Labour vote is an SNP vote, Chancellor warns

George Osborne used a visit to West Yorkshire to set out what he described as the threat to the northern economy if Ed Miliband secures just enough seats for an alliance with the Scottish nationalists.

Speaking in Pudsey, the Chancellor carefully avoiding any mention of the potential for a minority Tory government or a return to the Tory-Liberal Democrat coalition, insisting instead that the polls showed Labour could not secure a majority but could go on to form a government if voters did not hand the Conservatives the 23 extra seats they need.

In what is likely to be the last major Tory visit to the region before voters have their say on Thursday, Mr Osborne said: “I think we have a really good story to tell here, and we have a plan for the economy, for the northern powerhouse.

“And that is on the ballot paper. People can vote for David Cameron and economic growth or they can put it at risk and vote for Labour propped up by the SNP.”

The Chancellor added: “There are just two days to go until the election, and we have within our grasp a stable government with an experienced Prime Minister who has created jobs.

“We have shown here in Yorkshire that we can deliver the goods in a way that frankly the Labour party didn’t, and unemployment went up under Labour.

“We are just 23 seats short of a majority, I’m visiting seats we do not hold as well as seats we do, to make the point we can give you stability.

“The alternative yes is political instability and economic chaos.

“Every election campaign is different, but the new feature here is people are no longer choosing between a Conservative Government and a Labour Government.

“The only Labour Government on offer, all the independent experts agree, is a very weak Ed Miliband propped up by Scottish nationalists who are just not going to be interested in investment in Yorkshire, that is just not what they are for.”

Labour though has described a fresh coalition between the Conservatives and Lib Dems as a “huge risk” to working families.

Mr Miliband used a BBC interview to claim that both parties have defended the non-dom rule tax avoidance rule and will continue to “protect the privileged few”.

He made a direct attack on Nick Clegg, describing the Deputy Prime Minister’s position on the loophole as “extraordinary”.

Mr Miliband has indicated that abolishing non-dom status would be a red-line for any post election deal.

Mr Miliband will use his last day of campaigning to warn that under a Tory Lib Dem pact, it is “one law for a few, another law for everybody else”.

“We can’t carry on as a country where there is one rule for a few and another rule for everyone else,” he is expected to say in what will be a busty 24 hours for all the party leaders.

The Chancellor was speaking at the Winder Power electrical transformer factory in Tory-held, one of the many West Yorkshire seats Labour is desperate to take back.