Don’t try to rewrite the past – just respect the present

It’s funny in life how we remember things differently.

The Scottish secretary was suggesting that very thing in the Commons this week.

David Mundell was referring to the former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s statements leading up to “the Vow”. Apparently in his book My Scotland, Our Britain: a Future Worth Sharing, Brown states that neither his proposals nor those of any of the pro-UK parties involved a federal solution.

Mr Mundell said: “It is a myth, which has been perpetuated this evening, that Gordon Brown has called for either federalism or home rule.” This is, of course, total nonsense. The book to which Mr Mundell refers was published in July 2014, two months before the Vow was even delivered and the former Labour prime minister took to the TV studios to pitch for more powers under a No vote.

For the record, this is what Gordon Brown said to Channel 4’s Cathy Newman on September 8 2014: “We are talking about a big change in the British constitution. It’s like home rule within the United Kingdom. We are moving quite close in my view to something near to federalism.”

The reason I remember this so clearly is that I was in the Channel 4 studio at the time. I had organised for actor Alan Cumming to fly over from New York, where he was in the middle of the sell-out show Cabaret on Broadway.

After a crazy day of campaigning with more than 500 Yes supporters and countless box sets of The Good Wife signed, I took Alan for the last interview of the day, live on Channel 4. I was chuffed as Alan went to the top of the bulletin ahead of Gordon Brown.

We both watched Brown deliver that interview and pitch for home rule and federalism, not quite realising at the time the effect it would have.

As they say, history is written by the victors. But politicians like David Mundell needn’t be embarrassed and try to rewrite the past – he should just respect the present. Times have changed and the 56 SNP MPs sitting opposite him have a democratically elected mandate for home rule, and that includes financial responsibility.

The 56 SNP MPs have a democratic mandate for home rule