Sir Keir Starmer has insisted there are no splits between UK and Scottish Labour despite a number of recent public spats over welfare reform and gender recognition laws. 

The leader of the opposition claimed that anyone trying to find any division between him and Anas Sarwar would need to "have a very, very long search."

The SNP described the comment as “ludicrous.”

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The leader of the opposition heads to Rutherglen today, for the first time since the successful recall petition saw former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier ousted. 

He will be holding an 'in conversation' event with Mr Sarwar and the party’s candidate in the upcoming by-election, Michael Shanks.

Last month, Sir Keir confirmed that his government would keep the two-child limit on benefits and the so-called rape clause. 

The policy was introduced by George Osborne in his 2015 budget. It came into effect in 2017 and means that households claiming child tax credit or universal credit are unable to claim for a third or subsequent child.

There is an exemption for families where that third child is the result of “non-consensual conception.”

Children's charities, including Barnados and the Child Poverty Action Group have said this "tax on siblings" is the "biggest driver of rising child poverty in the UK today."

Following Sir Keir’s announcement, Mr Sarwar insisted Scottish Labour “continue to oppose the two-child limit” and that he would “press any incoming UK Labour government to move as fast as they can within our fiscal rules to remove this heinous policy.”

There are also public splits on gender recognition reform, with Sir Keir saying it had been a “mistake” for Holyrood to legislate for gender reforms allowing people to acquire a new legal gender through self-ID alone.

UK Labour's policy is that there now needs to be some form of medical gatekeeping when it comes to a trans person obtaining a gender recognition certificate. 

Last Christmas, Mr Sarwar whipped his MSPs to back the Scottish Government's Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which scrapped the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

And following the UK party's change of position, the party's Scottish social justice spokesman said it continued to support the "de-medicalisation" of the process.

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Speaking during a visit to Edinburgh on Monday, Sir Keir said: “Anas and I have got a very, very strong working relationship.

“So anybody who’s trying to find division is going to have a very, very long search.

“We obviously talk about these issues a great deal.”

On the benefit cap, Sir Keir said he wanted to “grow our economy and give everybody, including in Scotland and elsewhere, the opportunity to be part of that growing economy.” 

Sir Keir also responded to comments from First Minister Humza Yousaf at an Edinburgh Festival Fringe show that a minority Labour government would be “the best outcome for Scotland”.

The Labour leader said: “I want a majority Labour government so that we can fix and rebuild our country and take our country forward, so that’s what I’m aiming for.

“I’m not going to do a deal with the SNP, and among the reasons for that is the appalling record they’ve got in government.

“So my ambition is to actually drive Britain forward to that better future that I’m absolutely convinced that we can achieve.”

Writing in the Scotsman ahead of the visit, Sir Keir said many Scots told him they had lost faith in politics and Labour. 

“Countless people tell me they support Labour values. Yet they remain unconvinced that we – or, for that matter, Britain itself – still offer the way forward for Scotland or their community.”

Sir Keir said his “political project” was to reconnect Labour with its working-class roots.

He continued: “There may have been times in the recent past where Labour was afraid to speak the language of class at all – but not my Labour Party.

“No, for me, smashing the ‘class ceiling’ that holds working people back is our defining purpose.”

Katy Loudon, the SNP’s candidate in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, said the divisions between Sir Keir and Mr Sarwar were "glaringly obvious."

"It is ludicrous to suggest otherwise," she added. “Some Scottish Labour figures have come out in strong opposition to Starmer’s pro-austerity and pro-two child cap policies, but their appeals have repeatedly fallen on deaf ears, proving that Anas Sarwar holds no real influence.

“And strong words from senior Scottish Labour figures mean nothing while their MPs and candidates gleefully sign up to voting through Starmer’s Tory-replica agenda in the House of Commons.

“The views of the branch office are clearly secondary to Keir Starmer’s desire to prop up the Tories’ punishing welfare agenda and damaging Brexit."

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Maggie Chapman, the Scottish Greens’ Equalities and Human Rights spokesperson, said Labour's splits were clear to see.

"The contempt Starmer is showing for Scotland shouldn’t be clearer.

"It would be funny, and deserve a place in the comedy Fringe if it weren’t so tragic. The idea that there aren’t splits in the Labour ranks is equally laughable.

"He is so desperate to gain power in Westminster that he’s prepared to throw his own party politicians - and Labour values - under the bus. It is as clear a case of Westminsteritis as you’ll ever see."