The National:

IT'S not often MSPs in our frequently bitterly divided Scottish Parliament can have a laugh together.

But during First Minister's Questions, in a truly heart-warming moment, Richard Leonard managed to bring a smile to the faces the SNP, LibDems, Tories and Greens.

So bad was his performance that at one point Presiding Officer Ken McIntosh even had to ask everyone in the chamber to stop laughing.

In a bold, and rather bizarre briefing for political hacks, Labour Party sources sought to defend the Labour leader's attack on Labour's record government.

They moved to distance Leonard from Donald Dewar, Henry McLeish and Jack McConnell insisting that Scottish Labour has “had a change of management, and a change of direction since PFI deals were introduced by the Scottish Executive”.

READ MORE: Richard Leonard stuns MSPs with astonishing gaffe at FMQs

WATCH: Richard Leonard sparks fits of laughter at FMQs​

The National:

It’s not only the management and political direction that’s changed in Scottish Labour, they've also changed from being a party that wins elections...

The briefing went on: “Like her obsession with Wales, the First Minister can’t shirk responsibility by talking about the previous Labour administration. It’s time she focused on the here and now, not the there and then.”

Though, of course, it’s not entirely fair to say that talking about PFI is talking about the “there and then” when the bill from Labour’s project is still being paid off.

It's not been the best Thursday for Leonard. A new YouGov poll suggested that despite being in charge of Scottish Labour leader for over two years, he's the least trusted political leader in Scotland.

READ MORE: Yes takes the lead in latest indyref YouGov poll

Just 6% of voters trust him, putting the MSP below Jackson Carlaw, Jeremy Corbyn, Gordon Brown, Boris Johnson, Ruth Davidson and Nicola Sturgeon.

There was some silver lining for him though, with the poll also revealing that 55% of voters don't know whether or not they trust him.

That probably counts a win for the new management direction of Scottish Labour.