SCOTTISH Labour will launch its own referendum campaign next year, party leader Johann Lamont has revealed.

She said the party was "determined to win the constitutional argument" and accused the SNP of presenting Scots with a "false choice" between independence and Tory rule from London.

Ms Lamont was speaking as she prepared to mark her first year as Scottish Labour leader with a keynote speech on education in Glasgow on Monday.

Labour's referendum campaign will run in parallel with the cross-party Better Together effort.

The Scottish Tories have already launched their own Conservative Friends of the Union initiative.

Ms Lamont said: "While we are determined to win the constitutional argument, we also want to continue articulating our vision for a better Scotland in education and in health.

"We face a significant challenge meeting our ambitions for Scotland in a time of shrinking budgets; but I am determined that once we get past the false choice offered by the SNP of home rule or Tory rule, we will be able to start to build the kind of Scotland we want now."

She added: "My first year as Scottish Labour leader has been great fun and I believe we have made considerable progress in reforming the party, holding the government to account on its choices and exposing the SNP on the constitutional argument.

"But we know we still have a long way to go to rebuild the party. Although many people came back to us in May's local government elections, Labour has more to do to convince people we can match their aspirations.

"I want to move further and faster in our second year."