'Prattling Wendy Alexander doing SNP's work' blasts Labour stalwart

SCOTTISH Labour Leader Wendy Alexander has come under fire from inside her own party for "prattling on" about constitutional change.

Former Labour Scottish Office Minister Brian Wilson accused her of doing the SNP's job for them by setting up a Commission on more powers for Holyrood.

He said he would rather have a referendum on independence than the "incremental nonsense of fiddling about with powers".

Mr Wilson's comments came as delegates gather in Aviemore for Scottish Labour's first conference since Ms Alexander became leader.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was addressing the conference this afternoon and Ms Alexander is due to speak tomorrow.

Earlier this week Ms Alexander joined Tory and Liberal Democrat leaders at Holyrood to launch the independent Scottish Constitutional Commission to come up with recommendations on extending devolution.

But Mr Wilson was scathing about the initiative. In an interview for STV's Politics Now, he said: "Wendy Alexander is very much part of the presiding influences in Labour politics over the past 20 years in Scotland who have decided that politics is really about constitutions and commissions and the more we set up the better life must be.

"As long as Labour continues to go down what is essentially a nationalist agenda of commissions and constitutions and tampering with this and tampering with that the outcome is pretty predictable – the beneficiaries will be the nationalists.

"Labour and the others who have joined them in this venture are doing the job for them."

Labour has so far rejected the SNP's proposal of a multi-option referendum where voters would be asked to choose between independence, the status quo or enhanced devolution.

But Mr Wilson said: "To be honest I would rather have a referendum than this sort of incremental nonsense of fiddling about with powers."

And he added: "I fail to understand why the people who have created Labour's difficulties in Scotland seem to learn nothing and keep on making the same mistakes."

Labour's Lothians-based Euro MP David Martin said he agreed: "She needs to concentrate on the issues that matter to people in the streets.

"I said we should call Alex Salmond's bluff, have a referendum – yes or no on independence – a short sharp debate and get it out of the way."

The Prime Minister was expected to use his speech to bolster Ms Alexander's position and launch a strong attack on the SNP.

He was due to tell delegates: "Scotland stands on the brink of unprecedented prosperity but is held back by an Executive that doesn't understand the modern world and has no plan except to retreat from it. Labour will fight on the side of our community – with parents, with pupils, with tenants, with patients, with pensioners. We will be their last line of defence, the people's party."