First, let’s get the SNP’s big lie out of the way. The destruction being wrought on Scotland is not the fault of Westminster alone. The Scottish Government is deeply culpable.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission has made clear that spending choices made by the SNP have contributed to the crisis engulfing the country. Yes, Westminster must carry the larger share of blame - it’s the greater power self-evidently - but the SNP is deeply at fault as well.

Among those SNP choices, pinpointed by the Commission - an independent watchdog established by the Scottish parliament - was the decision to freeze council tax. It cost £150 million, and was effectively a pay-day for the middle-class.

However, the starkest failure which we labour under was the egregious ScotWind sale. It took place on Nicola Sturgeon’s watch, auctioning off the nation’s assets to private and foreign investors for £750 million.

Read more by Neil Mackay

The deal, if carried out properly and in the best interests of Scotland, could have raised billions. Indeed, estimates have been made that ScotWind across its lifetime could have raised up to £60 billion.

The stupidity - the sheer failure - is staggering. Now the SNP raids what little is gained from ScotWind to plug the yawning gap in national finances, plundering £460m from funds.

Yesterday, Sturgeon was pontificating in the Guardian about the nature of "leadership". Given her complete failure of leadership - specifically over ScotWind - if she had a scintilla of shame, she wouldn’t so much as dare mention the word.

So responsibility for the devastating spending cuts SNP ministers are inflicting on the country........

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