LABOUR must shun anti-independence council coalitions with the Tories and seek town hall alliances with the SNP in order to survive, a leading elections expert has warned.

Ahead of the local election results and an expectation Labour will lose several historic strongholds, Professor James Mitchell said it "makes no sense" for the party to pursue deals with the Tories over the running of councils given further public spending cuts coming down the line.

The co-director of the Academy of Government and professor of public policy at Edinburgh University, said Labour's best hopes of recovery in Scotland rested with SNP coalitions which, he said, offered a platform to win back support lost to the Nationalists in the last decade.

Tom Harris, a minister in Tony Blair's last Labour government and one of its most stridently Unionist figures in Scotland, said the party had to ape the SNP and announce a formal policy on no coalitions with the Tories.

Both the SNP and Tories are the anticipated success stories when today's results unfold, with the former replacing Labour in some of its old industrial heartlands for the first time and the latter continuing to capitalise on its Unionist credentials.

In 2012, only six of Scotland's 32 councils were run with overall majorities and of those five were Labour. Professor Mitchell said that while Labour was unlikely to be in the same position as five years ago and "will have overall control of no councils" he added it was likely to still be able to form coalition administrations.

In most councils, few parties have nominated enough candidates to achieve a majority of councillors and in several big authorities where it is currently in control, including Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire, Labour is only standing enough to form a coalition or minority administration. Both Edinburgh and East Renfrewshire were run during the last council term by SNP/Labour coalitions.

Professor Mitchel warned that a poor performance at local level would see Labour lose its tier of footsoldiers and connections into communities and grassroots concerns.

He said: "Attacking the SNP and focusing on opposition to independence isn't working. Labour has been much more effective in opposing the Tories when it has turned its attention on the UK governing party than it has the SNP. Indeed, Labour is more likely to win back support from the SNP by attacking the Tories.

"The last thing Labour wants to be doing at a local level is forming coalitions with the Tories, whose cause it has been assisting in recent years and whose stance on the constitutional issue simply confirms the Tories agenda.

"If Labour sought coalition deals with the SNP it could have a platform to bring regain some lost support. There will be horrendously difficult decisions on public finances coming from Westminster in the next few years and for Labour to suggest this is coming from Edinburgh will lack credibility with the electorate and allow the Tories an easy time.

"The last thing the Tories will want to talk about is Brexit and their record at Westminster. Labour has been allowing this to happen."

Mr Harris said: "Personally I would have no problem with Unionist coalitions but from a political perspective it would be a disaster. If we kept out the SNP by joining up with the Tories it hands the SNP a massive propaganda boost and play to the Red Tory agenda. Labour needs to do what Nicola Sturgeon has done and formally rule out any Tory coalition deals.

"To seek coalition deals with them is not a credible way forward."

A Labour spokesman said: “Labour councillors will make the decisions they think best serve their areas and the people they are there to represent.

“Scottish Labour has rules that any proposed coalition must be approved by the Scottish Executive Committee, we are clear there will be no deals if it involves more damaging austerity for communities.”