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People don't want to go back to the days, pre-referendum, when the Westminster establishment sidelined and ignored Scotland. They want Scotland's voice to be heard.

When New Labour came to power, we got a Right-wing Conservative government. I came to realise that voting Labour wasn't in Scotland's interests any more. Any doubt I had about that was cast aside for ever when I saw Gordon Brown cosying up to Margaret Thatcher in Downing Street.

I've not hidden and I'll never hide the fact that I want Scotland to be an independent country. But as long as we're part of the Westminster system, it's really important to people in Scotland that we get good decisions coming out of Westminster. So we've got a vested interest in being a constructive participant.

If the Scottish people decide to opt for independence, it would not be a good idea for Scotland to maintain a very rigid link to the pound.

I firmly believe that Scotland's place is in the U.K., and I do not believe in powers for power's sake.

Labour's support in Scotland depends on their ability to be electable. If they are divided and unelectable, what's the point?

Is it not typical that we have a Tory Government that wants, just like its pals in the Labour Party, constantly to talk down Scotland's prospects?

It is one of the little known facts about modern Scottish politics that it is not quite as cut-throat as people think it is.

Scotland is not a region of the U.K.; Scotland is a nation, and if we cannot protect our interests within a U.K. that is going to be changing fundamentally, then that right of Scotland to consider the options of independence has to be there.

Voting Labour in the past hasn't protected Scotland against Tory governments.