Britain:BRITISH PRIME Minister Gordon Brown was accused of losing control of the Scottish Labour Party last night as Conservative leader David Cameron demanded he say whether or not his government intends to hold a referendum on Scottish independence.
Amid a growing row at Westminster and Holyrood, meanwhile, SNP politicians questioned whether Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander might have to resign after Mr Brown distanced himself from her suggestion that the constitutional issue should be settled sooner rather than later.
In what now appears to have been a "freelance" operation, Ms Alexander has effected a policy U-turn, signalling that she had Mr Brown's support for the principle of holding a referendum while warning Scottish Labour might bring forward its own enabling legislation if Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond refused to change his timetable for a vote in 2010.
The row overshadowed Mr Brown's "fight-back" following Labour's disastrous results in last week's local and London elections and threatened a breakdown with the Conservatives on an issue - preserving the unity of the United Kingdom - central to Mr Brown's hopes for a fourth Labour term come the next general election.
In a robust performance in the Commons Mr Brown had again defended Labour's record in government against the "slick salesmanship" of the Conservative leadership.
Even worried Labour MPs managed to raise a cheer for the beleaguered Mr Brown, despite the sensational finding in yesterday's Populus poll that more than half of Labour voters believe Mr Brown should stand down to make way for a "more electable" alternative.
However as Mr Brown battled to shore up his ailing political authority he delivered a potentially lethal blow to that of Ms Alexander by re-interpreting her words and suggesting she had not in fact called for an immediate referendum. Mr Cameron quoted Ms Alexander's famous "bring it on" challenge to Mr Salmond when asking if Mr Brown supported her. "That's not what she said," insisted Mr Brown, who suggested Ms Alexander's purpose had been to expose "the hollowness" of the SNP position in advocating a referendum but delaying it until 2010.
Declining to embrace even the principle of holding a referendum at some future point, Mr Brown told Mr Cameron no decisions on any option would be taken before the report of the Calman Constitutional Commission recently established by Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to review the operation of the 1998 devolution settlement.
Mr Cameron said Ms Alexander's comments were capable of only one meaning and suggested Mr Brown was "losing touch with reality" while showing "no leadership on the union". Mr Cameron maintained the pressure last night in a letter to Mr Brown suggesting the prime minister was "once again treating people like fools".
Mr Cameron said Mr Brown appeared "unable to lead" his party on "this issue of vital importance to the whole of the UK" or even "to acknowledge what the Scottish Labour leader is calling for." And he demanded: "Is there going to be a referendum or not?"