Our Politics newsletter is now daily. Join thousands of others and get the latest Scottish politics news sent straight to your inbox. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

SCOTS Labour leader Jim Murphy has insisted he is “not a unionist”.

The Scottish Labour leader, who famously embarked on a 100 towns in 100 days tour in support of a No vote in last year’s referendum, rejected the label at a lunch with journalists.

“I have never been a unionist,” he said. “It’s never been my political tradition.

“As a family of Irish Catholic immigrants we’re not unionists.

“I grew up in a family of trade-unionists, but we’re not political unionists.”

Murphy instead said that during the referendum campaign there was a “temporary alignment” of “two different unionist traditions”.

He added: “A Conservative & Unionist tradition inside the Conservative Party and elements of the Liberal Democrats, and you had a trade-unionist and socialist solidarity tradition inside the Labour Party.

“For a moment there was an alignment for different reasons of political culture and history, but that moment is gone.”

Scottish Labour are behind in the polls with many former supporters appearing to have defected to the SNP after voting Yes in the referendum .

SNP MSP Sandra White ridiculed Murphy’s remarks.

She said: “With Labour struggling in the polls, it’s no wonder that Jim Murphy is desperate to rewrite history and try to distance himself from the Tories - who Labour spent two years working hand in glove with in the referendum.

“Does Jim Murphy really expect people to believe that despite having spent the entire referendum campaign arguing for a No vote, he does not believe in the union?

“It is utter nonsense and a sign of desperation that he would even attempt to claim otherwise. If it walks like a unionist and talks like a unionist, it is a unionist – and Jim Murphy will never sound like anything else.”

Try your hand at our daily news quiz: