Labour facing electoral defeat in local elections on a scale far worse than dire previous forecasts had predicted

The party is on course lose hundreds of seats across the UK and the four councils they currently control in Scotland, including Glasgow - where it has remained in power for 40 unbroken years - according to academics.

It comes as internal SNP figures showt the party is polling just over 50 per cent in Scotland's biggest city.

Over half those polled in Glasgow have said they would vote Nationalist, according to senior sources.

If replicated on May 4, Labour would be ousted from City Glasgow for the first time since 1979.

Meanwhile, the academics warned the party was "heading for disaster" in Scotland and "a kicking" in Wales.

These results could be the worst at local elections for an opposition party for more than 30 years.

Losing so many seats will be seen as especially calamitous as opposition parties often gain seats in local elections.

John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University, said it would be “very surprising” if Labour retained control of any of the four Scottish councils it won in 2012.

Prof Curtice declined to put numbers on just how bad the party’s performance would be in Scotland.

But he warned: “Whatever evidence you look at – the most recent opinion polls, local election polls, local government elections – it just looks as though Labour is heading for disaster north of the Border.”

Figures leaked to The Herald in January show Scottish Labour is braced for a near wipe-out in its heartlands next month.

One Labour MSP said the party had calculated it would receive just 15 per cent of the vote, with the Tories securing 25 per cent and the SNP 45 per cent.

A spokesman said that the party was under no doubt about the scale of the challenge it faces, adding "but these problems did not appear overnight and will not be fixed overnight".

Overall Labour is on track to lose more than 200 council seats across the UK, according to a series of presentations to the Political Studies Association.

The figure is even higher than terrible forecasts just a few weeks ago.

Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher from Plymouth University forecast Labour would lose 75 seats in England, 25 more than the academics have previously predicted.

Mr Thrasher said that the calculation was based on analysis of the party’s performance in local by-elections and may be “underestimating Labour’s losses”.

Meanwhile, Professor Roger Scully of Cardiff University, forecast that the party is likely to take more than 100 fewer seats this time round compared to 2012, in a prediction based on a new Welsh poll.

Elections will be held for councils in Scotland, Wales and much of England next Thursday.

Mr Curtice added that after next week “Scottish local government should now become at least predominantly something that the SNP run.”

But he has a warning for the SNP as well, saying that the parliamentary seats of high-profile SNP MPs Angus Robertson and Pete Wishart could not be “assumed to be safe” from a Conservative surge in June.

And he suggested that the results of the local elections could also prove difficult for the SNP.

He said: “At the moment the Scottish Government has been able to pass on the pain to local gov and blame Labour for the cuts. That will become more diff if the SNP are running local gov north of the border”.

Prof Rallings and Prof Thrasher estimate the Tories will likely gain around 115 councillors in England on May 4, while the Liberal Democrats also stand to gain around 85.

But Ukip is on course for near wipeout and faces losing 105 out of the 145 seats they won last time round.

In Wales, Prof Scully said the Conservatives could take 50 or more seats while Labour looks set for a "broader retreat", losing out not only to the Tories but also by Plaid Cymru, the Lib Dems and independents.

He forecast that Mr Corbyn's party was likely to see losses in three figures in Wales and to lose majority control of its three major cities, Cardiff, Swansea and Newport.

"It's very likely we will see Labour lose more council seats in Wales than in the whole of England," he said.

"Labour are likely to get another kicking in the local elections in Wales."

A Scottish Labour spokesman said: “No one is under any doubt about the scale of the challenge the Scottish Labour Party faces but these problems did not appear overnight and will not be fixed overnight. Under Kezia Dugdale's leadership, only Labour has a plan to move Scotland forward, not backwards with another divisive referendum. Labour is focussed on delivering quality local services, such as schools, social care and standing up for our NHS.

"If you vote Labour in May you will elect a local champion; if you vote SNP you will elect a councillor who is only interested in a second independence referendum.”