A coalition government made up of Labour and the Scottish National Party could break up the UK, Sir John Major warned last night. With the result of May’s general election looking very close, the former Conservative prime minister said that a Labour-SNP coalition would be a ‘lethal cocktail’ and ‘a tragedy in the making’. Polls suggest that, with no party likely to win enough seats to govern alone, a Labour-SNP coalition is a likely outcome from the election. A coalition government made up of Labour and the Scottish National Party could break up the UK, Sir John Major (pictured) warned last night . Sir John, who was Prime Minister between 1990 to 1997, last night urged Ed Miliband to ‘summon the courage’ to formally rule out any deal. The Labour leader, who has so far failed to do so, is due to address Scottish Labour’s spring conference this weekend. Sir John said: ‘The SNP would enter into any agreement with Labour with one overriding aim: To break up the United Kingdom. It is shameful that Labour have not already ruled out even the suggestion. ‘They would be relying on support from a party that will use every strategy it can to break free from the UK. ‘Labour now have to make a choice,’ he wrote in today’s Daily Telegraph. ‘They must summon the courage of their convictions and declare their intent. ‘The British people – north and south of the border – do not deserve to be misled. ‘If the outcome of the General Election is inconclusive, will they refuse to govern with the support of a party whose principal aim is to break up the United Kingdom?’ Sir John, who was Prime Minister between 1990 to 1997, last night urged Ed Miliband (pictured) to ‘summon the courage’ to formally rule out any deal . As prime minister, Sir John warned that devolution could lead to Scotland’s independence. He said he was now speaking out as ‘an Englishman with a profound admiration and respect for Scotland’. ‘At Westminster, SNP minds would not be focused on the well-being of the United Kingdom, but on their own party interests,’ he added. ‘In collaboration, the two parties would make common cause at the expense of their natural enemies. For Labour, that will be to pick the pockets of the Tory shires; and for the SNP, to boost Scotland at the expense of the rest of the UK.’ Ed Miliband is facing increasing demands from senior Labour figures to rule out a power-sharing deal with the SNP. Senior MPs are demanding the Labour leader uses a keynote speech at the Scottish Labour conference in Edinburgh tomorrow to make his position clear. Mr Miliband is said to be ‘waiting for the right moment’ to rule out a deal. But there is concern that he may only be prepared to rule out a formal coalition – leaving open the possibility of the SNP propping up a Labour-led government in key votes in exchange for concessions to Scotland. David Cameron has branded an electoral pact between Labour and SNP ‘the ultimate nightmare’.
John Major warns coalition between Labour and SNP could break up UK . Former Prime Minister says the pact would be a 'tragedy in the making'
Polls suggest Labour-SNP coalition is a likely outcome from the election . Sir John urged Ed Miliband to 'summon the courage' to rule out any deal .