George Galloway

There's an interesting story in today's Herald in which George Galloway implies that the Solidarity Leader Tommy Sheridan is the heir to a series of heavyweight Labour Scottish Secretaries. He is quoted as saying:

"Willie Ross was a legend, followed by Bruce Millan and Donald Dewar and then we got down to Henry McLeish and unbelievably we tumbled further to Jack McConnell. Not so much spring-heeled Jack as a political pygmy.

"Alex Salmond is head and shoulders and more above Jack McConnell, everyone knows that, but the person I would be voting for is Tommy Sheridan because he is head and shoulders above Alex Salmond."

Helen Liddell

A speech by the British High Commissioner in Australia, the former Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell, has provoked a political row in Oz on the eve of their own election campaign. There are various reports in the Scotsman, Herald and Daily Record describing her rather unconvincing denial that Iraq was ever meant to be part of the Government's so-called War on Terror.

Liddell's speech, to the National Press Club in Canberra, also generated this tantalising diary nugget in yesterday's edition of The Australian. You can find out how Scotland nearly didn't have its only female Scottish Secretary by clicking here.

Forsyth backs Brown

An interesting story in today's Scotland on Sunday to the effect that Lord Forsyth, the last Conservative Scottish Secretary, backs Gordon Brown as the man best equipped to articulate the economic case against Scottish independence; this is, of course, in contrast to David Cameron's dismissal of the Chancellor's arguments as 'scare-mongering'.

You can read the full story by clicking here.