A Labour failure in Scotland will lead to a battle for Britain itself | Martin Kettle

Every Ed Miliband misstep plays right into SNP hands, undermining Gordon Brown’s compelling case for the union

He won’t appreciate the comparison, but Gordon Brown may be becoming the Jimmy Carter of British politics. The first thing anyone ever says about Carter is that he was one of America’s worst presidents. They then go on to say that he is nevertheless America’s best former-president. Brown seems to be on a similar trajectory on this side of the Atlantic.

Though he undoubtedly had his good moments in Number 10, Brown was not – let’s just agree this and say no more – a good prime minister. But after much licking of personal wounds, he has re-emerged from the darkness of the defeat of 2010. As a result, in his 60s he may slowly be turning into the kind of statesman he looked like becoming when he was in his 30s. In my view he should reverse his decision to leave the Commons. His country – whether it is Scotland or Britain – needs him.

No one who thinks carefully about British politics can ignore the many interconnected things Brown said this week

Labour’s failure is that it does not provide a clear and plausible account of what it would actually do in government

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