Labour 'out of touch' with mood

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Former Scottish First Minister Henry McLeish has claimed his Westminster Labour colleagues were "out of touch" with the political mood in Scotland.

A new book by Mr McLeish and the journalist Tom Brown, also said the SNP had brought an "enhanced stature" to the office of first minister.

Scotland: The Real Divides called for Westminster to abandon its "obsession" with sovereignty.

The SNP welcomed the comments, saying the book had made a valid point.

Citing the Nationalist administration's "national conversation" on Scotland's constitutional future, the publication stated: "The response from the Scottish Secretary Des Browne and the Scotland Office to the white paper shows how out-of-touch Westminster is with the prevailing mood of Scotland."

'Rigid unionism'

The publication argued: "A Scottish Labour party, "with far more autonomy and political freedom, remaining loyal to UK Labour recognising the new realities, the need to be more Scottish and having the ability to develop new political and constitutional futures for Scotland without having to defer to Westminster influence... this could help renew the party north of the border."

The book went on to conclude that the SNP, within their first 100 days of power, had established "a degree of competence and authority, as well as giving an enhanced stature to the office of first minister".

It added: "The impact of the SNP has been considerable both in tone and style, but also in terms of creating a new excitement in Scottish politics by apparently making devolution work.

"A rigid unionism," it went on, "unwilling to change and struggling to find a philosophy, a strategy and a coherence is a real threat to itself."

Mr McLeish, who served as first minister for just over a year following the death of Donald Dewar, quit the job in 2001 after a controversy over expenses for his Westminster constituency office.