Democracy, Churchill satirised, is “the worst form of government” – except, that is, for all the other systems that have been tried. The challenge for elected politicians is that their bosses, the voters, may not always be entirely certain what they favour but they are generally pretty clear as to what they dislike. Suggest curbing existing services or benefits and you can be fairly sure of the response. Up with this we will not put. Just ask Rachel Reeves.
So Scottish Government Ministers are treading rather carefully in preparing their budget. Plus the SNP lacks a majority at Holyrood. They need chums.
And, from everywhere, ideas. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested it might be feasible that Scotland’s tax rates, which outpace those in England, are in reality generating reduced revenue. That comes on top of warnings, thus far discounted, that high earners may shift their income elsewhere if the tax gap is too great.
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Look, too, at the report from the Auditor General, Stephen Boyle. He accused Ministers of ducking the evident need to reform public services, rather than simply disbursing more cash. Mr Boyle has made this point previously – and is plainly becoming exasperated. As always, the tone is measured but still he demands “transparency” from the Scottish Government. Which is auditor speak for “time to get serious.”
Quite rightly, Russell Findlay, he who leads the Scottish Conservatives, assailed the First Minister on this point. John Swinney essayed a couple of opening parries: talk of Tory austerity and Liz Truss. But his main point was that Mr Findlay had........