Don’t panic! Labour enlist old guard for indy battle

A “Dad’s Army” of Labour veterans is being brought in to bolster the floundering pro-union referendum campaign.

Despite admitting that increasing support for the Yes camp triggered the move, Labour last night insist it is not a case of “Don’t panic!”

Labour’s referendum supremo Anas Sarwar, has handed former MP and MSP George Foulkes the Captain Mainwaring role and put him in charge of co-ordinating the party’s big beasts in the Lords.

Former Cabinet ministers turned peers like John Reid, George Robertson and Helen Liddell are set to take a higher profile in the independence referendum.

The decision to give Labour’s lords a bigger role follows a crunch meeting last week between Sarwar and Labour leader Ed Miliband about the direction of the party’s referendum campaign.

Lord Foulkes explained: “They looked at the way we use the knowledge and context we can bring more effectively now we’re in the main phase of the campaign.

“We’ve got people like John Reid who has held just about every office of state, Helen Liddell who was Scottish Secretary, Lord O’Neill who was a spokesman on defence and energy for many years and John McFall who knows more about finance than anyone after his very successful chairmanship of the Treasury Select Committee in the Commons.

“Until now there’s not really been a mechanism to get these people involved. I’ve been suggesting this for a long time so Anas has asked me to take it on.”

At the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference last week former Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott called on Labour figures like former Defence Secretary George Robertson and ex Home Secretary John Reid to take an active role in the official Better Together campaign to save the union.

Foulkes insists the timing is coincidental.

His team, who he will meet on Tuesday to discuss strategy, will be appearing under the Labour party banner as much as that of Better Together.

Better Together, led by Alistair Darling, have endured a torrid few weeks in the face of polls showing support for the Yes campaign creeping up.

Lord Foulkes admits the narrowing polls have helped trigger the move. He said: “There’s still a long way to go and we know we’re going to have to work to win. Everyone will be getting more involved MSPs, councillors, MPs. It’s even more important for MPs because their future depends on a no vote, what would happen to peers in the event of a yes vote is clouded in medieval mystery.”

And he confirmed that some Labour figures have previously been scared off.

He said: “There has been a slight reluctance for some peers to get involved. Alex Salmond very cleverly tries to marginalise peers by saying unelected people should have no role in the debate.

“Many of these peers were elected for many years.”

Sarwar, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader compares the move to mobilise all parts of the party to a football club.

He said: “Scottish Labour are a team. We’ve got under-18s, a youth team, today’s side and the peers are the legends team.

“There’s a recognition that we need to use our collective strength and this is a show of strength that we have key figures who are passionate, who returned Labour governments, who have delivered for Scotland and who still work today to deliver positive change for Scotland.”