THE majority of Scots do not trust Andy Burnham to work in Scotland's best interests, while most believe Number 10 North is "just a gimmick".
In an exclusive poll carried out by Find Out Now for The National, more than 70% of Scots said they don't trust the new Prime Minister to stand up for Scotland when don't knows are removed, with just 28% saying they do trust him.
It comes after Burnham announced within moments of becoming Prime Minister that another Scottish independence referendum was "off limits" following a meeting with First Minister John Swinney.
Commenting on the poll, SNP chief whip Kirsty Blackman told The National: "No wonder then that the Scottish people don't trust him to serve our interests when his arrogant disrespect for Scottish democracy appears exactly the same as every Westminster Prime Minister in the last decade.
"The only people guaranteed to always serve Scotland's interests are the Scottish people themselves, as part of an independent nation like any other. That is at the very core of the case for independence, and it's why no UK Prime Minister will ever be able to ban it as 'off limits'."
While support for Scottish independence tends to be higher among younger age groups, the poll showed more than half of Scots aged 55 to 64 (56%) and 65 to 74 (54%) said they didn't trust Burnham to work in Scotland's best interests.
Meanwhile, when asked how they felt about Burnham moving some Downing Street operations to Manchester in what has been branded Number 10 North, 72% said the move was "just a gimmick" that will make little difference, with only 28% saying it is a "meaningful step" towards spreading political power more evenly across the UK, with don't knows removed.
When asked how he felt about the move, Green Party of England and Wales leader Zack Polanski, who hails from Salford, told The National it cannot just be "tokenistic".
"It's about making sure it's not just symbolic or tokenistic but is part of a wider pattern of measures of moving our democracy so it's more in touch with people around the country," he said.
"That has to include Scotland. I really felt it when I came to Scotland, this idea of him being king of the north and how people in Scotland hear that kind of language.
"Obviously you can't have a Number 10 in every single city in England, Scotland and Wales but what you can do is make sure those places feel represented."
Blackman added: "Clearly Scots are wise to the fact that Andy Burnham thinks Manchester is the north of the UK, when it’s barely the north of England.
"It has been telling that the vast majority of Burnham's announcements have been targeted at an English audience. The only thing he has done in Scotland is to send Anas Sarwar to the House of Lords.
"If Andy Burnham really wants to make Manchester the north of the UK, fair enough. He can make that happen by respecting Scottish democracy, giving us the right to decide our own future, and Scotland will become an independent nation which will then gladly deal and co-operate with our neighbours in Number 10 North."
