Alex Salmond's "omission" from the front-line time is pretty much as some of us had predicted. As Angus Robertson says, he has an important role. But it is a role he can only fulfil absent the constraints of being part of the "leadership team". Both Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon are smart enough to know that the media's obsession with the former First Minister would always be a distraction. This was undoubtedly part of the thinking involved in keeping Salmond on the back-benches, so to speak. But there is a very much more important reason. The 56 SNP MPs will have been tasked by Nicola Sturgeon to focus on playing a constructive role in the House of Commons. Their main task will be to follow through on the SNP's manifesto. Meanwhile, Salmond is being set up as the voice of the Yes campaign at Westminster. It is a testament to the stature of the man that he is being asked to take on this task alone. It is a testament to Nicola Sturgeon's political acuity that she recognises both the necessity of keeping the independence issue alive and the need to separate it from the day-to-day work of the SNP team. http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/salmond-has-important-role-despite-snp-omission-1-3770882