Attempt to outflank SNP over Scottish independence backfires on

An attempt by Labour to call the Scottish National Party's bluff by proposing an early referendum on Scottish independence has backfired, landing Gordon Brown with another big headache.

The Prime Minister dodged questions about whether he agreed with the challenge by Wendy Alexander, Labour's leader in Scotland, for the SNP to call a referendum on a breakaway from the UK before its planned date of 2010.

Ms Alexander claimed her move had been endorsed by Mr Brown but his allies disputed this. The Prime Minister, already reeling from Labour's disastrous results in last week's local elections, faced allegations that his writ no longer runs in his Scottish Labour powerbase. Although intended as a fightback against the SNP-led administration in Scotland, the plan for an early referendum was floated at the worst possible time for Mr Brown. He needs to regain support in Middle England and does not want Labour to be associated with a possible break-up of the Union.

After being put on the defensive by David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, Mr Brown spoke to Ms Alexander on the telephone in an attempt to agree a common line. She has been dubbed "bendy Wendy" over her U-turn.

Mr Brown denied Ms Alexander had called for a referendum now, even though she had said, "bring it on", and that "it's time for them [the SNP] to put up or shut up". Mr Cameron said Mr Brown's reply showed he was "losing touch with reality". In a letter to the Prime Minister last night, the Tory leader said: "We do not want to break up Britain. In contrast, not only do you appear unable to lead your party in any one direction on this issue of vital importance to the whole of the UK, but you also seem unable even to acknowledge what the Scottish Labour leader is calling for. So is there going to be a referendum or not?"

Downing Street declined to elaborate on Mr Brown's remarks in the Commons, when he said that decisions should not be taken until a commission reviewing devolution had reported.

It appears Ms Alexander has been urging Mr Brown to approve her gambit for some time but he was not aware she would go ahead at the weekend. Ms Alexander, who rejected calls to resign, insisted: "The Prime Minister and I are agreed on the need to expose the hollowness of the SNP's position, which is to claim they favour independence and yet not be willing to bring forward the referendum."

But Alex Salmond, the Scottish First Minister, said something "had to give". He added: "The positions of Wendy Alexander and the Prime Minister are incompatible. This claimed agreement is clearly not there. Either she has to go, he has to go or they both have to go and I suspect he wants to stay so I think she's now in a very difficult position."

Mr Brown's problems mounted over his decision to abolish the 10p lower rate of income tax. Peter Mandelson, one of New Labour's architects, said Labour would lose the election if it failed to return to the tenets on which it had relied since 1997. Britain's European commissioner told the BBC's Hardtalk: "I'm proud of the fact that we brought about the greatest redistribution to the poor in this country that Britain has seen in the past 100 years. But it means that scrapping the 10p starting rate in tax was a big mistake." Six Labour MPs have tabled a Commons motion expressing concern that the Government's plan to compensate the losers could be "incomplete, delayed and inaccurate."

The SNP said it would not be pushed into bringing forward a referendum from 2010. It accused Ms Alexander of being a "secret SNP supporter".

STEVE RICHARDS, page 33

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