Unstoppable force due to hit an immovable object

So it seems the left-wing branch of Labour have given up the ghost of challenging Wendy Alexander for the Scottish Labour leadership hoping, perhaps, that a coronation for the Paisley MSP will see similar successes as it did for her former mentor Gordon Brown.

I don't see this as a huge problem for the party, Wendy would win any contest before her now that the main contenders have dropped out and the arguable 'lack of democracy' in her imminent position as Labour leader is worth it for the continued momentum she is building as she aims to match the SNP's popularity.

But it seems an intractable position has already surfaced for the Labour camp. Just a week ago Jack McConnell gave tacit support for extending powers for Holyrood, anything to the contrary championed by Wendy would be seen as some sort of U-turn. A second U-turn on the same subject no less and I can't imagine someone as forthright and savvy as Wendy Alexander would want to start her reign by tying the party into knots on a subject as important as the powers devolved to Scotland.

And yet, Des Browne says Holyrood needs no new powers? So how will Labour be able to square this circle when Wendy says "everything is up for review" while Des suggests nothing is.


Well, maybe it's not such a problem for the red party, (and this is where my cynical side steps in), as this could all have been orchestrated in advance. Scottish Labour were always going to take a hit to their reputation as they have changed tack on how devolved Scotland should be. So perhaps they have decided to add to the mix an engineered stand-off between Holyrood and Westminster with Browne apparently being 'Wendied' along the way, finally giving off the impression that Scottish Labour can stand up to its Westminster masters.


It's just a theory. My own view is that Labour are not that clever and have too many fish to fry to come up with elaborate scenarios such as this.


So, consequently, what will give way first, the unstoppable force of Wendy Alexander, or the immovable object of Des Browne?