Gavin Yates (Edinburgh, GYMedia): Has Alex Salmond finally seen off former First Minister Jack McConnell? The Sunday Mail (a generally tame Labour paper) broke the story that Jack was off to pastures new on Sunday after a heavy bout of briefing. The writer of the Sunday Mail piece, Political Editor, Brian Lironi is just working out his notice before talking over the Head of Communications job for the Labour Party at Holyrood, so it would appear that the yarn is not only accurate but impeccably sourced.
So what next for Jack? The Lords is a possibility but would Labour be willing to have a by-election in Motherwell and Wishaw? It's currently a safe Labour seat but the SNP would definitely target it heavily and with the current SNP bounce anything could happen.
Next, what happens to the Scottish Labour Party? Wendy Alexander, a former Minister who fell from favour with the so-called Labour 'West-Coast Mafia' is in pole position but her abrasive style might not prove popular with everyone. Also, she is seen very much as a Brown acolyte and that won't go down well with MSPs that want a separate Scottish Labour identity from Westminster. The other front runner looks to be former Health Minister Andy Kerr. He's seen by some as effective but by many others as simply uninspiring.
Whatever the final shakedown is, Scottish Labour will have to find a leader that can harness its Parliamentary Party as an effective opposition but also re-democratise itself. As one former minister told me recently, "We need to rebuild from the bottom up." If they don't then the SNPs position looks only to be strengthened and Scottish independence looking more likely.
