Dear Editor, Better together now falling apart In 2011 Johann Lamont was elected to be leader of the entire Labour Party in Scotland. This was different from her predecessors, including First Ministers, who were merely labour group leaders in Holyrood.

Well, that was what we were told but it is now abundantly clear that this was just another case of London Labour selling Scotland short.

Johan Lamont, theoretically in charge in Scotland, has now revealed that without any reference to her, London Labour sacked her chosen party general secretary and will run Scotland from the south.

It seems that London based MP Margaret Curran told Johann “the boss” Lamont that she wasn’t allowed to talk about the bedroom tax until Ed Milliband and his London team decided what she was allowed to say.

During the referendum campaign Lamont was effectively sidelined by her London Labour “colleagues” who, if we are to believe what we now hear, were briefing against her. That’s London Labour speak for what we would refer to as bad mouthing her.

As usual in these circumstances there appears to be no shortage of people who want to replace Lamont. Murphy (he of support for Blair’s Iraq war and the eggy shirt) is said to be the front runner with Sarwar and even brooding Brown (architect of the banking crash after claiming to have saved the world) getting included in the riders and runners.

Have you noticed however that all of these potential “Scottish labour leaders” are London Labour based Westminster MPs?

So the party that “vowed” more powers for Scotland seems to be hell bent on retaining London Labour control of those powers in the hands of someone, anyone?, whose career and financial interests depend on London.

While Johann Lamont’s revelations are to be welcomed, had she demonstrated real integrity to the Scottish people, then she would have shared all of this prior to September 18. That reflects the seriously misplaced loyalty of too many in today’s Labour party.

Too little too late, which is also my prediction for the alleged extra powers.

Similarly, former First Ministers McLeish and McConnell are now going public on similar obstruction and frustration with London Labour during their times in “charge”. And they too are in the frame for failing to tell the Scottish people the truth at the time that it mattered.

So what can we make of all of this?

Labour in Scotland is clearly in a mess and is not in control of its own conduct. That continues to be dictated by London Labour. And if London Labour cannot trust the labour party in Scotland it certainly won’t be planning to trust the Scottish people with meaningful powers. Even the tories offer more. But we cannot rely on their ability to self destruct. In the spirit of “better together” we should give them a hand.

The truth is that the people of Scotland will only get the powers that they take for themselves and in the UK general election in May 2015 we get another chance to do just that.

We can take that chance only if we turn out again in record numbers to vote for Independence candidates. London Labour will not win the 2015 election in England no matter how far they bend over backward, or to the right, to keep voters away from UKIP. So the outcome is a guaranteed hung parliament at Westminster.

In that situation, a large number of independence candidates elected in Scotland will ensure that Scotland stays at the top of the UK agenda and delivers all that is promised and due to the Scottish people.

That should be our united aim in May 2015.

Yours sincerely Cllr Archie Drummond