Ed Miliband made yet another visit north of the border yesterday to urge voters to reconnect with Labour and not “gamble” on the Scottish National Party.

But Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hit back by claiming that the Labour leader had “lost the plot” after he strongly ruled out any post-election deal with her party in Thursday night’s Question Time TV debate.

Labour is battling to retain Scottish votes, with recent polls suggesting the possibility of a total wipeout of its current 40 seats as the SNP continues to surge in popularity.