Jim Murphy Raises the Election Stakes

The Secretary of State for Scotland, Jim Murphy, has promised Scotland that Labour will deliver for Scotland if they win the next election.

Speaking exclusively to The Times, he put forward, for the first time, a specific timetable within which Labour, if elected, would deliver the proposals on devolution, published last year by the Calman Commission.

“We will legislate early in the first year of the next Parliament,” he said. “It would be in the first legislative programme of a fourth term.” Both the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, he said, were “signed up” to the timetable.

Gosh, Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling are with the programme and ready to deliver for Scotland! Salmond must be quaking in his boots. I wonder if Jim Murphy has considered that England may yet have its say, through the House of Commons? The anti-English Labour Party may not be prepared to give England a positive choice in how she wishes to be governed, but there is nothing to stop MPs elected in England from speaking negatively for England by preventing more power moving away from Westminster in a manner that damages English voters further, thereby preventing an increase in the democratic deficit.

Murphy reflected on why the Scottish people had turned against independence.

"Scottish people know that if it had not been for the taxpayers of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we could have been in as bad a situation as Iceland and the Republic of Ireland."

Who said idealism is dead?

It will be interesting to hear what Cameron will promise for Scotland - I can tell you now that he won't promise anything for England.