This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

SNP leaders are already pretty much unloved by the party’s base. The hardline and fundamentalist wing seethes about how silent the Scottish Government has become on independence.

So any hint of John Swinney and Shona Robison clambering into bed with Labour to get their budget passed will set the leadership on a collision course with its own base.

Robison has hinted at an arrangement with Labour. When the finance secretary was asked if the budget might lead to a possible deal with Labour, she replied: “My door is open to everybody, and I’ve said I want to build as broad a coalition for the budget as I can.

“I think that would be a positive thing actually, and there’s hopefully a lot that people will agree on.”

She’s right, many would see such collegiate working as very positive – but not the SNP’s base, which hates Labour with almost the same intensity as the Tories. That’s why they call Labour ‘Red Tories’ after all. To many nationalist hardliners, the two unionist parties are indistinguishable.

One clear sign that the SNP needs Labour came in the cautious welcome Robison gave to Rachel Reeves’ budget, calling it a “step in the right direction”.

Even that infuriated the base – prompting comments across the internet........

© Herald Scotland