SCOTTISH Labour was not just battling to save the Union in the referendum campaign, it was also fighting for its own survival.

Party figures believed independence, far from ushering in a new dawn for Johann Lamont and her colleagues, would lead to its collapse.

The historical precedent, according to party insiders, was Ireland. After the Irish Free State was declared, the republican Fianna Fail edged into power and ruled for 61 of the 79 years between 1932 to 2011.

It was feared elections in an independent Scotland would be marked by the Nationalists exploiting the party's opposition to separation and their co-operation with the Tories.

"They would portray us as traitors, without saying so explicitly," one source said.

Logically, having seen off the independence threat, Labour should be feeling chipper about its electoral prospects in Scotland. However, the opposite is true - senior Labour insiders are feeling anxious.

The Yes campaign got close to breaking up the UK by targeting Labour voters in deprived areas.

According to a post-referendum poll by Tory peer Lord Ashcroft, 37% of Labour supporters rejected the Union and voted for independence.

Although only four of 32 local authority areas backed separation, two were Labour heartlands: Glasgow and North Lanarkshire.

The Glasgow result - a real triumph on a bad night for Yes - has caused the most panic in Labour circles.

Broken down by constituency, Yes won 57% of the vote in Provan and Maryhill, and 54% in Lamont's own backyard in Pollok.

The Yes campaign ran on a pledge to protect the NHS, expand public services and reverse Tory welfare cuts, and Labour's biggest city voted for the prospectus.

Why did this happen?

According to No sources, the cross-party Better Together campaign was never intended to put forward a manifesto of alternative policies in a devolved context. Its job was to poke holes in the White Paper.

Better Together wanted Lamont and Scottish Labour, whose voters were being courted, to lay out a radical set of policies to compete with the SNP. However, Holyrood Labour produced nothing of note during the entire referendum campaign.

As one senior source said: "It caused real anger. The absence of policies was the reason we were losing votes."

It was only an eleventh hour intervention by Gordon Brown, rather than Labour in the Scottish Parliament, that stopped the bleeding.

Party sources are hopeful these Labour voters will come back into the fold for next year's General Election, but fear their support for independence could entrench the SNP's hold on Holyrood for over a decade.

A related worry is organisational weaknesses.

By any yardstick, Yes had a superior ground operation to Labour during the campaign, reaching more voters due to having a mini-army on the ground.

Some experienced Labour campaigners were appalled at the patchy intelligence in solid areas for the party, a sign of historical neglect.

Every week, Labour activists would get a league table of constituency Labour parties (CLPs) and the number of voter contacts made. In the week before polling day, the top 48 CLPs were circulated to members.

Edinburgh Eastern, the patch of shadow cabinet member Kezia Dugdale MSP, which made 3209 contacts with voters, was top of the league.

East Lothian, the stomping ground of shadow finance secretary Iain Gray, came second with 2690. Glasgow CLPs also made the top 48, but Lamont's Glasgow Pollok party did not make the cut.

Campaign turf wars have also left a bitter aftertaste. Although Lamont is Scottish Labour leader, it is clear she was playing third or even fourth fiddle to her party MPs.

Not only did shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander muscle his way into Better Togther at a late stage, but former prime minister Brown strong-armed his way to the front when defeat seemed possible.

Days before the poll, a party event in Edinburgh demonstrated Lamont's perceived irrelevance.

A photoshoot with female supporters was attended by a handful of photographers and journalists, while an event 20 minutes later with UK leader Ed Miliband was mobbed and carried on the national news

The symbolism was clear: Lamont was considered B-list.

Other tensions were also visible during the campaign. Alexander and fellow MP Jim Murphy were said to have clashed on "incredibly petty issues", while Lamont and her deputy Anas Sarwar played tug of war for control of Labour's separate referendum campaign.

The leadership of Scottish Labour is now being openly discussed by party MPs and MSPs.

Lamont has said she will lead Labour into the next Holyrood election, but insiders are unconvinced.

If she does quit, Murphy, Sarwar and Dugdale will all be tipped to stand.

Whoever is leader will have to implement far-reaching changes in organisational capacity, candidate selection and, most importantly, policy.

Sources say Scottish Labour's predicament has nothing to do with its constitutional position, but everything to do with a dearth of radical policies on health, education and justice.

A failure to reconnect with its natural voters could see the Irish analogy apply in a devolved setting, rather than in an independent state.