Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to regain Scotland's trust in his party by making regular visits north of the border.

Speaking exclusively to The Herald, the new Labour leader said people should expect to see " a lot more" of him and his front bench colleagues travelling right across Scotland in the future.

The charm offensive is part of the leader's plan to rebuild the party across the country, starting with a series of online meetings with members of the public yesterday.

The 'Call Keir' sessions, which took place with Glasgow and Fife residents saw the north London MP take questions from former voters and those interested in how his party plan to tackle issues such as the current coronavirus crisis, Brexit, independence and pensions inequalities.

Many contributors said they felt they had no trust in the party, and did not see them as an effective opposition against the SNP at Holyrood or Boris Johnson's Westminster government.

Following the meetings, Sir Keir said: "It's really important for me, and other members of the shadow cabinet, to come to Scotland and spend time there. That is very important, and not just spending time in Glasgow and Edinburgh but across the whole of Scotland. You're going to be seeing a lot more of that going forward."

Regaining the trust of Scottish voters is an integral part of his plan to ensure his party is the next "government in waiting", he said, with Scottish Labour at the forefront of the efforts.

Acknowledging there has been an imbalance in how Scottish Labour and the UK Labour party has worked in the past, he said putting Scottish Labour at the heart of policy and decision-making for Scotland is key.

He explained: " I want to close the gap between the leader of the Labour party and the leader of Scottish Labour. There has been a perception of too big a gap there. I want us to work as one team.

"I'm very clear that when we are dealing with Scotland I am talking to Scottish Labour, I am not talking as the leader of the labour party, over the top of Scottish Labour.. I have had a number of conversations with Richard Leonard, and I don't think it is right to lead the Labour party to do anything in Scotland without working with Scottish labour on that."

On the issue of a second independence referendum, his views are clear - there shouldn't be one - but he insists that giving more power to people at a community level should be the way forward for his party.

He said: "Traditionally Labour has had a very strong history and values in Scotland. I don't get the sense that those values have changed at all, i don't think people have moved away from Labour values, they just don't trust the Labour party. That trust is so important.

"Yes, sure enough everyone knows independence is a big issue, but it is not the only issue, and we have to build trust in a much more profound way, particularly in Scotland.

"We have said loud and clear that we don't support taking Scotland out of the United Kingdom, more borders are not the way forward but we're not just arguing for the status quo.

"People genuinely want more control and influence over what matters in their lives and that is very deep. That's [not] just about what formal powers lie in Holyrood or Westminster, its much more profound."