The Herald, Robbie Dinwoodie, 19 February 2008

Labour leader Wendy Alexander's fightback continued yesterday with the appointment of her latest spin doctor and the support of former First Minister Henry McLeish.

But both developments were to a degree undermined by the new aide's lack of Holyrood or political experience, and Mr McLeish's frank views on Labour's recent difficulties.

Simon Pia is an experienced journalist on the Edinburgh scene, but his background is mainly in humorous writing and sport rather than in politics.

Mr McLeish's admission that the SNP had played a blinder since last May and that Labour MPs at Westminster had undermined Ms Alexander were both seized on by the SNP.

The former First Minister said: "The SNP have proved that they've been very popular in government, they've been very effective, they've been very Scottish."

But his criticisms moved on from where the SNP had got things right to where his former colleagues had got things very wrong, particularly in terms of MPs' attitudes.

"For some time there's been a problem at Westminster, because part of Wendy Alexander's difficulty is the fact there's a constant sniping from Westminster," he said.

"Labour MPs, ministers, don't accept the reality that the parliament is 10 years old. The parliament has done a tremendous job for Scotland and the genie is out of the bottle and it won't go back.

"I think he Scotland Office Minister David Cairns was maybe a victim of that kind of view at Westminster and I think the Prime Minister's intervention has said this is the line to take, this is what we're doing'."

Mr McLeish said that Labour had delivered devolution and the Scottish Parliament but had allowed the agenda to be "taken over" by the SNP.

"The SNP have proved that they've been very popular in government, they've been very effective - they've been very Scottish," he said.

"I think what should happen is that Wendy Alexander should be given the space and the time to actually add a distinctive Scottish brand to Labour which actually unashamedly is very Scottish, unashamedly wants to be uncompromising in the defence of Scottish interests and she's got to be able to tell Westminster MPs and ministers that she's actually in charge of what's going on."

Mr McLeish said that the constitutional issue will move on, but said there was a third way between the "constitutional fundamentalism" at Westminster or separation.

"One of the big issues is that Wendy Alexander for the Labour Party needs political space. Alex Salmond is dominating the political landscape of Scotland. What you do need, though, is effective opposition and you do need an effective advocacy of a third way.

"She now has the opportunity to do that, but the Prime Minister must continue to support and to make sure that we don't have this extraordinary week in which senior ministers are talking about McChattering classes, suggesting that Labour should be concerned about poverty and nothing else."

Ms Alexander said of Mr Pia's appointment: "Simon is an experienced and respected journalist who I know will make a valuable contribution to Labour's team at Holyrood. Labour is determined to expose every single promise the SNP break and scrutinise every pledge they make."

Mr Pia said his new boss was a steely character with a sense of humour, never "precious, smug or pompous" and said he hoped to be working for her through until she became First Minister in 2011.