The National:

SCOTTISH Labour have a bit of a history when it comes to bad takes.

Who could forget when Jackie Baillie indignantly accused the SNP of wanting to “steal” her party’s voters.

Or when Anas Sarwar proudly celebrated a country gaining its independence from the UK - something he won’t even support Scotland having a say on.

But MSP Michael Marra may have now taken the proverbial biscuit.

Marra, who was elected to represent North East Scotland for Labour in May, got a little excited when he saw a poll in Twitter.

READ MORE: Scottish Labour 'pretended to function to get through election', Anas Sarwar says

The poll showed that Labour had finally overtaken the Tories in public opinion - and all it took was for Keir Starmer to do nothing while Boris Johnson’s party stumbled from scandal to scandal to scandal to scandal seemingly ad infinitum.

The six point lead represented in the poll - which is just a poll as Scottish Labourites will so often remind us when they happen to show Yes in the majority - led Marra to admonish Scots for having the cheek to support the SNP.

In what may be the worst take since the devolution era, Marra warned that supporting the SNP “jeopardises Labour support in other nations”.

Labour's shadow education secretary wrote: “If we are going to get rid of this Tory government us Scots now need to do our bit and back Keir as the next PM.

“Backing the SNP, however well intentioned, only jeopardises Labour support in other nations.”

We’ve got news for Marra: as England has so devastatingly proved with the 80-seat Tory majority in the Commons, Scotland’s votes really don’t matter when deciding the Westminster government.

What's more, Scots have been doing "our bit" by not voting Tory in more than half a century...

Many on social media were quick to point out the flaws in Marra’s argument.

SNP MP Gavin Newlands wrote: “In every UK General Election since Labour's last victory in 2005, every single person in Scotland could've voted Labour in each and the Tories would've still won all 4 elections.

“Scotland doesn't fall for this guff anymore.”

University of Glasgow historian Ewan Gibbs added: “The big problem with this argument is the elections of 1983, 1987, 1992 and 2010 when Scotland voted Labour and the strength of the Tory vote in England still got them to power.

“It’s an inversion of cause and effect to argue England votes Tory because of the SNP.”

David Clark, a former special adviser at the Foreign Office under Tony Blair’s Labour, quipped: “Labour’s message to former voters in England: ‘We let you down. We must change.’

“Labour’s message to former voters in Scotland: ‘You let us down. You must change.’”

SNP councillor Mhairi Hunter wrote: “We're used to the *Must vote Labour to beat the Tories* line but the *Mustn't vote SNP or you'll scare the English* one is new.”

Another, Jim Paterson, wrote: “Don't spook the English and you might, just might get a Labour government. What an ambitious election message…”