Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is to dump the red rose for a thistle as the party carries out a major rebranding.

The iconic ‘red rose’ emblem was introduced by Peter Mandelson before the 1987 general election as part of the move away from Labour’s traditional image.

It is being replaced with a red and purple thistle in a bid Labour believes will mark its Scottish credentials.

The move, which will be announced by Mr Sarwar on the first day of his party’s conference on Friday, comes as the Scottish Labour seeks to win back its former voters who have moved to the SNP.

Since the independence referendum it has suffered a serious of disastrous election results, including moving into third place in Holyrood and being left with just one MP.

It is understood focus groups found the red rose to be old, tired and not communicating anything politically. Others noted that a rose is also a symbol of England.

The Herald:

Mr Sarwar, who led on the project, has decided to axe a logo his party has shared in one form or another with UK Labour for decades.

A party source told the Daily Record: “This is a big step in the right direction for Scottish Labour.

“Nobody thinks rebranding is going to transform things overnight or is itself going to change anyone’s vote - but this is just one part of a wider culture change that is about building a political party for a modern Scotland.

“Anas Sarwar is serious about turning the party around - we’re investing in campaign infrastructure, cutting-edge digital technology and making sure we’re building an organisation that has the energy and ideas to win.

“This is about making clear to voters that we have changed into a modern, future-looking Scottish Labour Party - this rebrand does that.”

The source added that a thistle communicates a distinctive Scottish identity while also showing Labour is a changing political party.

The thistle will combine deep red and purple, a move away from traditional Labour colouring.

Another version includes the thistle next to a “build the future, together” strapline.

An application to change the logo will be filed with the Electoral Commission and it is expected to be in place for every election after the locals in May.

The red rose was introduced at UK Labour’s 1986 conference when Neil Kinnock was leader and symbolised the modernisation of the party under his leadership.

It is emblazoned on the party’s website and has been a feature of party leaflets for decades.

Mr Sarwar will give his keynote speech this week, followed by UK party leader Keir Starmer on Saturday.

The Glasgow MSP was elected leader last year after the abrupt resignation of left-winger Richard Leonard.

A Scottish Labour spokesman said: “Scottish Labour is committed to transforming our party to win back the trust of the people to Scotland.

“We’re on the side of Scots, and hope they’ll join us so we can build the future together.

“To do that we need new ideas and new thinking. At Scottish Labour conference this week you will hear Anas Sarwar relentlessly focus on the future."

SNP MSP Paul McLennan said: “Scottish Labour has now taken to rearranging the flowerpots on the Titanic.

“They could swap the red rose for a tartan branded unicorn but it won’t fool anyone – they are still a branch office which takes its orders from London.

“While Anas Sarwar supports continued Westminster control over Scotland – denying democracy by refusing to accept Scotland’s democratic right to hold an independence referendum – the people of Scotland will reject Scottish Labour and they will continue to slide into political irrelevance.”

A Scottish Tory spokesman said: “While Labour keep sitting on the fence on key issues and working in coalition with the SNP in six councils across Scotland, their logo is irrelevant.

"Ditching the rose emblem only confirms that they're ashamed of their past as a once-great, strong unionist party that used to challenge the SNP long ago, before they lost votes at every Holyrood election."It's laughable that Labour are wasting time on which pretty flower to use as their logo when Scottish people are far more concerned about their jobs and public services."

“There’s no one who has gone into this believing this will change a single vote,” a party source said of the new logo. “It’s about how we connect to people that have rejected us in a series of elections and show them that we are listening and changing.”

Another version of the logo includes the thistle next to a “build the future, together” strapline, the Daily Record reported.

Mr Sarwar led a revamp that involved a series of focus groups. As well as finding the red rose to be old, tired and without any political meaning, people recognised it as a symbol of England before linking it to Labour.