There's a belief at the heart of Scottish Labour's thinking that once Gordon Brown becomes leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, that somehow Labour's fortunes in Scotland will turn. If only it was Gordon at the helm and not that nasty despised Tony.
You only have to read Tom Harris's blog to get that sense of latent smugness about their future prospects. But just how popular is Brown?
The polling results I've read say that he's seen by the electorate as boring, dour, "uber-Scottish" (despite his rose tinted specs for Paul Gascoigne goal-scoring), safe but not inspiring. Hardly going to set the heather on fire then.
Most of all, his 'uber-Scottishness' is seen as a plus if it's about financial probity etc. But, importantly, his attempts at wrapping himself in the Union Jack and worse, portraying himself as a pseudo-Englishman is being seen through if not regarded with outright cynicism. So, what's the point of demeaning your political brand values by trying to be something you clearly aren't and which your voting consumers know you're not.
Also, for the time being, forget that every opportunity for Brown to be seen supporting England is manna from heaven for the SNP, how many votes is Brown picking up with this charade? It's maybe too early yet to know what's losing Labour votes the most: Tony the Bliar or Broon, the ersatz Englishmen whose steady hand at the economic helm is starting to look a bit shaky (increased interest rates, higher mortgage payments, higher inflation, higher interest rates..).
One thing is clear. The more Brown appeals to middle England for votes, the less any opponent in Scotland fears his leadership.
