Oh, dear... Dear Douglas...

Oh, my God! The Labour machine is working overtime. Now Douglas Alexander wants me to be so inspired by Gordon Brown's performance at the NO rally today that I'll vote NO tomorrow. This is too much. What a waste of bytes and bandwidth. I've had to let him down too. Sob.

This email also came from Labour HQ in London. Does that mean Scottish Labour is as irrelevant as I think it is?

He sent me this:

Here's what I emailed back.

Dear Douglas

I don’t think he did. He was extremely impassioned but, to be honest, there are too many unanswered questions. The new powers package came too late for me. I’ve been waiting for two years to hear a vision for Scotland’s future in the Union. To produce something this late is simply an insult. You’re asking me to sign up to something with no detail that you’ll piece together afterwards. And you have to get the party to agree to it, then the Tory and Lib Dem parties. The Tory back benches have the knives out already. And if you think Labour will win in the next UK election, you’ll really need to deliver on the mystery box well before it or else the Scottish NO vote will be adding their voice to a continuing YES-oriented movement. They’ll desert Scottish Labour at the first mis-step. The outcry will be loud, very loud.

As for Gordon’s performance. From what I’ve seen, there was passion in it but he still comes across as smug and hectoring. His performance with David Dimbleby was an even greater testament to a man not being entirely frank. He grinned too insincerely and too often, he was rude to David Dimbleby and his foot-tapping body language showed he was leaking badly.

Also, I saw you in the Milliband debacle video the other day. I don’t know if Ed meant to actually say something but standing there like a duck facing a retriever was hardly edifying. I guess you had to step in. Then after Johann quoted the experts over Trident and put her hand on her heart to say ‘if I thought that the YES campaign would save those poor children, I'd be voting YES’. By which time Ed had snuck off, followed by minders and camera crew, then you and Johann. Not much engagement there.

Well, you've guessed it, I’m for the other way. I’ve voted Labour in the past but I'm very unlikely to do that again. First the earth will have to stop heaving in Cumnock New Cemetery (Keir Hardie - remember him - he’s deid and buried there. Then you’ll need to tak a tumble to yersels. Big time.

So, it’s a YES for me.

Cheerio

Edwin

I'm off to watch Bake Off.