THE possibility of a bridge between Scotland and Ireland was handed a huge boost – when former Labour adviser John McTernan claimed it wouldn’t happen.

Responding to our story on a potential bridge linking the two countries, McTernan branded the article a "ridiculous cargo cult".

For anyone who doesn't know what cargo cults are, they are fascinating and worth learning about.

However, McTernan, who bills himself as a political strategist, has picked up something of a reputation for consistently predicting the opposite of what ultimately happens.

McTernan's predictions include:

  • Scottish Labour will be the majority party in the 2011 Holyrood elections (they lost 7 seats and the SNP became the majority)
  • There will not be an independence referendum (there was)
  • Ed Miliband would be the next PM (he wasn't)
  • The Tories would lose the 2015 election but gain seats in Scotland (they won the election and didn't gain a single seat in Scotland)
  • When Scotland voted No Scottish Labour would be the big winners (they have lost seats and influence at Westminster, Holyrood and councils in the years following)
  • Jim Murphy would save Scottish Labour (wow, no)
  • Jeremy Corbyn would not win the leadership race (he did, twice)
  • The UK will vote Remain (nope)
  • Hillary Clinton will win the US election (double nope)

McTernan was Tony Blair's director of operations from 2005 to 2007 and also chief of staff for Jim Murphy during his brief stint as Scottish Labour leader.

Given his stellar record in this department, we'll assume that not only will the bridge go ahead but it'll also be delivered early and under budget.