KEZIA DUGDALE warned Scots yesterday that only a Labour government would work “for the many and not the privileged few” as attentions turned squarely on June 8.

As the dust settled from the local election campaign, the Scottish Labour leader told supporters in Rutherglen that “the shine is coming off the SNP as they realise it only has one answer for everything — a referendum on independence.”

And she warned those thinking of voting Tory to send a message to SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon that the only result would be “send Theresa May back into Downing Street.”

Ms Dugdale said: “Only Labour is focused on the day job of delivering an economy that works for working people, creating jobs and protecting high quality public services.

“The only way that people across Scotland can reject this Tory government and reject the threat of a divisive second independence referendum is to vote Labour on June 8.”

Campaign for Socialism (CfS) spokesman Martyn Cook said: “It’s quite clear from Scottish Labour policies, whether it’s a £10 per hour minimum wage, ending zero-hours contracts or tackling the housing crisis, that it’s Labour who are the party that will tackle the problems facing working people.

“The nationalists talk left but they act right, and every vote they get makes a Labour government less likely. There’s only one way to get the Tories out and that’s to vote Labour.”

CfS is currently endorsing 12 Labour candidates across Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon launched the SNP’s campaign with a claim that voters had a “straightforward choice” between fighting nationalists who would “make Scotland’s voice heard” or Tories who would “rubberstamp” Ms May’s policies.