Commenting on Ed Miliband's expected comments as he visits Scotland, Bill Kidd, SNP MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, said: "With Ed Miliband's net satisfaction rating at minus 70 Labour are at rock bottom in Scotland. More so since they tied themselves in with the Tories and LibDems in the anti-independence camp.

"The attitude of UK leaders like Mr Miliband to Scotland’s ambitions to run our own affairs and take responsibility for our own decisions is just one of the factors holding them back in Scotland.

"Perhaps Mr Miliband has forgotten that the Welfare reform proposals by the Tory/LibDem government at Westminster right now are the real threat to undo all the recent progress on child poverty.

"How on earth can Mr Miliband reconcile his acknowledgement of that threat without realising that Scotland requires those powers?

"As the official figures from Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) show the reality is that Scotland is actually better placed to fund pensions and welfare compared to the UK as a whole. On the basis of taxes raised in Scotland, and once our welfare protection expenditure and state pensions are paid, Scotland subsidies the rest of the UK.

"In short Scotland is more able to afford our pension and welfare bill than the UK but Ed Miliband would prefer to allow the Tory-LibDem UK government to have continued control of our welfare system."