Scotland no longer a Labour stronghold

Alex Salmond has been elected as first minister of Scotland. This is good for a number reasons:
1. He has broken the Labour one party state north of the border. The kind of uncontested monopoly that Labour used to have is bad in any field, especially politics.
2. As a minority government he isn't going to be able to do much. Which is just one of the best things a government can do.
3. It sets up the possibility of a referendum on Scottish independence, and given that date in three years time that the SNP proposed just happens to co-incide with what could, hopefully, be a defeat for Labour south of the border there is a good chance that they could win. The Scottish Socialist Republic will be free to turn itself into a bankrupt basket case, and England will be free to pursue the free market and become rich.