Cameron draws the wrong lesson from Jackanory Jim's success

David Cameron, in response to Angus Robertson's question about the likely closure of RAF Lossiemouth at PMQs -

"If you had an independent Scotland, you wouldn't be flying planes, you'd be flying by the seat of your pants."

A sneering reply that was the cue for lots of equally sneering laughter from the Tory benches - but let's just examine this for a moment. Who are they actually sneering at? Not the SNP, that's for sure - Cameron wasn't particularly talking about an SNP-run independent Scotland, or even a Labour-run independent Scotland. He was simply mocking the capacity of Scots to govern themselves under any circumstances.

Now, you can see how Cameron might have been deluded into thinking that he's onto a winner here. After all, Labour have been talking Scotland down for decades and have more often than not been richly rewarded for their troubles. But the difference is that it's usually Scottish Labour figures who are the front for the talking-down operation. Why else does it infuriate us so much when Jackanory Jim does his "as a Murphy, it breaks my heart to say that an independent Scotland would be as rubbish as Ireland" routine? Because we know that the spinning of such yarns does get under people's skins, and it does ultimately sap this nation's morale. But hearing an Old Etonian Tory PM repeatedly sneer at "you" Scots will, I suspect, have a somewhat different effect.

Great politics, Dave. Don't stop.

McKechin's appointment leaves 'the Snarl' in the spotlight

Just about the only Shadow Cabinet appointment that was utterly predictable was Ann McKechin's as Shadow Scottish Secretary - as a very low-profile Scottish MP who somehow managed to get elected to the top team, it was a no-brainer that she would draw the short straw. The most important practical upshot is that, for the first time, Iain "the Snarl" Gray has effectively become the 'real' leader of Scottish Labour, no longer in the shadow of Jim Murphy. In principle, it's of course entirely right (and long-overdue) that the Holyrood leader should have primacy - in practice, it leaves them with a rather obvious weakness.

As for the other appointments, my instinctive reaction is disappointment that Miliband has ducked out of the choice between husband and wife for the key role of Shadow Chancellor, and appointed Alan Johnson instead - that looks very much like a sop to the Blairities, and thus a step backwards.

In many parts of Scotland it's 'vote Labour, get Cameron'

At (the oddly scheduled) First Minister's Questions earlier this afternoon, Alex Salmond did a great job of driving home the truth revealed by David McLetchie's gaffe earlier this week - namely that votes for the Lib Dems and Labour in Scotland are essentially 'enabling' votes for Tory rule. It really drives a coach and horses through Jim Murphy's desperate (and depressingly familiar) attempts to hoodwink people into thinking that 'the only way' to prevent a Tory government is to vote Labour. In truth, it's not just that Labour aren't 'the way' to thwart a Cameron victory, they're not even 'a way' to do so. Thanks to the majoritarian voting system so beloved of both main London parties, if you live in Scotland and want to stop the Tories...basically, forget it. In most parts of the country, you simply don't have a part to play. While Jim Murphy mouths endless touching platitudes about how important it is for people to go out and use their vote (perhaps he should release a charity single?) he's quite content for your vote not to count for anything, and for the election to be decided over your heads in the 150 or so marginal constituencies - the overwhelming majority of which are in a few specific regions of England. In most cases, the only conceivable way out of this bind is to cast a vote for a party that refuses to legitimise such a rotten system.

However, for a lucky minority in Scotland, their constituency will genuinely be in contention tomorrow, and that's where anti-Tory tactical voting does come into play. Unfortunately for Murphy's argument, it's only in a small number of these seats that Labour are the party best placed to stop the Tories (ironically Murphy's own seat is one of those few exceptions). So I was particularly bemused to note that in the Daily Mirror's cut-out-and-keep guide of how to vote tactically to block the Tories, the SNP's vital role in many constituencies is mysteriously airbrushed out of the equation. I left this comment on Kevin Maguire's blog -

"I see in your tactical voting guide that you couldn't quite bring yourself to admit that there are at least four seats where only the SNP can stop the Tories - that's more than the number of Scottish seats where Labour are the 'Tory blockers'. In many parts of Scotland it's 'Vote Labour, get Cameron'."

To return to my earlier observation about Jim Murphy, I think the moment in the Scottish debates that made my blood boil like no other was when a member of the STV audience zoned in on the point about voters in safe Labour seats being effectively disenfranchised, and Murphy responded by saying - "I understand the point you're making, sir, but with respect I don't agree", before going on for the 1,147th time to recite his "We Are The World, We Are The Children" line about the only wasted vote being one that is not cast. Of course he did understand the point that was being put to him perfectly well, but you'd never have guessed it from the answer he actually gave. If he had been remotely sincere about treating that voter "with respect", he'd have addressed the substance of the question, and explained why in his position of power he's been quite content to uphold the injustices of the current voting system, rather than essentially patting the guy on the head and telling him not to think too deeply about the whole thing.

Salmond wins the best debate

It has to be said my own immediate impression of the TV debates during this campaign hasn't always borne a lot of relation to the 'definitive' version of events I've read in the newspapers the following morning. But, for what it's worth, I thought last night's was by some distance the best of all the debates (UK or Scottish), with an electric atmosphere, an air of spontaneity, and a moderator who was not only empowered by the rules to hold the combatants to account, but actually did so very effectively. Indeed, Glenn Campbell said a couple of things out loud that I've been waiting for someone to point out for weeks now. Firstly, that the supposed 'right to sack MPs' is being massively oversold, as it will seemingly only apply when an MP has explicitly been found guilty of wrongdoing by the parliamentary authorities, which won't be very often. Secondly, that the Liberal Democrats cannot credibly claim to be a 'new' party, when via their predecessor party the Liberals they've actually been around for longer than Labour, and just as long as the Tories. The SNP were in fact the youngest party involved last night, although even they go back all the way to 1928!

My other strong impression was that Alex Salmond emerged as the clear winner, with Alistair Carmichael failing to sparkle quite as much as he had in the two previous debates, and David Mundell once again living down to expectations. It's much harder to meaningfully assess Jim Murphy's performance, as I've always felt that he's a wooden, transparently insincere debater - and yet Hamish Macdonell somehow felt able to score him the narrow winner of the first STV debate. Evidently there's something I'm missing, and I missed it again last night. But at least Murphy resisted the temptation to tell us yet again about how "as a Scottish patriot, and as a Murphy, it gives me no pleasure to have to say that Ireland is very nearly as rubbish at governing itself as Scotland would be". Perhaps he's happy to give someone else a shot at being the toast of Dublin.

One mildly encouraging point is that, to my surprise, a couple of my (non-political) relatives were just as keen to catch this debate as they had been for the UK one on Thursday. Given that it received only a tiny fraction of the hype, I was amazed they even knew it was on.

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No wonder Ieuan Wyn Jones looked utterly baffled when Richard Bacon asked him on BBC3 whether the English or the "French Celts" were the more natural allies for Wales. Would that be the Bretons you're talking about, by any chance, Richard?

Memo to Jackanory Jim : be careful what you wish for

Labour have been busily feigning outrage for weeks that Alex Salmond wasn't taking part in two of the three Scottish side-debates, so you'd probably imagine they will now be pronouncing themselves thoroughly satisfied with his change of heart about tomorrow's final BBC debate. Er...no, actually. If the early reaction of a Labour activist on Twitter is anything to go by, it appears they're attempting a seamless switch back to the "what-does-he-want-to-take-part-for, he's-not-even-a-candidate-in-this-election" line.

Jeez. Sort it out, guys.

In spite of what I said about this a couple of weeks ago, I'm sure this is absolutely the right call by the SNP. The three rigged UK-wide debates have now been broadcast, and strategies for preventing a repeat of that outrage can be left for another day. For now, it's all about taking every last opportunity to maximise the SNP's vote in this election. Jim Murphy will be privately horrified that his slightly creepy Jackanory-style storytelling approach to debating is about to face the full Eck treatment for a second time.

Murphy's sanctimony comes back to haunt him again

Firstly, I'd just like to sincerely thank Labour for ensuring that the first big scandal of the general election campaign has occurred in a safe Nationalist seat, thus guaranteeing that the London-based media are forced to acknowledge - at least in passing - that the SNP do actually exist (always something of a painful process for them).

Secondly, I'm struggling to see how it can be denied that Jim Murphy has just flunked a very big judgement call. Reading through the original story on Stuart MacLennan in the Scottish Sun, it's very hard to see precisely what 'further information' could possibly have been required to determine that this man was not a fit person to be a parliamentary candidate.

Thirdly, I think we might just have heard the last from Scotland's Supreme Spiritual Guide, the Venerable Brother Murphy, on the subject of 'disgusting CyberNats'. Certainly, he's not going to have a lot of credibility in ever again trying to hold the SNP leadership responsible for the uncontrollable actions of a handful of anonymous supporters on the internet, when he is asking us to accept that it is perfectly plausible that he had no idea about the bile one of his own parliamentary candidates was pouring out on Twitter, in spite of the fact that the person in question was brazenly doing so under his own name, and that his followers included several prominent Labour figures, one of whom was the wife of the Prime Minister.

Incidentally, I also look forward to hearing at length from David Maddox about 'CyberLabs' for a change. (Sounds suitably sinister, like the sort of thing Tony Blair was desperately hoping might turn up in Iraq one day.)

Murphy's Law

Call me a sadist, but what a pleasure it was to see Jim Murphy well and truly floundering on Reporting Scotland tonight on the subject of tidal and wave power. You might say that, in fairness, it's impossible to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but isn't this guy supposed to be Scottish Labour's latest Messiah? Water into wine is the required standard, I'm afraid, and any party that freely chose to elect Iain Gray as its leader is in dire need of some miracles soon.

Murphy would have been even sicker when he saw the context in which his feeble soundbite had been inserted into the report. First, it was pointed out in a straightforward factual way that it costs £21 per kilowatt to connect this new source of renewable energy to the National Grid from the north of Scotland, whereas in Cornwall you would actually be paid £6 per kilowatt for your trouble. Then, we heard from Alex Salmond in full statesmanlike mode noting that, while this outrageous discrimination wouldn't stop developments like this, it clearly wasn't helping matters. And only then did Murphy have his chance. So not the most helpful build-up when all you've got to offer is a load of incoherent mumbling about how "there is no evidence to suggest" that any of this is really a problem. If it turned out it was a problem, the UK government might just get round to doing something about it eventually - but no promises, mind.

And surely Jim missed his cue? Given that the UK government had just been shown to be cynically stacking the economic odds against Scottish renewable energy, could there ever have been a more propitious moment to break into some passionate Brian Wilson-style evangelising about how nuclear is the only conceivable option, given that renewables are famously so 'uneconomic'?

Murphy's respectful strategy

Interesting to read on Brian Taylor's blog that at the meeting of the Scottish Affairs Committee at Westminster today Jim Murphy carefully referred to Alex Salmond's administration as the 'Scottish Government', while members of the committee for the most part insisted on sticking to the admittedly legally still correct (but utterly absurd) name 'Scottish Executive'. What intrigues me about this is that it was at a meeting of the very same committee just a matter of weeks before becoming Secretary of State for Scotland that Murphy rather gratuitously went out of his way to 'correct' an SNP member who had dared to utter the words 'Scottish government'. And yet just weeks later Secretary of State Murphy was archly explaining why it was so terribly important to use the word 'government'- mutual respect between administrations, don't you know.

A sinner repenteth is naturally always a joy, but this truly was a Damascene conversion by any standards. And as ever the really interesting question is why such a dramatic change of heart? Call me a cynic, but I'm guessing the word 'strategy' might just have loomed as large in his thinking - dare I say even a touch larger - than the word 'respect'.

Weasel words from Murphy

The Scotsman is reporting that Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy will continue Labour's propaganda war against the SNP's non-nuclear policy in a speech on Monday. He will apparently draw attention to what he describes as an "increasing consensus" in Europe that nuclear power must form part of any serious climate change strategy. Now, if ever you wanted to see a textbook example of weasel words, there it is! "Increasing consensus" is code for "actually there isn't a consensus at the moment - but Finland have changed their mind, so that's a start".