Monday 20 August 2007

Browne-d off message?


It would appear that “two jobs” Des Browne MP has set his mind against more powers for the Scottish Parliament, despite the former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Jack McConnell supporting the idea just ten days ago along with the leaders of Scotland’s opposition parties, and despite the likely new Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Wendy Alexander, also apparently endorsing the idea.

So, either our Des is playing to the Westminster audience of Labour MPs who don’t have a lot of patience at the best of times for their Holyrood colleagues, or he is genuinely anti the idea of reviewing the Scottish Parliament’s powers.

Given that one of the Sunday papers suggested that our Des was a part of Wendy Alexander’s unofficial leadership election campaign, Mr Smith thinks it very unlikely that the Secretary of State for Scotland would want to cause the new Leader problems on this issue and as such thinks Mr Browne is just trying to keep backbench Scottish Labour MPs at Westminster happy by distancing himself from the idea.



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