Drumlanrig

So, now we know. The question as to why Gordon Brown stood aside to allow Tony Blair to run for the Labour leadership in 1994 has finally been answered. It was because Broon was a Scot. In a newspaper interview yesterday, Blair was asked why Brown, then the senior partner, had agreed to hold off. "The great challenge was to win the aspirantly upwardly mobile in the south," Blair revealed. And Brown's face didn't fit? "You could say that," Blair said. No wonder poor old Gordon had been banging on about being British ever since.

LOST LEADER

Revenge is a dish best served cold. At the Scottish Liberal Democrats' campaign launch last week, former UK party leader, Charlie Kennedy, right, reflected back on the many great leaders the party has had over the years… himself, David Steel and now Nick Clegg. Unfortunately, he clean forgot to mention Sir Menzies Campbell. It was Sir Ming, readers may recall, who had raised the question of Kennedy's drinking, which eventually brought him down from office. Long memories, those politicians.

TWEET NOTHINGS

In the wake of Labour candidate Stuart MacLennan's Twitter scandal, the tweeting politicians of Scotland were on the best behaviour yesterday – and, lord, how boring it is. Tory Colin McGavigan tweeted: "Looking forward to my cup of tea!" Katy Gordon, above, of the Lib Dems helpfully revealed: "The sun is shining." "There's a smile on Dunfermline's face!" prattled fellow Lib Dem Willie Rennie. Come back MacLennan, all is forgiven.

CABLE CARP

He is so popular with the general public that Nick Clegg had him stand at his side like an electoral wife when launching the Liberal Democrat campaign. However, the attraction of Treasury spokesman Vince Cable is lost on at least one person. "Never before, in my experience, has the general public warmed to a politician with the persona of a sanctimonious Leeds undertaker on a day trip to Bridlington," Lord Hattersley, Labour's former deputy leader, declared last week.

OH, BROTHER

Meanwhile, Drumlanrig can reveal that a Tory-Lib Dem alliance has already been sealed. Conservative candidate in Edinburgh South, Neil Hudson, is hoping to swat aside the Lib Dems next month in his quest for a precious Scots Tory seat. But in the English seat of Rutland and Melton, his hostility to the Lib Dems might be a little less marked. His brother Grahame is the candidate. So which comes first – family or party? "I am very proud of the fact Grahame is doing what he is doing. I know what a challenge it is. I hope Grahame does well," declares Neil. "But not that well."