ROBBIE DINWOODIE, Scottish Political Correspondent, monitors the storm

of protest

FURY and scorn from Scottish political opponents marked the Prime

Minister's brusque rejection of constitutional change which, it was

predicted, would backfire on the Conservatives at the next General

Election.

Labour claimed Major's attempt to instill fear in electors south of

the Border would fail, while the SNP compared the Prime Minister to King

Canute, fighting a battle that was already lost.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats scorned his appeal to a ''little

Englander'' audience, while the Scottish Constitutional Convention will

now actively campaign in the South to allay the fears being stirred up,

beginning with an open letter to the English people from joint convener

Canon Kenyon Wright.

Scottish Labour leader George Robertson said: ''This has more to do

with a united Conservative Party than a United Kingdom. It will be the

Tories' arrogant rejection of the views of the Scottish people which

will be the biggest danger to the Union.

''Labour's plans have been carefully thought through to give real

decision making in Scotland to the Scots, while strengthening and

maintaining the integrity of the UK.

''The one characteristic of this campaign isn't its truth or accuracy

but the fact that it is one of the few campaigns which might unite the

Tory Party -- maybe the only such campaign.''

He predicted that by twisting the facts to have something that their

English MPs can unite behind, they were creating fresh problems for

their Scots contingent.

''I would have thought that Scottish Tory MPs, sitting at 12% in the

opinion polls, will look at this campaign with genuine dismay.

''People will quite rightly ask why the Government is proposing major

constitutional change for Northern Ireland while rejecting it for

Scotland.''

He also claimed that Labour now had its English MPs united behind

constitutional change and decentralisation. ''There is strong support

for our whole decentralisation package throughout the British Labour

Party,'' he said. ''We are coming to this after a long period of study

and careful consideration, and we are ready to take the Tories on over

this.

''Let them defend the status quo and all the difficulties that go with

that at their peril -- continuing quangoisation, centralisation, the

concentration of power at Westminister, and the attack on local

government, north and south of the Border. There is a seething

discontent through Britain that they will have to reckon with.''

Dismissing Major's ''King Canute stance'', SNP leader Alex Salmond

said: ''Since the 1992 General Election the constitutional debate has

moved on in Scotland. It is now focused on the choice between devolution

and independence in Europe.

''The status quo has been left far behind as a credible option. Major

clearly wants to start the debate all over again, but he is too late.''

The current devolution plans had flaws and contradictions, but the

debate had crystallised between an Assembly and a sovereign Scottish

Parliament within Europe. ''In attacking the concept of Scottish

self-government, Major is on very thin ice indeed,'' he said.

''Having witnessed the incompetence and sleaze of his Westminster

Government, no-one in Scotland now believes we could not govern

ourselves much better than he or any other London politican can.''

Ray Michie, the Liberal Democrats' Parliamentary spokeswoman on

Scottish Affairs, said: ''This is the language of a man running scared

because he is using this as a smokescreen to divert attention from his

own party problems.

''If he does not understand that Scotland has a right to look after

its own affairs, his knowledge of the constitutional reform that is

required in the UK is scant indeed.

''I don't know who he is trying to impress, whether it's the people of

Scotland or of Little England, but unless he recognises the legitimate

right of Scotland, this will lead to the break-up of the UK.''

Recognising that the debate had moved South, Canon Kenyon Wright spent

yesterday penning an open letter to the people of England explaining the

justice of Scotland's cause and the reason why they had everything to

gain from constitutional reform.

He broke off from his writing to say: ''We've heard it all before and

we are going to hear it ad nauseam from now on, as it is clear that the

Government has decided that this will be one of its major emphases in

its election campaign.

''He referred to the Labour Party's plans for a tax-raising Scottish

Parliament which would weaken the UK. Rarely can one short statement

have contained such an amazing number of misrepresentations.

''It is not a Labour Party plan. It was drafted by the Scottish

Constitutional Convention, by any standard of measure the most

representative body in Scots society.

''It is not, in the sense he means it, a tax-raising assembly,

certainly not in the way Westminister is. Taxes would be varied only if

a party stood on that plank, so it would be down to the Scottish

electorate.

''The suggestion that this plan threatens the UK is ludicrous beyond

belief. The thing that threatens the unity of the UK more than anything

else is the attempt to keep the UK as the most centralised, unitary

state in the European Union and to do so by undemocratic means.

''My appeal to the politicians is 'please stop giving us these myths.

Let's have an argument on genuine issues'.''

STUC deputy general secretary Bill Spiers said that, as the Prime

Minister appeared to be conceding that there should be a referendum on

constitutional change in Scotland, let it be arranged forthwith, and not

left until after the next General Election.

He added: ''The Prime Minister's tirade against the establishment of a

Scottish Parliament, which verged on hysteria at times, was deeply

insulting to the 75% of our people who, at the last election, voted for

parties committed to the establishment of such a Parliament.''