33 days to go

I spoke at the National Union of Students "Gathering" this morning in Heriot Watt University and this evening was part of a referendum Question Time in Oban organised by the Argyll & Bute Branch of the Unison Trade Union, sitting beneath this fine banner.

It as a pity that Labour missed the first , owing to the sudden illness of my shadow in the Scottish Parliament , Kezia Dugdale MSP , who I hope is now recovering from her bout of food poisoning. Her paired platform speaker, Annabelle Goldie MSP ( now Baroness Goldie too of course) is an estimable performer but as the former Scottish Tory leader had a message founded on introducing fees which seemed to have (very) little support.

I suspect Labour members in tonight's audience would have wished their party had missed the second too. Their representative was a local Labour party activist whom I had not met before but whose lack of engagement and general demeanour did not endear him to anyone from any side .

Despite that the meeting did, I hope, succeed in its positive aim of informing Unison branch members about the key issues on which they will make up their mind and the union is to be commended for arranging that opportunity.