Jeremy Corbyn rejects Tory pact on devolution

Speaking at a conference event on Monday evening, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said it was the joint task of Corbyn and herself to make the party appeal to both Yes and No voters in Scotland’s referendum a year ago.

Ian Murray, the shadow Scottish secretary and Labour’s only Scottish MP in Westminster, is due to add: “Let us say today: David Cameron, the Labour movement will not lie down”.

Mr Corbyn also slammed the SNP’s cutting of college places and funding of local government.

He added: “If you are poor in Glasgow or you are poor in Birmingham – you are poor”.

He used his keynote speech to argue that Labour was now the “only anti-austerity party” and told Scots who had abandoned the party for the SNP: “Now’s the time to come home”.

“Today we heard more of the same recycled promises about how Labour would change – the problem for Ms Dugdale is that these are the same promises we’ve heard from Wendy Alexander, Iain Gray, Johann Lamont and Jim Murphy – and people in Scotland are simply fed up hearing it”.

However, the SNP said his comments were “ill-informed” and “betray how little he knows about Scotland”.

Ms Dugdale faces an uphill battle to win Labour power for the first time since the SNP took the reins in coalition in 2007 and then as a majority government in 2011.

She has called for a “federal solution” for Labour, with the Scottish leader taking full control of policy north of the border.

She told activists in Brighton: ” Scotland needs a strong Labour Party and a strong opposition to the Scottish Government.

“We are all incredibly busy, I don’t see why that is any sort of revelation”.

Ms Dugdale said Labour had to break its losing streak at May’s elections to the Scottish Parliament.

“There have been no issues in terms of voting at the moment that we have had to have that discussion on. I will change my party so that once again, together, we can change our country“. “It is whatever is in the best interests of the country”.

The Labour leaer has pledged to visit Scotland at least once a month before the Holyrood election although that is understood to be a minimum commitment which is likely to step up as May’s vote approaches.

“I am just not sure that they really get Scotland yet in the way that they really ought to”.

However, Mr Corbyn said he “will not be standing alongside David Cameron” to oppose independence.

“That includes a renewed relationship with those who generate the wealth Scotland needs to make our country a fairer place to live”.

Tuesday’s speech, and future visits to Scotland, will revolve around tackling the SNP on issues such as the the living wage, where they believe they can expose Nicola Sturgeon’s party for failing to act on its left-wing rhetoric.