they should back Labour, he said:

“The issues that we face now, both in terms of the social crisis and the environmental crisis, are the ones we should focus on. Constitutional affairs won’t affect those matters.”

He was also critical of the SNP’s handling of the anti-semitism allegations faced by Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath candidate Neale Hanvey.

The Nationalists withdrew support for Hanvey over his comments on Israel, but some party members have still been campaigning for him.

McDonnell, who says Labour’s initial handling of its own anti-semitism scandal is his biggest regret of the last two years, criticised SNP members for “brazenly” helping the renegade candidate.

“Where has Nicola Sturgeon condemned that? What has she done about it?”

He said of the SNP: “It has turned a blind eye to its members publicly campaigning for this candidate, using SNP colours. This is an SNP campaign in all but name.”

More broadly, McDonnell has faced criticism inside Scottish Labour for his indyref2 u-turn. Does he regret the way he announced the change?

“No. When you are in those situations, in conversation or interviews, the most important thing is to answer honestly and fairly and with integrity as well. That’s what I did.”

Did he not throw the Scottish party under a bus? “Not at all, quite the reverse. We were able to make sure people understood what our policy was.”

On the polls, which predict a Tory predict, he claims the “trend” is towards Labour and believes undecided voters will break to his party on polling day.

However, while some Labour policies appear to resonate with the public, Corbyn’s poll ratings are terrible.

Asked what his message is to voters who have their doubts about the leader, McDonnell says:

“Every time Jeremy has appeared in the debates, he wins hands down on the polling around trustworthiness. Someone who knows what we are going through, someone who can relate to ordinary people.

“The contrast all the time is that Jeremy comes across as a principled, straightforward, honest person.”

He added: “This is the Establishment trying to prevent someone being elected who can transform working people’s lives. This is the Establishment holding on to their wealth and power. They are trying to destroy him.”

SNP candidate Tommy Sheppard said: “Labour cannot stop the Tories in Scotland and would be far better focusing on the seats in England where their indecision over Brexit risks letting the Tories in.

“No matter how people normally vote, on Thursday it is only voting for the SNP that can block Boris Johnson in Scotland and as a former Labour member I urge all labour voters in Tory marginals to recognise how important this is and back the SNP.”