RICHARD Leonard has said Labour were the "only party fighting" to bring the country "back together" in the European elections.
The Scottish leader defended the party's performance after it slipped into fifth place last night in its worst election in modern political history.
READ MORE: Scotland turns map yellow as final EU election result is confirmed
More than 200,000 voters abandoned Scottish Labour, while long-serving MEP David Martin lost his seat in the Parliament.
Leonard said: "Labour was the only party fighting this election to bring the country back together.
"The divisions caused by the competing nationalisms of the UK and Scottish Governments continue to be a distraction from both of their failures."
Scotland's Brexit Secretary Mike Russell responded to the claims, saying the Scottish Labour leader was in "full self delusional mode".
.@LabourRichard in full self delusional mode here after Labours’ worst electoral performance in Scotland for over a century. Sounds a bit like the punch line from that old Russian Soviet era joke : “ Good news comrade, the butter ration has been cut”…. https://t.co/LtZnyFJzw3
— Michael Russell (@Feorlean) May 27, 2019
Earlier, two Scottish Labour MPs wrote a column in the Scotsman, and said: “The blame for the worst result in Scottish Labour’s history lies squarely with our party’s leadership."
READ MORE: Scottish Labour figures slam leadership after damning election result
Ian Murray and Martin Whitfield added: "This was Jeremy Corbyn and Richard Leonard’s manifesto, their message, their decision to ignore the membership and what voters were saying to us. It was their election campaign and their mess.
“They stuck their heads in the Brexit sand because they can’t lead.”
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