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| Alexander and Mandelson (Photo credit: Downing Street) |
For Somebody who is supposed to be one of British Labour's "great thinkers", Douglas Alexander isn't too bright. (Alexander claims Salmond in denial over Yes vote) Never mind the plainly idiotic claim that "Scottish Labour is here to stay" when we all know that there is no such entity. There is only British Labour, in alliance with the Tories and with a Scottish branch where Johann Lamont gets to be office manager.
Given the undeniable fact that there is no Scottish Labour Party, what is Alexander saying here? Is he saying that after a Yes vote "Scottish" Labour would continue as it is now, a mere appendage of the British Labour Party doing the bidding of its masters in London and continuing to insist that Holyrood must always be subordinate to Westminster? Is he telling us that British Labour politicians in Scotland will persist in fighting against independence even after the people of Scotland have voted for it?
Has he informed his "leader" of this policy? Has he told British Labour MPs and MSPs that they are to be required to deny the democratic will of the people of Scotland?
Or is he just a bladder making noises?
Only a bladder would imagine that polls predict results rather than indicate trends. Only a bladder would deny that the clear trend is towards a Yes vote in the referendum Only a bladder would fail to realise that this is the sole reason he has been drafted in to replace the hapless Alistair Darling.
But that's not the end to Alexander's folly. Nor even the worst of it. He tries to deny simple logic. If his call for a a coming together of political forces in Scotland following a No vote is valid then it inevitably follows that Alex Salmond's similar proposal must also be perfectly valid.
The First Minister has committed the Scottish Government to working with former opponents in the interests of Scotland and its people when we vote Yes. Douglas Alexander - who we must now assume speaks for the Tory/Labour/LibDem alliance of Better Together as well as for British Labour in Scotland - refuses to make such a commitment. On the contrary, he appears to intimate that unionist politicians like himself will not accept the verdict of Scotland's people and will continue to oppose independence even after that verdict is in.
It's as well to know the kind of people we are up against. The kind of people we will empower if we are foolish enough to vote No. The kind of people who consider democracy to be something than can quickly be discarded when it becomes inconvenient.
Given the undeniable fact that there is no Scottish Labour Party, what is Alexander saying here? Is he saying that after a Yes vote "Scottish" Labour would continue as it is now, a mere appendage of the British Labour Party doing the bidding of its masters in London and continuing to insist that Holyrood must always be subordinate to Westminster? Is he telling us that British Labour politicians in Scotland will persist in fighting against independence even after the people of Scotland have voted for it?
Has he informed his "leader" of this policy? Has he told British Labour MPs and MSPs that they are to be required to deny the democratic will of the people of Scotland?
Or is he just a bladder making noises?
Only a bladder would imagine that polls predict results rather than indicate trends. Only a bladder would deny that the clear trend is towards a Yes vote in the referendum Only a bladder would fail to realise that this is the sole reason he has been drafted in to replace the hapless Alistair Darling.
But that's not the end to Alexander's folly. Nor even the worst of it. He tries to deny simple logic. If his call for a a coming together of political forces in Scotland following a No vote is valid then it inevitably follows that Alex Salmond's similar proposal must also be perfectly valid.
The First Minister has committed the Scottish Government to working with former opponents in the interests of Scotland and its people when we vote Yes. Douglas Alexander - who we must now assume speaks for the Tory/Labour/LibDem alliance of Better Together as well as for British Labour in Scotland - refuses to make such a commitment. On the contrary, he appears to intimate that unionist politicians like himself will not accept the verdict of Scotland's people and will continue to oppose independence even after that verdict is in.
It's as well to know the kind of people we are up against. The kind of people we will empower if we are foolish enough to vote No. The kind of people who consider democracy to be something than can quickly be discarded when it becomes inconvenient.
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