UK Labour is sending its top team to Scotland in the coming weeks to bolster Kezia Dugdale's efforts to reverse her party's fortunes.

Leader Jeremy Corbyn, deputy leader Tom Watson and shadow chancellor John McDonnell will lead the charge of UK Labour MPs keen to assist the Scottish campaign following an "incredibly well received" rallying call from Ms Dugdale in London today.

Labour is keen to avoid the impression that the Holyrood poll is a "UK election by proxy", with MPs keen to help without being seen to "muscle in" on Scottish policy, a Scottish Labour spokesman said.

Ms Dugdale has previously acknowledged that her party's push for greater autonomy - after a predecessor accused UK Labour of treating Scotland like "a branch office" - has yet to resonate with the electorate.

The latest Panelbase poll for The Sunday Times and Heart FM indicated the Scottish Conservatives are gaining ground in the fight to be Scotland's second largest party, with Labour dropping to 21% in the constituency vote.

Speaking after her address to the UK Shadow Cabinet in London, Ms Dugdale said: "We had a positive discussion today about Labour's campaign for the Holyrood election in May.

"Shadow Cabinet members were left in no doubt at all that I will run an upbeat campaign with confidence in Labour's vision for Scotland."

Ms Dugdale outlined her plan to establish a Fair Start Fund of £1,000 for every deprived child, funded by a 50p top rate of tax when Holyrood gains control of income tax.

"We want to create a Scotland where a young person's ability to get on in life is determined by their potential, ambition and work rate, not by how much money their parents earn," she said.

"That's a vision shared by the whole UK Shadow Cabinet and I look forward to working with them on the campaign trail."

A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "It was incredibly well received.

"There was a huge appetite from people to get stuck into the campaign, with people asking how they can get involved and how they can campaign in Scotland, just as they will be doing in Wales, London and elsewhere during the election period coming up.

"In the next few weeks we've got visits from Jeremy Corbyn, Tom Watson and John McDonnell.

"So we've got the leader, the deputy leader and the shadow chancellor in the next few weeks, and you can't get more senior than that.

"Kez has said to everyone: come and campaign whenever you want to and you will see people up and down during the course of the campaign.

"People realise that we're in slightly different territory now than we have been in the past.

"They realise that the Scottish Parliament has got so much power now, especially with the new powers, and that this has to be an election about policy in Scotland and the politics of Scotland - not a UK election by proxy.

"The relationship is very good and there is very much a recognition that Kez is the leader in Scotland, she is the one setting the priorities and the policies and people will contribute in whatever way we see fit, really.

"That came across at the meeting, with people not wanting to muscle in but to help as much as possible."

The spokesman said the forthcoming vote on the renewal of Trident was not discussed at the meeting.

Scottish Labour voted to campaign against the renewal of Trident at its autumn conference but UK Labour remains divided on the issue, with Mr Corbyn's anti-nuclear views at odds with current party policy.

The UK Government has not officially set a date but a vote before May could cause difficulty for Labour, particularly in Scotland where it is fighting a steadfastly anti-Trident Scottish National Party.

SNP MSP Linda Fabiani said: "With 100 days to the Scottish parliamentary election, Kezia Dugdale has spent the day in Westminster pleading with her UK Labour colleagues to head north and campaign while the SNP is getting on with the job of delivering for Scotland in government.

"It's a strange strategy when opinion polling released this week showed that Jeremy Corbyn is a huge liability to the Labour Party in Scotland.

"Of course, Kezia Dugdale predicted as much before Mr Corbyn's election - predicting that he would leave Labour 'carping from the sidelines'.

"Voters in Scotland will expect credible policies from the Labour Party rather than day trips from a deeply-divided shadow cabinet."