SCOTTISH Labour leader Johann Lamont attempted to put a brave face on the party's poor Referendum performance in several heartland areas, instead heralding in an era of "change".

In a speech heavy on the need for conciliation, Ms Lamont said Scotland had voted to "stand strong in the United Kingdom" and called on leaders to "draw on the energy and passion that people displayed over the last period, regardless of whether they were voting Yes or No".

But amid growing calls for radical reform of Scottish Labour and criticism of its campaign, neither Ms Lamont nor Ed Miliband addressed the Yes win in areas where the party has a significant presence.

Three of the four areas which declared for Yes are currently run by Labour, including its long-standing strongholds of Glasgow and North Lanarkshire, where Mr Miliband rounded off his referendum campaigning and where Gordon Brown kicked off his. West Dunbartonshire, another core Labour area, also voted for independence.

Constituencies run by leading Labour lights including Ms Lamont herself, MPs Margaret Curran, Tom Harris, Willie Bain, Frank Roy, Ian Davidson, Anas Sarwar, Gregg McClymont and Tom Clarke, as well as MSPs Jackie Baillie, Paul Martin, Patricia Ferguson and Michael McMahon were among those voting Yes.

Ms Lamont and her team have been criticised for their struggle to win over disillusioned voters, until the intervention by Gordon Brown.

At the Glasgow count several Labour figures spelled out their criticisms of the No campaign and the party machinery overall.

One Lanarkshire source said: "The problem has been too many in Labour politics believe they've a seat for life. There was a cull of Labour councillors in Glasgow several years back and there may be one on the Lanarkshire horizon soon.

"The party is too aloof and needs to talk about its failures and failings. [Council leaders] Gordon Matheson and Jim McCabe have serious questions to answer."

Labour leader Ed ­Miliband said that "change begins today" after Scotland voted to remain part of the United Kingdom. He said Scotland's decision was a "vote for change" and that having worked to keep the country together, they must now change it together.

Speaking at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, just hours after the count, where she was also joined by Better Together leader Alistair Darling and other senior party figures, Ms Lamont said: "Yesterday everybody in this country voted for Scotland. The result was not a No win or a Yes loss, it was the democratically decided decision of the people of Scotland that we would stand strong in the United Kingdom. That's what the people have decided and that is what we now need to work with.

"In the next period we need to come together. We understand, all of us, the importance of change in Scotland."