21/09/2014 The Andrew Marr Show

Morning. As so often, hard Scottish born, Manchester -based Scottish

laureate Carolann Duffy has caught a moment of national drama. She has

written a love poem to Scotland. In Europe brave, bold, brilliant land,

the thistle jags our hearts. Take these roses from our bloodied hands.

It is a hymn to reconciliation and shared destiny. But this morning, is

everybody happy to sing along? The Sunday papers are full of the

fallout from the referendum campaign and a tediously confiscated

referendum tangle. Picking through that, Iain McWhirter from the

Glasgow Herald and Isabel Hardman from the Spectator. We are in

Manchester today plonked halfway between Scotland and London for the

Labour Party Conference. If there had been a Yes vote in Scotland,

this would have caused such an earthquake, the Conference might

have been cancelled altogether. It still casts a shadow over Ed

Miliband's last great showcase before the general election. He

hopes to get us all talking about Labour's policies, house-building

and the minimum wage. But the Furia 1.5 million Scots cannot be brushed

aside. -- the Furia of. We are going to be talking about future politics,

a parliament for England, perhaps, and his own future. Has he found the

substance to win power next year? Also, bruised and battle scarred he

may be, but Alistair Darling is still passionately engaged in this

debate. This morning he issues a blistering warning to the unionist

parties. The agreement reached by the three parties is non-negotiable

as far as I'm concerned. It has been promised, it has got to be

delivered, and anybody who did -- welshes on that will pay a heavy

price for years to come. Will be talking to that fine and beautiful

actress, Thompson, who will tell us about her trip to the Arctic with

Greenpeace and why she is making a return to the London stage at 25

years. First, the news. Good morning. The

wife of British hostage Alan Henning has made a public appeal to his

captors. In a statement issued by the Foreign Office, Barbara

Henningsen said her husband is a peaceful man. She implores Islamic

State to release him. Mr Henning is being held by extremist in Syria.

A peaceful and selfless man. Barbara Henning says her husband travelled

to Syria from Manchester to help people. He was on a convoy with his

Muslim colleagues, delivering food and water to those in need.

She says:: It was a week ago when Mr Henning's

captors posted a video of him online in which they threatened to kill

him. It also showed the killing of another British hostage, David

Haynes. I personally vouch for Alan Henning. Since then there have been

many appeals from -- to the militants to free him. Yesterday

three Muslim clerics said to kill him would not be Islamic State

Barbara Henning says she prays that the people holding Alan will respond

to her before it is too late. She implores them to see it in their

hearts to release him. Downing Street has dismissed claims

that Westminster leaders are reneging on a place to Scotland

following the no vote in the Independence Referendum. There is

continuing disagreement between the Conservative and Labour parties over

how the process of devolution should be handled. Senior politicians from

across Scotland will gather for a church service in Edinburgh this

morning to put their differences behind them. Ed Miliband has pledged

to raise the minimum wage to ?8 an hour by the end of the next

Parliament if he wins power next year. Ahead of his party's final

Conference before the general election, he is saying the increase.

Ordinary workers being left behind. But some economists warn of risks.

Turkey says around 66,000 Kurdish refugees from northern Syria have

crossed the border since it was opened on Friday. The flow of

refugees has been prompted by intense fighting between Islamic

State militants and Kurdish forces. Islamic State has captured more than

20 refugees. The body of a British woman missing since a hurricane

struck the Mexican coast last week and has been found. Simone Wood from

London and Paul Whitehouse from Wolverhampton are thought to have

been sailing when the hurricane hit. The Foreign Office has confirmed one

Briton was killed in the storm. Mr Whitehouse is still reported

missing. I will be back with the headlines just before ten o'clock.

Back to Andrew. And so to the newspapers, as usual, and the news

that Labour will raise the minimum wage to ?8 an hour. The Observer and

the Sunday Mirror both carry that story. Mr Miliband saying that life

is grindingly hard for too many people. However, the Scottish debate

will dominate today and for many days more. The mail on Sunday has an

interview with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister warns Ed

Miliband, do not sell out England. Chris Grayling is all over the front

of the Daily Telegraph -- the Sunday Telegraph. He tells Scots to get off

his lawn. The Sunday Times has a story about right of centre

Conservatives wanting Ning this Parliament right now. Scottish MPs

should be stopped from voting on any English only matters right now,

according to the paper. Iain McWhirter and villas -- Isabel

Hardman join me. David Cameron is trying to make life as difficult as

possible for the Labour Party by writing in the mail on Sunday that

they must explain why they are opposing English votes for English

laws. It is a bit of a hand grenade? Exactly. It is difficult to find a

great deal of coverage of the Labour Conference because they are still

picking over Scotland and challenging Labour. Labour are more

interested in more devolution to English cities. It is very difficult

for them to justify their position in any terms other than political

self-interest. I do not remember on that famous front-page prominence in

the daily record that you get all of these new powers as long as we get

devolution for England at the same time? Exactly. The Sunday Herald is

suggesting that both Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown, who has

been stomping around Scotland like an old Testament prophet, he has

been calling himself the keeper of the promise that there will be devo

max, or substantial more powers devolved to the Scottish

Parliament... There is supposed to be a draft bill by January. This has

been exploded by David Cameron, linking this now to English laws. It

is hard to see how Gordon Brown can actually force the Prime Minister to

commit to this pledge? Exactly, he cannot. That is a very serious

problem for Labour and all of the political parties in Scotland. The

SNP has ruled out any further constitutional questions for at

least the next generation. What is curious is that this debate has