The `mouth of the south' should think twice

EVEN if the sky should fall in on Labour in England, surely our Scottish hero Gordon Brown should be able to rely on massive support north of the border. Wrong.

Labour's crumbling fortunes in England are reflected in Scotland. But because of the cavalier action towards the Scots adopted by Margaret Thatcher when she was in Downing Streets, Scottish voters are not turning to the Conservatives in desperation. It's the Scottish National Party which is soaking up disenchanted Labour voters. And it is endangering the union.

The contempt for Labour in Scotland must be deeply worrying for Brown and the rest of the Scottish coven at Westminster. But it should have been obvious that when devolution was granted, many Scots would press for the ripping up of the Act of Union.

Labour's Scottish leader Wendy Alexander - sister of wee Dougie Alexander, an arch Brownite - is known in Scottish political circles as "the mouth of the south" because everything she does has to accord with British Labour policy. She may have called for an early referendum on independence - "bring it on" she enthused - but it would damage irrevocably Labour's chances of winning a general election in England, Wales and Ulster   

It would be ironic indeed if a Scottish Prime Minister who professes his support for the union were forced, by a referendum vote in Scotland, to push through Westminster a Bill giving Scotland independence - and, of course, what would follow would be Gordon Brown not having a seat in the Commons.