Sir Keir Starmer drafts in Gordon Brown to improve electoral prospects in Scotland

Sir Keir Starmer has drafted in Gordon Brown to help the Labour Party improve its electoral hopes north of the border.  

The former Prime Minister will advise the Labour leader on plans to devolve more responsibility to towns and communities across the UK.  

It comes as Sir Keir attempts to reverse Labour’s fortunes in Scotland and head off growing demands for a second independence referendum.  

Sir Keir told Scottish voters: “Under my leadership, we will do everything we can to win back your trust.

“In Labour – but equally importantly, in the United Kingdom. I know that won’t be easy.

“Labour has a mountain to climb, nowhere more than in Scotland. And nowhere matters more to me than Scotland.”

The Labour Party has been hammered by the SNP north of the border with just one Labour MP remaining holding onto a Scottish constituency – Ian Murray.

Winning back seats north of the border could be the key to improving Labour’s chances of winning a General Election.

Sir Keir said Labour will “argue passionately” against another independence referendum, adding: “We will argue that today, we will argue that tomorrow.

“It would be entirely the wrong priority to hold another Scottish independence referendum in the teeth of the deepest recession for 300 years.”

The party is launching a UK-wide Constitutional Commission to consider how power and wealth can be devolved locally.  Sir described it as  the “boldest project Labour has embarked on for a generation”.

Mr Brown will act as an adviser in the setting up of the Commission.