It has been difficult this week not to be aghast at Scottish Labour’s criticism of the decision by the SNP Government to reintroduce peak fares at its ScotRail operation.

Even with the full awareness that this is all about politics, the bold bellyaching has seemed way beyond cheeky.

It is hard to know where to start, so incredible is Scottish Labour’s broadside.

A couple of points are worth highlighting at the outset though.

The first is that opposition politicians, including those from Scottish Labour, have over the years seemed to delight in loudly portraying the SNP as a bit profligate with the cash.

Much of the time this noise has not stood up to any scrutiny when it has come to assessing the facts.

The second point worth noting without further ado is that the Labour Government at Westminster has decided to stick with the Conservatives’ fiscal constraints.

These constraints have for years made things extremely difficult for the Scottish Government.

And Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s declarations so far signal he is perfectly happy to continue with Tory-type austerity.

His speeches have seemed so, so similar to the messages from David Cameron and George Osborne, erstwhile Tory prime minister and chancellor respectively, when they came to power in 2010.

Scottish Labour has produced figures it says show a big jump in peak-time travel, which it put at 39%.

However, Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland has rightly pointed out flaws in Labour’s assessment of the situation,........

© Herald Scotland