Labour needs to return to its "socialist principles" and move away from the politics of Tony Blair, the shadow Scottish secretary has argued.

Margaret Curran insisted that Labour was not the same party it had been a decade ago, when Mr Blair, Labour's longest serving prime minister, was in charge.

Labour is going through a period of reflection after last month's independence referendum, which saw large numbers of the party's supporters vote to leave the UK, despite the overall majority of Scots backing the union.

She spoke out after former Labour first minister Henry McLeish told the Sunday Herald many voters north of the border no longer know what the party's key values are.

But Ms Curran argued that the party was already changing.

She said: "I am confident we are already changing. The Labour Party today is not the Labour Party of a decade ago.

"We have a leader across the UK who has learned the lessons of Iraq and opposed military actions in Syria, who refuses to kowtow to vested interests like the banks and energy companies and who believes that politics is about building a movement of working people to change our country."

In the run up to next May's general election she said Labour must "show how we are going to change the UK so that people across Scotland are better off".

She added: "We know the old ideas aren't going to cut it any more and there is no consensus about how our country should be run.

"That's why we can't be anything but bold and radical. Being timid won't win us any supporters. We need a response from the left that responds to the conditions of people's lives."

She stated: "The socialist principles of equality, redistribution and social justice need to shape our politics as much today as they did when I joined the party.

Ms Curran has already announced plans to visit the 10 constituencies in Scotland which had the largest number of Labour supporters who voted Yes in last month's referendum.

She pledged if Labour is elected to power at Westminster and if she becomes Scottish secretary "my number one priority will be a Scottish Jobs Guarantee, to get our young people back to work"

She also vowed she would strive to help those in work by "improving their conditions so they don't have to work two jobs or more just to make ends meet".

Ms Curran said: "That means ending exploitative zero hours contracts and starting to increase the minimum wage to £8 an hour."

The shadow Scottish secretary also urged first minister in waiting Nicola Sturgeon to rule out holding a second independence referendum for at least a generation.

Ms Sturgeon will succeed Alex Salmond in the top job in Scottish politics after he steps down at next month's SNP conference.

Ms Curran stated: "Nicola Sturgeon deserves congratulations for becoming the SNP's new leader, but when she becomes first minister next month the first thing she has to do is act in Scotland's interests and rule out a referendum for another generation."

Her comments came after a new group of Labour activists, who want the party north of the border to make radical changes, held their first meeting yesterday.

The Labour for Scotland group is calling on the party north of the border to consider changing its name to the Independent Labour Party and become fully autonomous from Labour's London leadership

It also supports Holyrood being given full control over income tax, as well as complete responsibility for welfare - a position which goes further than Labour's existing plans for further devolution.