Edinburgh South MP candidate Ian Murray releases campaign leaflet with almost no mention of Labour Party

Scottish Labour candidate Ian Murray has raised eyebrows with an election campaign leaflet making almost no mention of which party he is standing for.

The front of the Edinburgh South candidate’s leaflet bears no reference to Scottish Labour and instead says only that Mr Murray is backed by Best for Britain, a campaign to stop Brexit.

A graphic on the back page shows a chart of the votes given in the 2017 General Election to the SNP, Conservatives and Lib Dems, with the 26,269 Labour votes attributed only to Mr Murray.

Campaign posters erected at Mr Murray’s constituency office on Minto Street also make little reference to the Labour Party.

Instead the heading of the poster reads: “A record of local service from Scotland’s hardest working MP.”

The only indication of Mr Murray’s party is a red Labour rose on one poster and a quote from the Daily Telegraph which is also present on the leaflet, labelling Mr Murray ‘easily Scottish Labour’s most effective politician’.

Four pledges on the front of Mr Murrays’ campaign leaflet read: “Fighting for a final say on Brexit; Investing in public services; Tackling the climate crisis; Saying NO to Scottish independence.”

Mr Murray, who has long been a staunch critic of Jeremy Corbyn, does not mention the Labour Party leader in the leaflet.

The back page of the leaflet carries information on Mr Murray’s commitment to Scotland remaining in the UK and the UK remaining in the EU.

“The SNP’s permanent campaign for Scottish Independence is damaging the country,” it reads.

“I believe in unions of nations and peoples. The progressive case for EU membership - for the pooling and sharing of resources across national borders and working together - is the same as the progressive case for Scotland in the United Kingdom.”

Mr Murray was the only Scottish Labour MP to retain their seat in the SNP landslide in 2015, and is one of just seven who won in 2017.

Mr Murray faced an attempt to de-select him as Labour Party Candidate from the UK’s biggest union in October.

Unite attempted to force Mr Murray into a full re-selection contest, but were out-voted in a constituency meeting.

Support for Scottish Labour has collapsed from 27% to just 12%, according to a YouGov Poll released on Friday.

The poll, based on data from October 17 to November 4, showed Labour in fourth place behind the SNP with 42%, Conservatives with 22%, and Lib Dems with 13%.

If these figures appear on election day it will mean the worst result for Scottish Labour in more than a century.