Well New Labour are now the new government and Donald Dewar is the new Scottish Secretary. Not only is Donald an able and widely respected politician, he is a previous shadow Secretary of State for Scotland with a long political record in Scotland. As such, I hope that Donald will follow a more independent-minded line than George Robertson was able to do, who gained an unfortunate reputation for taking his orders straight from London.

Dewar has appointed - or at least someone has appointed - Brian Wilson and Malcolm Chisholm to serve with him on -- the Scottish front bench. These two men are an interesting pair, in fact one could call them the 'abominable no men' of Scottish politics.

During the last devolution referendum in 1979, Brian Wilson was one of the most bitter opponents of the then Labour government's devolution plans, and campaigned strongly for a 'no' vote in the referendum. And Malcolm Chisholm is also on the record as being a 'no' voter. Such was their opposition to devolution, that both Brian Wilson and Malcolm Chisholm were prepared to destroy the last Labour government, rather than see Labour honour their manifesto commitment to establish a Scottish assembly.

In 1979, a rigged referendum meant that a minimum of 40% of the overall electorate had to vote 'yes' to devolution, which meant that the Labour government turned the clear 'yes' which the Scottish people voted for into a 'no'. Now in 1997, two out of the five people appointed to the Scottish front bench have a track record of hostility to devolution.

The appointment of the 'abominable no men' of 1979 to the very heart of the Scottish Office is Donald Dewar's very own '40 per cent rule', which likewise can only have the effect of delaying and obstructing change in Scotland. Their entry to junior ministerial positions in Scotland will have sent a shiver down the spine of the Home Rule movement, and confirms that New Labour can't be trusted on the Scottish constitution.

Brian Wilson was against devolution in 1979 because he believed that it would lead to Independence. In 1997, in the course of the General Election campaign, he denied the sovereignty of the Scottish people, by saying that Westminster wouldn't allow a devolved parliament to become independent. This contradicts Dewar who, during his shadow position, took a clear leadership line that the Scottish people are sovereign over Westminster, reflecting Scotland's constitutional tradition.

So has Dewar changed his mind - does he really believe that a Scottish parliament could not decide its own future for itself, as Wilson does? Or will he manage to dispense with this anti-democratic nonsense? It was, after all, during Donald's period as shadow Scottish Secretary that Labour in Scotland committed themselves to the 'Claim of Right' - the 1989 foundation document of the Constitutional Convention - which every Scottish Labour MP bar one signed, and which proclaims the sovereignty of the Scottish people.

Scottish politics are set for a very interesting time in the weeks and months ahead.

Dr. Allan Macartney MEP
SNP Deputy Leader

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If you would like to know more about the SNP and HELP SCOTLAND contact snp.hq@snp.org.uk or visit the official the Scottish National Party web site.

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