RICHARD Leonard’s reign as Scottish Labour’s leader has gone mostly unnoticed by the party’s voters, according a damning new poll.

Just 37% of Scottish Labour’s supporters knew that the MSP, who won the top job back in November 2017, was now in charge.

The Panelbase poll, carried out for Wings Over Scotland, revealed that 16% of Labour voters thought Jeremy Corbyn was the man in charge of the Scottish party, while 15% believed it was still Kezia Dugdale – despite her stint in the jungle for ITV’s I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here.

Panelbase also showed that Labour had slumped in both Holyrood and Westminster polling intentions – trailing behind the Tories, and a distant 22 points behind the SNP.

The poll makes for grim reading for Leonard, who heads to Dundee for the start of Scottish Labour’s spring conference. Earlier this week he was forced to apologise after he was accused by his predecessor of “censoring” a Brexit-related report to Scottish Labour’s conference.

Dugdale formally complained after the party leader north of the border ordered the removal of a statement about support for a People’s Vote from the conference guide without the author’s permission.

Dugdale said she was “shocked” that a passage by former Scottish Labour MEP Catherine Stihler, describing Brexit as a “tragedy” and backing a second EU referendum, was replaced.

The original passage of the report Stihler co-authored with fellow MEP David Martin read: “Brexit is a tragedy for our country and for the workers and communities the Labour Party represents. That’s why David and Catherine fully support a People’s Vote with the option to remain in the EU.”

However this was later changed to: “The complete mess the Tories have made of Brexit means they are putting Scottish people’s jobs and our industries at risk. Labour will always put them first.”

Dugdale, above, wrote: “When that was challenged, she [Stihler] was told it was on your direction and that you had the final say on what was printed.”

A Scottish Labour source: “This was a genuine misunderstanding and Richard has written to Catherine and David to apologise.”

Last weekend, Gary Smith, the head of Leonard’s own union, the GMB, which helped fund his leadership bid, also criticised the party over Brexit.

Asked by the Herald on Sunday, if he was surprised Labour was in third place in the polls, Smith said: “No ... they have nothing coherent or clear to say on the big issue of the day.”

Speaking ahead of conference, Leonard said only his party was offering “hope and investment”.

He added: “While the SNP plan turbo charged austerity for Scotland, Labour offers a decade of transformational investment.

“We will bring an end to austerity and we will shift the balance of wealth and power in Scotland, ensuring the wealthiest pay more to fund our NHS, our schools and the services we all rely on.”

The SNP’s George Adam said Leonard had “faced one of the worst weeks of his leadership”.

He added: “He’s dithered for a whole year, taking no action against an Islamophobic councillor who admitted to making hate-filled remarks about Humza Yousaf.

“He’s shutting down debate over Brexit and the option of remaining in the EU – showing he’s willing to cast Scottish jobs on the scrapheap and damage our NHS.

“He’s been described by the boss of one of Scotland’s major unions as a failure – taking his party backwards, not forwards.

“And the polls bear testament to that fact, showing that Labour continues to trail in a distant third place in Scottish politics.

“Previous leaders of Scottish Labour have been given the heave-ho for far less.”