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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is set to visit Motherwell and Wishaw later this month during his whistlestop tour of marginal constituencies.

The Labour leader is keeping his party on an election footing in case Theresa May’s minority government collapses and another election is called.

Mr Corbyn will hold a series of campaign events over five days in August, speaking to thousands of voters in seats where SNP MPs have wafer-thin majorities including Motherwell and Wishaw on August 25 and Airdrie and Shotts.

Mr Corbyn said: “Labour remains on an election footing as a government-in-waiting, ready to end failed austerity and ensure that Scotland has the resources it needs to provide the public services its people deserve.

“Unlike the SNP and the Tories, Labour will transform our economy through investment, insisting that the true wealth creators - that means all of us - benefit from it.

“The only way to remove the Conservatives from Downing Street, and have a government that works for the many, not the few, is to back Labour in Scotland.”

The SNP’s Marion Fellows held onto her seat at Westminster but her majority was dramatically cut from almost 12,000 to just 318.

In Airdrie and Shotts, the race was even tighter with Neil Gray scraping home for the SNP by just 195 votes from Labour’s Helen McFarlane.

Wishaw councillor Angela Feeney narrowly lost out on the Westminster seat to Mrs Fellows but is looking forward to welcoming Mr Corbyn to Wishaw.

She said: “A lot of voters had left the party but there is a real bounceback thanks to Jeremy.

“He is welcome all over the country and Motherwell and Wishaw will be no different.

“Confidence in the Labour movement is back. We were decimated two years ago but since the last election we have had an increase of 25 to 30 members to the party locally a lot of them were Yes voters.”

Angela also confirmed Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell will also be in the constituency on August 12.

Current Motherwell and Wishaw MP Marion Fellows said: “It won’t be long before Corbyn’s rhetoric is shown for what it is: hollow words. Despite his attempt to portray himself as an advocate for the people most in need, his party won’t reverse the worst of the Tories’ welfare cuts.

“It’s astounding Labour are aiming to kick the Tories out by targeting SNP seats rather than Tory seats resulting in no gains in an electoral wheel-spin.

“When SNP MPs would be prepared to work with Labour in Westminster, it is senseless and shows that Labour’s priorities are in bashing the SNP rather than kicking the Tories out. We’ve already seen that with Labour’s grubby deal with the Tories in North Lanarkshire Council. The SNP stand on a strong record in government and in representing Scotland’s interests.”