Labour conference: ‘It’s Scotland vs Salmond’ says Johann Lamont

The Scottish speech is normally a neglected part of the Labour Party conference but has more potency now that there’s less than a year to go to the referendum. Johann Lamont, leader of Scottish Labour, is an important actor in the battle to save the union. The Tory vote in Scotland has been reduced to staff members
and blood relatives so much depends on whether Labour is able to pack a punch. And Ms Lamont certainly is. She rather cleverly mocked the way that Salmond is in full hyperbole mode, declaring every second day an ‘historic’ day — to create the idea that we’re building up to some Braveheart-style Independence Day. She had this to say:

‘It seems the Scottish Government just need to call a press conference for the day to become historic. Well I look forward to coming back to conference after the historic day next year when Scotland renews its embrace of the United Kingdom – and makes the politics of narrow nationalism a thing of history.