Steady, Mr Salmond: Responsibility is required from the prospective MP

Next year looks like being a crucial one for politics. We can be sure of at least one general election – and maybe a second will follow in quick succession. There is every prospect of a hung parliament, of major constitutional crises surrounding Scotland and “English votes for English laws”, of more powers for English regions or counties, of a revived debate about electoral reform, and of yet more agonising about the UK’s relationship with the European Union. But of all of these, the iss