Salmond: It’s not Scotland’s job to keep New labour in power

In the Guardian today, SNP leader Alex Salmond takes some time out from harassing Tony’s cronies in the House of Lords to respond to Jonathan Friedland’s call for the left to defend the union.

Freedland’s musings say more about the state of Labour than the state of the union. If the Labour party is losing the argument in England – as it is to the SNP in Scotland – then that is something it, not Scotland, needs to sort out.

Progressive England expects too much if they want us to save the political skin of Mr Blair or Mr Brown. And progressive England would do well not to give the impression, as Freedland does, that England has no right to self-determination just because it might come up with an answer he finds unwelcome. The task is not to deny England self-government, but to seek to change the minds of the people. (Guardian)