Lord Reid urged to fight for Union

CONSERVATIVE and Labour politicians want Lord Reid of Cardowan to lead the campaign to keep Scotland within the UK amid fears that the Union is now in a "dangerously weak position".

Senior figures in the Unionist parties believe that Reid, the former Labour Home Secretary, should come out of political retirement to front their referendum campaign

Influential figures within the two main UK parties believe that Reid is the "obvious choice" to take on Alex Salmond.

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Conservatives recognise that putting a Tory in charge of the campaign would be counterproductive, because of the hostility towards David Cameron's party north of the Border.

"Given the political landscape, the front person would have to be a Labour politician and John Reid would be an obvious figure," a senior Conservative said last night. "He is a big Labour hitter and he is somebody who would take on the Nats effectively."

Reid recently campaigned alongside David Cameron when they successfully defeated the Lib Dems' bid to introduce an Alternative Vote system at Westminster. Reid will also have some time on his hands having stepped down as chairman of Celtic Football Club.

The former Labour minister Tom Harris MP said: "I personally have come to the same conclusion as other people in that I would like to see John Reid head up the campaign for the UK.

"John Reid is the one that springs to mind as somebody who could easily take on Salmond. He is popular and is trusted. It is an obvious choice."

Harris acknowledged that Labour and the Conservatives were at a "low ebb" following Salmond's overwhelming triumph at the Scottish election and warned that the Union was in a perilous position.

"We are definitely on the back foot. We are approaching this campaign from a dangerously weak position."

The SNP have already announced that Angus Robertson, the Moray MP who led the Scottish election team, will lead the Nationalists' referendum campaign.

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To combat the independence threat, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls is to set up a task-force to fight for Scotland's place in the United Kingdom

The establishment of the group is the first move Labour has made in their planning for the referendum. The group will consist of Glenrothes MP Lindsay Roy, chairman of the Scottish parliamentary Labour party; Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch MP Gregg McClymont, a former Oxford don, now a shadow Treasury whip; Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray; Glasgow Central MP Anas Sarwar; and Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP Cathy Jamieson, a former minister in Holyrood.

Labour and Conservative politicians have been holding informal talks about how they intend to combat the independence threat at which Reid's name has been mentioned.

Reid was unavailable for comment last night, but a friend said: "John Reid is a guy who likes a public role so this scenario is quite possible."