LABOUR has made Scotland's constitutional issue the centrepiece of its bid to retain control of the country's biggest local authority.

The party has kicked off its fight to keep hold of Glasgow, where it has held unbroken power for four decades, with canvassing and leafleting underway.

Referring to the SNP in the city as "Nicola Sturgeon's puppets", it claims their Nationalist opponents were creating divisions in Glasgow.

A leaflet circulated across the city states in bold: "Our city is divided enough. That is why Scottish Labour will oppose the SNP's plans for a second independence referendum."

But a senior SNP source accused Labour of papering over the cracks in its record running Glasgow by falling back on the constitutional debate.

In all, Labour will field 43 candidates in the city, just enough to give it an overall majority, while 56 SNP hopefuls will contest the Glasgow poll.

Both the SNP and Labour yesterday set out their respective stalls for the May 4 election, where the SNP are considered favourites to take the reins of power.

Labour said it would guarantee a job, training or further education place for every 18 to 24-year-old, while the SNP announced proposals to transform Govanhill's housing crisis and a £19million plan to upgrade all 138 primary schools with new play equipment.

The constitution had always been expected to play a role in the council elections, the campaign launches converging with the triggering of Article 50, but became central after Prime Minister Theresa May urged supporters to vote Tory to send a "clear message" to the SNP on the constitution.

The Glasgow Labour leaflet adds: "When you go to the polls, how you vote will decide whether you have Labour councillors who will stand up for Glasgow, who will fight for Glasgow, who will always put Glasgow first.

"Or whether we end up with someone who thinks their day job is to fight for independence and who will just be Nicola Sturgeon's puppet."

It concludes: "Don't forget to send back our freepost survey and send a message to Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP - Drop the obsession with a referendum and put Glasgow First."

A spokesman said: "Only Labour can beat the SNP in Glasgow by focusing on putting Glasgow first, whilst the SNP candidates are Sturgeon's puppets utterly fixated on another divisive referendum. Glasgow is not a pawn in the SNP's games."

But a senior SNP source said: "Clearly Glasgow Labour is so ashamed of their own record in the city that they don't want to talk about that. Even their campaign pledges are no more than what they should be doing anyway."

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