What a laugh this is. Donald Dewar, who has been at best a pragmatist, wants the Scots to talk amongst themselves on issues concerning the upcoming devolved Scottish parliament.

He said "We want to open up the Scottish Office although I don't want to make it sound as though I am tacitly accepting the charge that there has been a sort of Trappist monastery in the Scottish Office. We want to look at the machinery to stimulate a debate in the public domain."

Will that debate contain headlines about how London intends to control the Scottish parliament through the new labour gag orders? How investment will be controlled by the DTI? How taxes will have to be raised in Scotland to cover the shortfall as London cuts money given back from taxes collected from Scottish oil. gas, people and businesses?

You can only expect multimedia balderdash from new Labour.

I'd rather hear Mr. Dewar state that labour will NOT use the party whip from London to herd Scottish Labour MPs like cattle every time they vote to help Scotlands interests BEFORE Londons.