Labour's leadership contenders compared themselves to Nicola Sturgeon during their first televised election hustings.

The First Minister and SNP leader was praised as a "plain talker" and an "effective" campaigner.

Ms Sturgeon pipped Labour icons like Nye Bevan to become the unexpected topic of discussion after the politicians were asked which of her qualities they could bring to the top job.

Both Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall pointed out that as women they could also smash a glass ceiling and become the first ever female Labour leader.

Ms Cooper added, however, of Ms Sturgeon's shoes: "I can't manage her heels".

Veteran left-winger Jeremy Corbyn said that he had shared platforms with Nicola Sturgeon as they both opposed the Iraq war.

He added that she had been "very effective ... in putting forward a message that resonated with people".

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said he had two things in common with the SNP leader, saying she was a "plain talker, who speaks in a language people understand (and).. I think she came into politics 'cos she saw an unfair country... that's what brought me into politics."

However, Monique Morris, the audience member who asked the question. declared herself disappointed and said she had "hoped to hear words like 'fearless' like 'very sympathetic to young people'" in the answers.

Earlier a former Labour MP who lost his seat to the SNP called on his own party and the nationalists to "grow up" as he described Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland's most successful politician in history.

Tom Harris, a Glasgow MP for 14 years before he was ousted last month, said that the issue of Scottish independence aside there was little to separate Labour and the SNP in terms of political ideology.

Meanwhile, a split emerged in the race for the Scottish Labour deputy leadership after one of the candidates said they would not take advantage of an automatic place at the top of the party's Holyrood list if elected.

Under new rules pushed through by former leader Jim Murphy, the deputy leader will be entitled to the prime slot.

However, Alex Rowley, who dramatically quit the Scottish Labour leadership team last month in a move designed to put pressure on Mr Murphy to resign, said he would reject the place.

He added: This rule change, with its focus on the internal workings and selection processes of the party, runs a risk of becoming a distraction from the key issues facing Labour and facing Scotland."

Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, matched Mr Rowley's commitment.