The pretensions of the Labour party to remaining the last national political party in the United Kingdom have taken a battering after losing almost all of their parliamentary seats in Scotland in the General Election of 2015. They have been succeeded in Scotland by the Scottish National Party following their narrow defeat in the Independence referendum of autumn 2014.

There are now only three seats in Scotland belonging to what used to be called the Unionist parties. It’s hard to imagine there will not be another referendum for Independence for Scotland soon, even with the new majority Conservative government of the United Kingdom.

Columnist Mary Riddell explains the existential challenge this sets for the Labour Party, shorn as they now are of their Scottish ‘comfort blanket’. This was also the subject of the cartoon, displayed above.