The scale of the task facing the Scottish Labour leadership contenders in their attempts to reconnect with the public was made clear yesterday after an opinion poll showed that they are largely unknown among voters.

With little over four weeks to go until the leader is announced 76 per cent said they know little or nothing of Iain Gray, 62 per cent know little or nothing of Andy Kerr, while the equivalent figure for Cathy Jamieson is 38 per cent, prompting the Opposition to dismiss the contest as the “battle of the invisibles”.

Despite all three contenders for the post of Scottish Labour leader having served as ministers in Holyrood, they appear to be facing an uphill battle to become political heavyweights.

Mr Gray, who is emerging as the frontrunner in the contest, was the least well known of the trio. Only

4 per cent of those asked said that they knew a lot about the East Lothian MSP and 45 per cent had not even heard of him.

Ms Jamieson, the former justice minister, was the best known of those in the contest, with 58 per cent saying that they knew something of her. Andy Kerr, the former health minister, was known by only 34 per cent of those questioned. The poll, which showed that all three had struggled to make an impact with the voters, was released by the SNP, which also trumpeted the fact that Alex Salmond, its party leader and First Minister, is known by an overwhelming 89 per cent of Scots. Annabel Goldie, the Tory leader, is known by 61 per cent of voters.

Stewart Hosie, the SNP Chief Whip, branded the Labour leadership a contest among “invisibles”.

“Since 1999, all three candidates have been government ministers, yet are far less well known, not just than Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon [the Deputy First Minister], but even [Ms] Goldie, who has obviously never held office.”

The YouGov poll was commissioned by the SNP, and conducted last week among 1,028 voters. Responding to the survey Mr Gray said: “I'm not too surprised by this, having been out of the Parliament for four years until 2007, but I believe I can offer a fresh perspective on what the party needs to rebuild trust with the voters and take the fight to the SNP.”

The SNP also released figures yesterday from another opinion poll, which showed that 52 per cent of those questioned thought that Mr Salmond was doing a better job than Gordon Brown, compared with 16 per cent who argued in favour of the Prime Minister.

Responding to the surveys, a Scottish Labour Party spokeswoman said: “The SNP should stop slapping themselves on the back and actually start helping Scottish families affected by the credit crunch.” Meanwhile, the three Labour leadership contenders have all moved to condemn council tax. Mr Kerr, a former finance minister, said yesterday that he wants to replace the present tax with a new property-based charge. Mr Kerr's promise to drop the tax comes after a pledge by Mr Gray, his leadership rival, either “to replace or reform” council tax.

The pronouncements came after Tom McCabe, the former Labour finance minister, said last week that the Scottish party would have to address the future of the “discredited” council tax in order to take on the SNP at Holyrood. Scottish Labour went into the last election vowing to reform the tax, but was criticised for failing to spell out how its system would work. Mr Kerr said that, if elected, he would “immediately signal a long-term desire to replace the council tax”.

Kenneth Gibson, the Nationalist MSP, said: “The case for a fair local income tax is becoming even stronger, as Labour leadership candidates and MSPs fall over each other in their new-found enthusiasm to scrap the hated council tax.”

Ms Jamieson favours ending the tax, and wants to push a Bill through Holyrood to reduce water and sewerage charges. Her spokesman said: “She believes the current system is unacceptable and unfair.” Meanwhile, Ms Jamieson called for a £15 million package to deliver 500 qualified early years workers to help Primary 1 pupils.

Treasury fury at No10, page 22

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