Thoughts from the North
Gordon must occasionally wake up having been terrorised by two nightmares: 1) a fresh faced public schoolboy stealing his crown (again), 2) that Scotland will sail off out of the United Kingdom.
Hence all this stuff about Britishness. Obviously he wants to overcome the notion that somehow Gordon’s Scottishness will weigh against him. However what will happen if the Scots support independence? – then there will be no seat for Gordon in the House of Commons. It is bad enough that he is voting in Parliament for matters in my constituency, but cannot vote on key issues like health in his own.
I suspect it will not come to that, inasmuch as the Scots will pull back from breaking away. However we may have a situation like Quebec when the desire for independence ebbs and flows, and can be very destabilising.
Meanwhile, with the atrocious current performance of this Government, we can look forward to some nasty surprises in the elections in May. This is not a cheerful time to be a Labour MP, especially from Scotland, and especially if you are Gordon.