THE rift between Labour politicians in London and Edinburgh deepened yesterday when Henry McLeish, a former first minister, said it was time his Westminster counterparts stopped "sniping" at Wendy Alexander, the Scottish Labour leader.
Mr McLeish was reacting to comments from David Cairns, the Scotland Office minister, who last week dismissed Ms Alexander's drive for more powers for the Scottish Parliament as of interest only to the "McChattering classes".
Gordon Brown intervene
d in the debate over the weekend in an attempt to stop the bickering between Labour politicians on either side of the Border.
The Prime Minister gave Ms Alexander his full support and publicly backed the idea of a Scottish Constitutional Commission to examine more powers for the parliament.
Yesterday, Mr McLeish said the Prime Minister's intervention should act as a warning to Labour politicians in Westminster to back Ms Alexander and her plans for a review of the devolution settlement.
Mr McLeish said: "For some time there's been a problem at Westminster, because part of Wendy Alexander's difficulty is the fact there's a constant sniping from Westminster.
"Labour MPs at Westminster, ministers, don't accept the reality that the parliament is ten years old.
"The parliament has done a tremendous job for Scotland and the genie is out of the bottle and it won't go back.
"I think he (Mr Cairns] was maybe a victim of that kind of view at Westminster and I think the Prime Minister's intervention has said, 'This is the line to take, this is what we're doing'."
Mr McLeish added: "I think what should happen is that Wendy Alexander should be given the space and the time to actually add a distinctive Scottish brand to Labour which, unashamedly, is very Scottish, wants to be uncompromising in the defence of Scottish interests and she's got to be able to tell Westminster MPs and ministers that she's actually in charge of what's going on.
"I would like to think – maybe hope against hope – that we would now see Labour MSPs and Labour MPs working more closely together."
Pete Wishart, an SNP MP, said the sniping between the Labour Party north and south of the Border showed it was now time to axe the Scotland Office, which he described as "a waste of space and money".
PIA LANDS SPOKESMAN ROLEA FORMER broadcaster and Scotsman journalist has been hired by the Labour Party to help revive Wendy Alexander's leadership.
Simon Pia, 52, who used to write The Scotsman Diary and was recently a broadcaster on Talk 107, is the new official spokesman for Ms Alexander, filling a role that has been vacant for three months since the abrupt and embarrassing departure of Matthew Marr.
Mr Marr quit in November after a series of drunken outbursts at an awards evening, the most abusive of which were directed at Alex Salmond, the First Minister. Another spin doctor, Brian Lironi, left last summer, apparently after difficulties with Ms Alexander's style of leadership.
Mr Pia, whose Edinburgh University tutor was Gordon Brown, said he was not worried by the departure of two previous spokesmen. He said he had taken the job because Ms Alexander had shown strength and character in coming through a testing time and would now be able to provide a stern challenge to Mr Salmond.
The full article contains 554 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
