Scotland needs more teachers to achieve the key Scottish Government aim of closing the attainment gap between the richest and poorest pupils, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

Speaking ahead of a campaign event in Glasgow, the Labour leader claimed Scottish Government cuts to council budgets had left teachers "underpaid and overworked".

He said: "We won't close the gap between the richest and the poorest pupils with overworked and underpaid teachers.

"Our schools need real change, with more teachers, more support and more resources.

"They do not need more Tory austerity from Westminster and more SNP cuts."

A Scottish Labour campaign against reductions to council funding highlights claims the local authority budgets have been cut by £1.5 billion since 2011.

Teacher numbers have fallen by around 3,500 since the SNP came to power in 2007, the campaign points out, and the number of primary school pupils being taught in classes of 30 or more has risen 44% since 2011.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: "Under the SNP 3,500 teachers have been cut, class sizes are growing and in the last decade pay has fallen dramatically.

"It is little wonder we face a teacher recruitment crisis and that teachers are saying they've had enough and threatening industrial action.

"Labour supports the teachers' campaign for better pay and action on workloads."

A Scottish Government spokesman said teacher numbers have increased in recent years and action has been taken to help recruit and retain teachers and reduce workload.

He said: "The fact is there are more secondary teachers than at any time since 2014 and the ratio of pupils to teachers is at its lowest since 2010.

"We value teachers highly and are providing £112 million this year to fund councils to maintain teacher numbers, including the recent teacher pay award."

He added: "A recent evaluation of the Scottish Attainment Challenge shows head teachers are increasingly confident that sustainable improvements being made - and almost all expect progress in closing the attainment gap in the next five years."