Scottish parliament votes for a referendum

So - the Scottish Parliament has tonight voted for a referendum on the revived Constitutional Treaty.

SNP, Green and Conservative MSPs voted for the referendum, while the Liberal Democrats voted against. Labour MSPs voted for an amendment opposing a referendum but then abstained in the final vote.

It’s a good propaganda coup - and nice that the Parliament reflects the view of eight out of ten Scots that there should be a referendum.

However, the parties that voted for a referendum didn't do the one thing that would have made a real difference - vote for a referendum in Scotland - which the Parliament can actually call. That would have put Brown under massive pressure... that said, various recent events seem to be putting Brown under rather a lot of pressure anyway.