LABOUR leader Keir Starmer has said he intends to regain the trust of Scottish voters by making more regular visits to Scotland.

The newly elected Labour leader said he and other frontbench Labour figures would visit frequently as part of his charm offensive to win back seats in Scotland.

The party has struggled since 2015 – under Ed Miliband’s leadership, following the independence referendum, Labour went from having 41 seats in Scotland to just one. In 2017 they regained a further six MPs here – but back in December the SNP won those back, again leaving Labour with just one MP, Ian Murray.

Yesterday Starmer took part in “Call Keir” sessions where former voters and other members of the public were invited to question the Labour leader on issues that matter to them. Many participants reported that they did not trust Labour and did not feel they were an effective opposition at Westminster or Holyrood.

READ MORE: New poll is terrible news for Labour – but great news for Nicola Sturgeon

Starmer told The Herald: "It's really important for me, and other members of the shadow cabinet, to come to Scotland and spend time there. That is very important, and not just spending time in Glasgow and Edinburgh but across the whole of Scotland. You're going to be seeing a lot more of that going forward."

The leader added that he felt there had been an imbalance in how Scottish Labour and the Westminster party have worked together. He went on: "I want to close the gap between the leader of the Labour party and the leader of Scottish Labour. There has been a perception of too big a gap there. I want us to work as one team.

"I'm very clear that when we are dealing with Scotland I am talking to Scottish Labour, I am not talking as the leader of the labour party, over the top of Scottish Labour.  I have had a number of conversations with Richard Leonard, and I don't think it is right to lead the Labour party to do anything in Scotland without working with Scottish labour on that."

He was asked about his views on a Scottish independence referendum – which he said should not take place. But he added the way forward for Labour would be giving more power to people at community level.

He said: "Traditionally Labour has had a very strong history and values in Scotland. I don't get the sense that those values have changed at all, I don't think people have moved away from Labour values, they just don't trust the Labour Party. That trust is so important.

READ MORE: Piers Morgan and media 'better' at scrutinising Tories than Labour

"Yes, sure enough everyone knows independence is a big issue, but it is not the only issue, and we have to build trust in a much more profound way, particularly in Scotland.

"We have said loud and clear that we don't support taking Scotland out of the United Kingdom, more borders are not the way forward but we're not just arguing for the status quo.

"People genuinely want more control and influence over what matters in their lives and that is very deep. That's [not] just about what formal powers lie in Holyrood or Westminster, It’s much more profound."