ONE sentence in the recent Scottish Fiscal Commission’s report on the state of Scotland’s finances has been singled out for repetition. You might have heard it.

Analysing the fiscal constraints Shona Robison is now facing as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, the SFC said that “much of the pressure comes from the Scottish Government’s own decisions”.

This line was understandably seized on by Scottish Labour politicians, anxious to counter suggestions that choices made by Rachel Reeves in the Treasury are ­already resulting in a new wave of Labour ­austerity, above and beyond confirmed cuts to ­pensioners’ winter fuel allowance.

Taken wholly out of context, the phrase is now routinely trotted out by Labour politicians in Westminster and Holyrood as an attack line, usually accompanied by a pungent array of other words including squander, waste, vandalism, incompetence. Heady stuff.

Curiously, you won’t find this quotable phrase in the Commission’s fiscal update published back in August. It goes with the milder formulations that “since our December 2023 publication, the pressure on the Scottish Government’s finances has increased” and that “decisions by the Scottish Government have played a role in these budget pressures”.

Their report also says “there have also been announcements by the new UK ­Government which will affect how much funding the Scottish Government receives, although much of the detail will not be clear until the UK Budget on October 30 2024” – but that hasn’t got quite so much traction.

Shifting the blame

Having alighted on this encouraging line of political attack, Anas Sarwar told the media: “This is a government that ­always attempts to shift the blame and find excuses instead of taking responsibility.

“The reality is experts have warned for years that this SNP Government’s ­decisions are causing mounting financial ­pressures, and today’s damning Scottish Fiscal ­Commission report has confirmed that. We see the consequences of SNP ­mismanagement, failure and waste daily – in cuts to frontline services and as working people are forced to pay more and get less in return.”

Vintage knockabout stuff – but ­interestingly vacuous, if that isn’t a ­contradiction in terms.........

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