Mike Small (Fife, Bella Caledonia): One of the problems for Labour in Scotland is that daily civic society experiences some cultural debate about our future. This week those compiling the next Scottish census proposed that people should be asked to choose between Scottish or British in the section on ethnic background. On Wednesday it was announced that, in a cost cutting measure, all Scottish rolling stock would be re-branded in a saltire livery whatever their parent company, to stop expensive makeovers.
Right on cue Baron George Foulkes went into one of his customary (and costly) flaps to the media saying: "This is all part of the SNP's independence by creep. They know they can't have a straight fight on it because they would lose hands down, so they try to brainwash people into independence instead with a strategy of incremental changes."
The Baron is perhaps the living embodiment of a party that is haemorrhaging credibility, incapable of living in the new paradigm and sounding ever more like a petulant child.
Meanwhile - the three candidates have emerged in the campaign to replace the ill-fated Wendy Alexander as Scottish leader.
Cathy Jamieson is solid, aggressive and capable. Her launch this week stated: "I want Scotland to be a vibrant, prosperous nation where everyone has the opportunity to be the best that they can be." It's an almost meaningless political statement.
Iain Gray from East Lothian constituency is another frontrunner and is portraying himself as thoughtful next to Jamieson's old-school Labour aggression, possibly in a bid to contrast Salmond's swagger. He has stated his opposition to a referendum in 2010. The problem for Gray is that he suffers - like many of the current crop of jobbing consensus politicians from what's politely described as 'a lack of sparkle'. He did manage a soundbite of sorts declaring: "I'm as Scottish as Alex Salmond", though one can't imagine an avalanche of votes on the back of such oratory. He's not being likened to Barack Obama.
Andy Kerr is fast emerging as the most likely candidate to succeed. He has support in Glasgow and is the bookies' favourite. He even has a policy idea: to offer 800 hours a year free nursery education to every child from two to five. This may be in a subtle and potentially powerful attempt to contrast the childless Salmond and present Labour as the party of the family.
Kerr said at his launch: "We - Scottish Labour - face a hell of a challenge. We all know where we've been. We all know things have gone wrong. But from this point on, it's about the future." He even made the point that he wanted to take more control of the party in Scotland and not just the parliamentary party's affairs in Holyrood. (Another example of what may seem a technical detail that has explosive implications - This one with respect to the British union of the Labour Party itself). On the crucial question of the referendum Kerr has said he "recognised the right of the Scottish people to self-determination".
I suppose it would be odd if he didn't.
But he also left himself a get-out clause, if, as happened to Wendy, London Labour says no, stating: "...at the moment we don't have the detail, we don't have the guarantee that it's a neverendum."
Whichever of these candidates wins they will face an uphill struggle. As Glasgow East has shown, the political landscape has been transformed. And what each of the candidates suffers from is that in the post-ideological landscape of New Labour Britain people are hungry for 'an idea'. The SNP have, effortlessly, an ongoing idea - that of self-determination. They have a project and it is a project that has energy and vitality beyond party press releases. Every time the opposition try and outflank them they give energy to that project. Extended childcare for two to five year olds? The Scottish Government may say "what a great idea", and ask Kerr's new party to support legislation making Scottish policy more distinct.
There are two other factors in Scottish politics. The Conservatives continue to flatline. There is no Cameron impact. Secondly, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have their own leadership challenge after Nicol Stephen resigned. Mike Rumbles is opposing Ross Finnie and Shetland MSP Tavish Scott. Yesterday he sent all party members his manifesto backing Home Rule for Scotland, in which he proposes the country would raise its own taxes, control oil revenues but stay within the UK for defence and foreign affairs. Whoever wins the Liberal leadership, we will be a long way from Menzies Campbell and Gordon Brown stitching up private deals to try and torpedo a nationalist Government.
As the meaning of the Glasgow East result begins to percolate down, it is dawning on us all that the ramifications of this are much more than just a by-election protest vote. Writer Kevin Williamson has pointed out: "Where this by-election's real significance lies is that we have moved one big step closer to a popular and populist SNP administration in Edinburgh preparing to do battle for the future of Scotland against a David Cameron-led Tory administration in London."
As for the new Labour leader, whoever wins the contest will have to deal with three challenges. They will have to deal with Salmond face to face in the debating chamber, they will have to have some innovation on policy and they will have to show that they have some coherent relationship to the UK party. If anyone can do all three, they might have a chance of avoiding collapse, but there's no sign as yet that any of these conditions can be met by Jamieson, Gray or Kerr.
