TWO prominent pro-independence campaigners are among 100 Yes voters who have put their names to an open letter urging Scots to support Labour in Thursday's General Election.

The appeal by the group, including former council leader Sir Charles Gray and anti-poverty campaigner Bob Holman, in today's Herald, says voting Labour can "get the Tories out".

It comes as Scottish Labour stepped up its attacks on the SNP yesterday, claiming Nicola Sturgeon was preparing to back-track on a pledge to support Ed Miliband's programme at Westminster, potentially wrecking his chance of forming a minority government.

The latest Scottish poll, from YouGov, put support for the SNP on 49 per cent, 23 points ahead of Labour on 26 per cent.

It would give the Nationalists 54 seats on a uniform swing, with Labour holding just four and the Liberal Democrats one.

However polling expert John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said Labour may salvage around 11 seats if they limit the SNP's lead to around 17 points, the gap indicated by a new poll of polls based on Scottish samples in UK-wide surveys.

In the letter, the collection of Yes voters claim Ms Sturgeon is planning a second referendum and add: "We don't want to go through that again so soon."

They say: "Do we take the road to a fairer economy with Labour, or the road to a second referendum with the SNP.

"The election is neck and neck in England.

"If Scotland votes Labour we can get the Tories out, stop austerity, ban zero-hours contracts, end the need for food banks and make work pay."

The letter is signed by a cross-section of past and present Labour members and people with no party affiliation who supported independence.

Leading signatory Sir Charles is a former Labour leader of Strathclyde Regional Council.

In the run-up to the referendum he said he was voting Yes because he believed independence offered a chance to "build the kind of country we want for our families and future generations based on an agenda of social justice and fairness".

Mr Holman, the anti-poverty campaigner, said last year "an independent Scotland led by the SNP would greatly reduce welfare poverty and narrow the gap between rich and poor".

At the time, he claimed a Labour government "would do little for poor people in Scotland".

Their support for the party was welcomed by Scottish Labour's deputy leader Kezia Dugdale, who said: "Since January, our campaigners have spoken directly to a half a million Scots.

"These 100 people reflect what we are hearing on the doorstep.

"People - including many who voted Yes - tell us they don't want to go through another referendum, that was last year's argument."

She added: "Only Labour can stop the Tories being the largest party.

"With the Tories and Labour neck-and-neck in England, Labour needs Scots to get the Tories out."

Yesterday the SNP and Labour continued to clash over what might happen in the event of a hung parliament.

Labour seized on comments by Ms Sturgeon, who said at the weekend the SNP might down vote down Ed Miliband's Budget, and by her deputy Stewart Hosie, who warned during a radio debate his party could vote against his first Queen's Speech if the Nationalists were not consulted on it beforehand.

Ms Dugdale said: "That's a recipe for chaos, the kind of chaos the SNP want to see because their sole intention is to force the kind circumstances that will allow them to push for a second referendum."

However, in a sign the SNP wants to work with Labour, Mr Hosie publicly backed Ed Miliband's pledge to cut tuition fees for students in England from £9000 to £6000.

He said: "The SNP is absolutely clear that we will work with Labour and support the reduction of tuition fees for students south of the Border, giving more young people the chance to go to university and boosting Scotland's education budget in the process.

"If there's an anti-Tory majority after the election, the SNP and Labour can work together to lock out the Tories and advance progressive policies just like this.

"If Labour choose to spurn this over, they will never be forgiven by people in Scotland and many Labour voters across the UK."

The latest YouGov poll, for the Sunday Times, recorded a massive 14 points jump in Ms Sturgeon's approval rating - the difference between those who think she is doing a good or bad job - over the past fortnight, taking her score to plus 56 per cent.

Over the same period, Scots Labour leader Jim Murphy's ratings fell by 12 points to minus 34 per cent.

xref letters