LABOUR is the only party committed to keeping Scotland in both the EU and the UK, Kezia Dugdale has said.
In her first speech since last month's Brexit vote, the Scots Labour leader said "the vast majority of people" across the country wanted to remain in the two unions.
Despite her strong backing for the EU, she also reached out to Leave voters, inviting them to email the party to explain their "hopes and fears" for the future.
Ms Dugdale addressed a group of supporters at an Edinburgh community centre.
She faced criticism from a group of members over recent comments that undermined UK party leader Jeremy Corbyn.
However, she defended her position and later went further, saying Mr Corbyn's lack of parliamentary support meant he was "not competent" to do his job.
Ms Dugdale was critical of her own party's failure during the referendum to make a "full throated defence of immigration," an issue which drove many voters to back Brexit.
But she said the vote to leave the EU amounted to a slap in the face for the political establishment made up of all the main parties, including the SNP.
She said the high Leave vote in Scotland, where a million people backed Brexit, showed the country was "not immune" from the anger and frustration felt across the UK.
Looking ahead she said: "Scotland voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union, but we voted in even greater numbers to stay part of the United Kingdom.
"These two democratic mandates must be respected.
"I've said we should keep all options on the table.
"But it’s clear we have an impasse: the Conservatives want Scotland in the UK, but out of the EU. The SNP want us out of the UK, but in the EU.
"It really is only the Labour Party that wants what the vast majority of people across Scotland want – in the EU and in the UK."
Facing questions after the speech, Ms Dugdale said "there may be a possibility" that a federal UK set-up, being explored by former justice secretary Lord Falconer, could keep Scotland in the UK.
However, she admitted the idea was "tentative" and added: "I don't know the answer yet but I want to try really hard to find it".
She told supporters a third of Leave supporters in Scotland were SNP voters and fifth Labour, and they were concentrated in some of the poorest parts of the country.
In a direct appeal to those who backed Brexit, she said: "If you voted leave, I want to hear why you took this decision.
"I want to understand why you were willing to take a leap into the unknown.
"Scotland and the UK is likely to change immeasurably because of the decision you made, I want to understand your hopes and fears for how this decision might change our country."
Supporters of Momentum, the grassroots Labour faction backing Mr Corbyn's leadership, handed out leaflets as party members arrived at the venue.
Inside, they applauded as Ms Dugdale was criticised for questioning his ability to lead without the support of his MPs.
But she said later: "If he has lost the faith of 80 per cent of his colleagues, he can't do his job. He is therefore not competent to do his job."
The Scots Labour leader also revealed she had yet to speak with Dave Anderson, the new shadow Scottish secretary appointed after the resignation of Ian Murray.
She said she would "tell" the English MP to back the Barnett Formula, the funding mechanism which delivers above-average public spending for Scotland.
It followed criticism of Mr Anderson over previous comments in which he questioned the funding deal.
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