A Labour Minister has said referendums are like “battery acid” burning through old loyalties as he claimed the SNP and Labour are locked in a “mortal struggle”. Trade Minister Douglas Alexander also said the SNP had to “destroy” his own party if they wanted to achieve independence.
Alexander was an MP between 1997 and 2015 before losing his Paisley seat in the post-referendum SNP landslide. He made a political comeback in July when he was elected as the MP for Lothian East.
In an interview with the ‘Leading’ podcast, hosted by former Labour spinner Alastair Campbell and ex-Tory MP Rory Stewart, he spoke about his upbringing, background and his political career. He said losing his seat had felt like an “amputation” but still felt a sense of “unfinished business” in politics.
He said of the rivalry between the SNP and Labour: “It’s not a world exclusive that I am not a great fan of nationalism. My politics is about cooperation, interdependence and solidarity, but I have always known from the very first time I stood as a Labour candidate that there is, if you like, a mortal struggle between the SNP and Labour in Scotland because ultimately they know they have to destroy the Scottish Labour party if there is a prospect of securing their goal of independence.”
Alexander said of the impact of referenda on society: “These referenda burn like battery acid through old affinities and identities.” He said Labour under Keir Starmer had successfully managed to “change the conversation” onto public services and the economy, which resulted in voters seeing their “primary affinity” as “prospective Labour voters”
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, clickhere