NORMALLY there is little love lost between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Tories. But faced with Scotland's first SNP Government, the three parties are eager to make the most of the one issue that unites them - opposition to independence.
Senior figures from each of the parties came together in Edinburgh this week to agree on setting up a review process to "strengthen devolution". Their hope is that they will be able to reach some kind of consensus on Scotland's future which offers an
alternative to the SNP's aim of an independent nation.
The parties have had several meetings over the past few months, but Monday's gathering seemed to give new weight to the project, with the attendance of Scottish Secretary Des Browne.
Lib Dem and Tory Westminster representatives were there too, and a joint statement said the next stage would be to confirm the endorsement of all the parties at a UK level. Any agreed scheme to "improve" devolution would have to include more powers for the Scottish Parliament - and that would almost certainly have to mean some degree of increased control over taxation.
The parties admit it will take time to reach an agreed position and that it's far too early to guess what shape any consensus might take. But is there really enough common ground between these parties to expect any kind of agreement on Scotland's constitutional future?
There have always been voices in the Tory Party calling for stronger tax powers for the parliament in order to make the Scottish Government more accountable, but it has never been party policy.
The official Tory line is that the party is willing to look at the options, but sources say leader Annabel Goldie is still cautious about the idea of more powers.
Labour was opposed to extra powers before and during the Holyrood election campaign. Since then, new leader Wendy Alexander has made it clear she is ready to back the transfer of some responsibilities from Westminster. But crucially, there is no sign at all that Gordon Brown is willing to accept such a move. Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat leader Nicol Stephen - whose party has long backed increased powers for Holyrood - has gone much further than the other parties and argued for Scotland to get a share of North Sea oil revenues.
A Tory insider says there is probably a narrow majority among the party's MSPs in favour of more financial powers although grassroots members would remain to be convinced. Lib Dems have taken heart from an article by the Scottish Tories' deputy leader Murdo Fraser, talking about federalism.
A Labour MSP insists the party is serious about reviewing the constitutional settlement, and argues Des Browne would not have been part of the talks without Gordon Brown's approval. "You can't say what's going to come out of it, but people are seriously looking at appropriate devolved powers within the UK," the MSP said.
Extra tax powers could take various forms - from Scotland assuming responsibility for all taxes north of the Border and paying an agreed amount to Westminster for joint services such as defence and social security, to certain revenues being assigned to the Scottish Government.
Other areas seen as ripe for being devolved include broadcasting and control of the Holyrood elections.
The joint statement issued after Monday's meeting was vague about what form the "review process" would take. But insiders say options include establishing a Holyrood equivalent of a Speaker's Conference, where politicians work together on a non-partisan basis; setting up a special committee of the parliament, or creating what might be seen as a Scottish Constitutional Convention Mark II, involving not just political parties but also local government, civic Scotland, business, the unions and other groups.
This last option was the model which saw a sustained cross-party effort draw up a blueprint for devolution that became the basis for the creation of the Scottish Parliament. But that convention was born in very different circumstances, out of a deep frustration at years of Thatcherite policies being implemented in Scotland, despite the Tories' repeated rejection at the ballot box north of the Border.
The latest cross-party project can be painted by the SNP as a panic reaction to the new government by parties who have little in common. The Nationalists try to patronise the other parties by saying any contribution to their "National Conversation" is welcome.
The SNP's victory was more about people wanting a change of government than a surge of support for independence. A recent survey found support for a go-it-alone Scotland at its lowest for a decade.
Although opinion polls repeatedly show a majority in favour of "more powers" there is little evidence of people clamouring for such a move.
It may be the Labour-Lib Dem-Tory talks will produce a convincing scheme for more powers at Holyrood which captures the imagination of the nation.
But there is also the danger that if the parties cannot find a consensus, the exercise will serve merely to emphasise how divided they are and hand the advantage to the SNP.
The full article contains 854 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
