UPDATE: David Cameron has written to Gordon Brown asking for clarification on the issue:

Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP

Prime Minister

Wednesday, 7th May, 2008

I am writing following your comments on a referendum on Scottish independence at Prime Minister's Questions today.

Wendy Alexander has said on this issue: "I don't fear the verdict of the Scottish people", "We shouldn't delay it until the very fag end of this parliament", "Bring it on", and that "It's time for them [the SNP] to put up or shut up".

Today, you denied she had called for a referendum now.

Perhaps then you could explain what she meant by all this?

Anyone who listened to Wendy Alexander's remarks could be in no doubt that she meant a referendum should be held - and it shouldn't be delayed. To pretend otherwise is once again treating people like fools.

The Conservative Party north and south of the Border has been clear in opposing a referendum. 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?

I am copying this letter to Wendy Alexander in case she is able to assist.

David Cameron

Just when the morale of Labour MPs couldn't sink much lower after the 10p tax fiasco and the May Day Massacre at the polls, Gordon Brown goes and scores another spectacular own goal.

His handling of Wendy Alexander's kamikaze "Bring it on!" call for a referendum on Scottish independence has been even more inept than his blundering on the 10p tax rate.

First, at Prime Minister's Questions, he denied that Wendy, Labour's leader in Scotland and sister of one of Gordon's chief cronies, Douglas Alexander, had called for a snap poll.

Not only did she do just that, on TV at the weekend, but she also said in a later TV interview that she had consulted the Prime Minister and he was supporting her.

And now the PM's spokesman, has added to the muddle and confusion, during an onslaught from political journalists over Labour's increasingly damaging tartan turmoil.

He said the Prime Minister would review progress after a commission headed by Sir Kenneth Calman, Chancellor of Glasgow University, on "strengthening the devolution settlement" had reported at the end of this year.

"Is he dithering?" I enquired, helpfully. "He's not dithering!" he snapped. "Does the Prime Minister think he has handled this well?" asked the mild-mannered Michael Settle of The Herald. "I'm not going to answer such a silly, loaded question!" he said angrily.

But the Calman answer from Brown and his spokesman is a complete red herring, because that's about devolution and Wendy Alexander is talking about a referendum on independence.

Brown is making the same mistake he made in the 10p tax row: denying there's a problem and making matters worse for himself in the long run.

Labour backbenchers are in despair. Ian Gibson, the tall Scot who looks like Private Fraser in Dad's Army, is well into his "We're All Doomed!" routine now. "He's got to do something," he said. "I give him six months."

Another Labour MP said he would refuse to go and campaign in Crewe and Nantwich if asked. "Gordon's the one who should go," he said. "He got us into this mess."

I didn't ask which particular mess he had in mind. But I understood his drift.

Comments

[Bruce Hulmes 8 May 2008 17:13:46]

Carol Ann
And Wendy wants one sooner then Labour want a general election, lets not call the SNP if they wish to drag their feet untill it suits them that is politics.

[neither/niether 8 May 2008 13:57:11]

HI Patricia
Ant And Dec speak with hardley any accent. I would never had known it was Gordie.
Maybe that,s why I can understand them. lol. Im not a fan either, but they would probably be successful, whatever accent they had. No offence meant just banter with carol.
Anyway further north you go it gets worse. by the time you reach Glasgow, what can I say... Yep were a shallow lot down here, thinkin only people Birmingham upwards have accents lol.

[Robert, Scotland 8 May 2008 12:31:37]

Gordon Brown concluded his weak denial of Wendy Alexander's call for a referendum in Scotland to establish if there was a majority for independence from the rest of the United Kingdom by citing the SNP reneging on a manifesto pledge to have one.
I know Gordon is detached from reality when he cannot see the direct comparison the British people will make on his Government's failure to implement their manifesto pledge on the Lisbon Treaty.
People in glass houses should not throw stones. Unlike his Government the SNP will hold this referendum within their elected first term, Gordon has said never to a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and turned up when the lights were out to sign it,hoping we would not notice.

[carol-ann livepool 8 May 2008 12:18:52]

neither neither

I didn't mean to imply any offence whatsoever to people down south or people who consider themselves 'cockney' -

I merely used the term as a device to get across the point that there may well have been a difference in the interpretation of the term used by Wendy Alexander - lacking in further information/explanation, as I was at the time I wrote it.

Now that I have actually seen Wendy Alexander speaking in the Scottish Parliament this morning she does infact seem to be saying that she did mean 'bring it on' as a call to bring forward the bill on Scottish independence. Now that I have seen that for myself, I can conclude that she wasn't, as I thought, just saying she wasn't scared or bothered about a referendum, she does want one earlier than the SNP seems to want one.

[Patricia 8 May 2008 12:10:12]

Up here in Geordieland 'Bring it on' means --do it immediately.
neither/neither; if no one understands the Geordie accent how would you explain the success of Ant and Dec (of whom I am not a fan) on national TV?.

[Victor, NW Kent 8 May 2008 10:23:05]

I would not welcome the breakup of the Union but for some time I have been of the opinion that Northern Ireland's best interests would be served by entering into a Federal Union with Ireland. That would take them out of the Union anyway.

If the two others "Celtic" countries are unhappy in this marriage then perhaps divorce is best.

I would probably abstain on any such referendum as I am not convinced any more that the present format is the best. I might be swayed if I understood how our seat on the Security Council of the UN and our membership of the EU would be affected.

[Seb/uk 8 May 2008 10:17:04]

Carol-ann

I think the idea was,if Labour gave these regions their own assemblies,the people would be so grateful they'd always vote Labour.It clearly hasn.t worked and is now having the opposite effect.

[neither/niether 8 May 2008 09:46:05]

Carol
What's being a cockney to do with it?
I love the liverpudlian and cockney accent.. If you wish to use as an example, in how an accent can confuse What was said, use the Geordie accent "nobody" can understand them.

[JC, Deep South 8 May 2008 09:38:59]

Brown lied to the House about what Bendy-Wendy said. Plain and simple. He didn't want to answer the question, so he lied. Then, for him to criticise the SNP for breaking a manifesto pledge over a referendum (which, incidentally, also isn't true as they've always clearly stated it'll be in 2010) shows his complete contempt for the British electorate.

Two things - either the guy has lost the plot and actually believes the lies that he so often spouts, in which case he should be removed from office and checked over by a psychiatrist; or he's knowingly trying to deceive everyone, in which case he should be removed from office period.

Bendy-Wendy has gone on record at least 3 times now calling for an immediate referendum. On one of those occasions (Scottish Newsnight on Tuesday) she claimed that she was doing so with the full knowledge and support of Gordon Brown. One of them is lying about this also, and therefore unfit for the office they hold.

[Pete , Scotland 8 May 2008 09:08:34]

Where I live, in Scotland, "bring it on" means one thing - lets have it then.

Up here there is no misunderstanding what she meant.

Wendy and Scottish Labour now want an Independence referendum as soon as possible.

I clearly heard her say it on Newsnight Scotland.

[G.KING SUSSEX 8 May 2008 09:01:23]

The public are not fickle.They have decided enough is enough.Spin/lies/bending the truth is now synonymous with this Labour Party.Left hand doesnt know what the right hand is doing.Boris and Cameron have a feelgood factor which labour had in 1997 mainly because of the Slick T.B and Alistair.All that has gone and we are now left with headless chickens running this Country.

[carol-ann livepool 7 May 2008 21:32:32]

I have all this talk of devolution and separatism.
It really scares me because you look around the world and see that most countries that have gone down this route have suffered tremendously leaving bitterness and enmity for generations.

Nationalism is pernicious and divisive and a backward step, IMHO.

[carol-ann livepool 7 May 2008 20:05:41]

I await further detail of exactly who said what to whom about whatever. However, that statement up these parts:

"Bring it on!"
is a bit like a Cockney person saying: I aint bovvered or I aint scared. So, I can't see what all the fuss is about.

[Bill, Middle England 7 May 2008 20:05:09]

When are the English going to get their chance to vote on their own independence?

When is it going to dawn on our politicians that times have changed and a new format is desired by the citizens of each UK nation.

The old Union format and devolution are simply not desired anymore.

Independence for all Uk nations with co-operation on the few matters of common interest is what's needed.

[Victor, NW Kent 7 May 2008 19:23:46]

Brown once again denies a fact. He denies what Wendy Alexander said. Meanwhile she says it was discussed with him and had his assent.

I suppose that means that one of them is not telling the truth or, perhaps, is a stranger to the truth.

[Dave, Wirral 7 May 2008 19:16:23]

At the despatch box David Cameron asked the PM if agreed with Mrs Alexander in calling for a referendum on Scotlands independance.

To which Gordon replied "that is not what she has said..."

Mr Cameron then read out the infamous "bring it on" statement and asked what else she could possibly mean.

I just want to know how he can get away with standing up in the chamber and blatantly and openly lie through his teeth on something everybody has either seen or heard from the mouth of Mrs Alexander for themselves and then not be reprimanded by the speaker.

But to top all that, Brown then went on to claim that the SNP not calling for an immediate referendum "was against their manifesto" which was the icing on the cake, as ,as far as I am aware, it stated there would be a referendum in 2010 if elected in their manifesto. The last time I checked the calendar it was 2008 not 2010.

This is remember, from the man who pledged a referendom on the EU constitution in his own manifesto and is currently being persued at the high court for breaking such a manifesto pledge. To which in the previous court case before being recommended to the high court, the lawyer acting for Gordon stood up in court and pronounced that manifesto pledges "were not legally binding".

I can't wait to see what the weasily response to the mischievous letter will be, as I can see no face saving get out from this one.

It's hard to disagree that Brown is "losing touch with reality", and it is slipping further away by the hour.

[E. Greenacre, Grimsby 7 May 2008 18:22:13]

If Gordon Brown doesn't become more familiar with the truth, he won't be removed by the men in grey suits, but by the men in white coats. I'm beginning to wonder if he is quite right in the head. Perhaps politicians should have regular sanity check-ups, especially before becoming Prime Minister.

[Khalid 7 May 2008 18:21:09]

Thus far as matters of integrity surrounding many member, whether he be a parliamentarian or otherwise, I think MP's could and should learn from the integrity and honesty of Willie Walsh, who took it on the chin, put things right and united many a lost soul with their baggage, depsite indeed over zealous staff and missing laptops.
In this scenario, it is a simple case of [One of Us-Abba].

[carol-ann livepool 7 May 2008 18:10:51]

Well, talk about ungrateful,the public are more fickle than fungus.

Labour brought about the Mayoralty in London; The Scottish, Welsh and Irish Assemblies; greater democracy and more freedom of information,more power for the people to complain about services, and now all of these are being used like clubs to hit the Labour government with.
The only alternative is a Spiv who wouldn't know a policy if it hit him on his rather long nose... which, strangely, seems to be growing longer every week like Pinocchio's!
Perhaps David Steel was right about going 'back to your constituencies and prepare to govern' - he just got the year wrong!

[T. England 7 May 2008 18:05:34]

Devolution! Independence for Scotland! I would imagine Brown will do what’s best for him when he goes back home to Scotland to retire in the not so distant future!

[Craig Hants 7 May 2008 18:04:42]

The Snp are so liked that the labour commys are trying to bring forward the vote because in two years time they would lose it.As for Brown where was the vote on the EU was that not in the labour party manifesto.

[Steve, Slough 7 May 2008 17:40:09]

If Scotland were to vote for independence wouldn't that mean that Gordon Brown would be forced to stand down as PM being an MP for a completely different and seperate country?
Telling the SNP to 'bring it on' could lead to the people of Scotland decimating the entire Labour cabinet. I can't imagine Gordon wanting to risk that if he's unwilling to let us vote on the EU Referendom.

[Liz, Suffolk 7 May 2008 17:18:13]

If Gordon isn't going to listen to his own MP's , he's hardly likely to listen to anyone else, is he?!!!

[Peter, Fife 7 May 2008 17:14:02]

When Wendy Alexander, who incidentally has a similar Manse background as Gordon Brown, found the going tough she got going, into hiding after she resigned in a huff from West Coast Jack’s administration (Jack McConnell) in May of 2002.

I do however believe there is more to this debacle than meets the eye; Wendy Alexander I believe attempted to force a planned referendum forward from the currently stated timescale to one which would suit Labour at both Westminster and Holyrood, as I posted earlier, possibly before the SNP could further demonstrate their ability to Govern, before the Scottish voters have had time to assess their alternatives but more importantly before the next General Election; I therefore declare protestations from Labour at Westminster as mere political posturing.

[Chris, Baildon 7 May 2008 17:07:52]

Deny, Dither then Panic.

Gordon Brown's three "superpowers".