Salmond may save Labour

Pity Alex Salmond and his separatist supporters. The publication of their manifesto for Scottish independence this week is no threat to the Union, but a requiem for a dream now vanquished. The devolution settlement gave them the rope, and now they’ve managed to hang themselves with it. During Mr Salmond’s tenure as First Minister, Scotland’s economic situation has become progressively worse. If Gordon Brown did not send home pocket money — a subsidy of £11 billion each year — Scotland would have a budget deficit that would put even Britain’s to shame. So now Mr Salmond is under pressure: this week he had to demote one of his ministers to avert defeat in a no-confidence vote and he is being routed in Glasgow’s by-elections.

The Conservatives, who care for the union, are delighted by all this — but their cheers should be muted. They should take notice of whom Salmond was routed by: the Labour party which is not dead but winning substantial majorities (as it did in Glenrothes last year). As the SNP collapses under the futility of its own agenda, Labour is inching towards a revival. Following the election, Labour will retreat to its Celtic heartland and plot its recovery. There, the party will learn how to win again, and how to capitalise on the deep dislike of David Cameron (the Tories are less popular in Scotland now than they were under Mrs Thatcher).

In Westminster, it has become customary for Tories to toast the SNP — regarding them as a political form of pest control for the regions the Tories don’t reach. They should be more circumspect. As he watches his referendum dream crumble into dust, Mr Salmond may do the Tories the worst disservice of all.