Why Scottish nationalists should see Burnham as a real threat – and an opportunity | Rory Scothorne

The PM’s goals may spell bad news for the SNP. Ironically, his EU bridge-building could also resurrect their dreams of independence

Fifty years ago this month, a group of leftwing Scots gathered in the Golden Lion hotel in Stirling for the inaugural conference of a new political party. The “Scottish Labour party” had formally split from Labour at the beginning of 1976, driven by disillusionment over the party’s timid proposals for a new Scottish assembly. They were led by the firebrand MP for South Ayrshire, Jim Sillars, who promised to take Scotland’s Labour tradition back to its roots in both socialism and home rule.