SURPRISE, surprise! Our would-be Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week told anyone who would listen that he's proud to be British and that Scotland should never break away from the United Kingdom and take the path of independence.

SURPRISE, surprise! Our would-be Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week told anyone who would listen that he's proud to be British and that Scotland should never break away from the United Kingdom and take the path of independence.

He's only right if England is given a proper post-devolution settlement. Why should Scots like Mr Brown vote on England-only laws which have no impact on his constituents because equivalent legislation is devolved to the Scottish Parliament?

Mr Brown lauded the partnership at work “between the Scottish Executive led by Jack McConnell and the UK Government led by Tony Blair” - that, of course, being the same Jack McConnell who refused to support our lads in the World Cup.

If he's so eager to prove he's a good Brit, then he must surely yield to some form of settlement for England, so long as it isn't the demented regionalism project. Scots can't have it both ways and I would have thought the pragmatic Mr Brown would realise that. The problem is that he knows full well that without Labour's Scottish votes at Westminster, much legislation covering England would never get through parliament.

LABOUR spent more than £112,000 on its failed Blaenau Gwent by-election campaign - almost £100,000 more than the independents who won the key Commons and Welsh Assembly seats in June. “We took the challenge of rebuilding our relationship with the people Blaenau Gwent extremely seriously,” a Labour spokesman said somewhat sniffily of the spending in what was once the party's safest seat in London. “The amount of resources spent in the election reflects that.”

Time to tap up a few more secret donors methinks.

ON Sunday evening, I used the Internet to confirm my household's entry on the electoral register. It took just two clicks to get it all done. With electoral roll registration forms now being delivered, consumers are being urged to ensure they sign up - for the sake of their credit rating.

Barry Stamp, joint managing director of annualcreditreport.co.uk says most people are totally unaware of how failure to be included on the voters' list can seriously impact on their credit rating. “The electoral roll is used by lenders as one of the primary sources for verifying the current residency and identity of consumers when assessing credit applications,” he warns. “It is also used by credit reference agencies as the base record for credit files.”

CRITICS accuse me - quite unfairly - of having a downer on the Liberal Democrats. So I'm quite happy to praise the party for issuing its conference agendas and media passes half way through August while Labour and the Tories have yet to mail theirs out.

Once again, the Lib Dems are boasting how green their gathering will be in Brighton - recognising the massive energy consumption conferences generate, they have slapped a £1 levy on delegates' registration fees to offset their carbon emissions next week and this will be used to pay for renewable energy and forest restoration projects elsewhere.