SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford has issued a final appeal to Jeremy Corbyn to remember the lessons of 2014 and abandon his plans to do a deal with Theresa May on Brexit.

Speaking exclusively to the Sunday National, Blackford demanded that Corbyn must defend the prospects of young people and the economy as a result of leaving the EU and slammed the Labour leader for failing to make the “simple choice” to refuse doing a deal with the Tories.

“Corbyn has to accept his responsibility,” he said.

“Jeremy had a very simple choice to make. He could have stood up for those who wanted to see those rights protected and wanted action on jobs, workers' rights and the environment. Instead, he has paid a price."

With Labour suffering heavy losses in the English local elections, both Corbyn and John McDonnell made clear that the party leadership’s focus was on delivering Brexit, rather than stopping it.

However, Blackford went on to raise the case of Labour’s catastrophic downfall in Scotland after the 2015 general election as a result of their decision to share platforms with Tories during the referendum campaign of 2014.

“That they see it as their duty to do a deal with the Tories really does beg the question – have they learned nothing of the experience in Scotland with Better Together when they were close to being wiped out the GE in 2015?”

Suggesting that Corbyn’s tactics were symbolic of Labour being “out of step with their voters and membership” and “certainly out of step with public opinion in Scotland,” Blackford went on to warn that “people in Scotland will make their own judgement of a Labour party that ducks and dives in this moment of crisis”.

“Corbyn must not become the midwife of Brexit,” he added.

The circumstances which could see Corbyn work with May on Brexit, according to Blackford, should not have come about in the first place.

“He needs to recognise that politics is about leadership. We should not be in this situation where he is digging Theresa may out of a problem.

"Labour must not be complicit in helping her find a way out of it,” he said.

And on the SNP’s tact amid the chaos, Blackford maintains that the party will continue to push to avoid Brexit but only has one main aim at Westminster.

“To use the old quote from Winnie Ewing: ‘We have come here not to settle down, but to settle up for the people of Scotland,’” he said.

“Of course, you have to work with other parties. We have done that around the Brexit issue but our aim is to demonstrate to the people of Scotland that Westminster doesn’t work for us.

“Scotland is disrespected. It is important that we continue to highlight that. Now is the time for Scotland to be an independent country and a destination in Europe.”

Finally, Blackford commended those who took to the streets for the mass independence march in Glasgow yesterday.

I applaud everybody marching today demonstrating the demand for Scottish independence,” he said.

“We need to reach the consensus that it’s about all of our futures.”