Tom Griffin (London, OK): An interesting situation is developing in Scotland, where the SNP minority government is trying to get its budget through the Holyrood parliament. Last year's spending plans got through because of Labour abstentions, but that may be less likely this time around.
Finance Minister John Swinney has said the government would have to resign if the budget falls. That would give Labour the opportunity to put forward its own leader Iain Gray as First Minister. However, it might mean an election if he could not secure a majority. As The Scotsman notes, that prospect may hold fewer fears for Labour than it did during the SNP's honeymoon last year.
Nevertheless, the BBC's Brian Taylor believes that it won't come to that as the SNP is sounding out all opposition parties in hopes of securing a deal.
There have even been talks with Labour itself, but support from that quarter is unlikely as they are demanding major changes to the budget. An agreement with the Lib Dems also looks to be off the table as the SNP has rejected their proposal for a 2p cut in income tax.
The Guardian reports that a deal with the Greens is close. That could be crucial, but would still leave the SNP needing Tory support to be sure of a majority
Comments
I watched Newsnight (Scotland) on the Wednesday the 7th which was about the Scottish budget and during the program it came out in that program that the Labour Party has presented no costed proposals for budget changes.
Since the Scottish budget is derived from a fixed block grant then any proposal by a party for an increase in funding somewhere has to be matched by a proposed cut somewhere else to ensure the budget is balanced.
If you read the Labour site you link to there is a lot of hot air but no mention of costed proposals to amend the budget.
The story going the rounds in Scotland is that after Labour came out of Government in the Scottish Parliament the loss of Civil Service support hit them hard as they had been so used to being the party in power that they relied heavily on the Civil Service to do a lot of their donkey work and simply didn't have the capabilities to do things on their own.
Posturing and demanding vague uncosted "changes" is not the way to change a budget. If the Labour Party present no costed changes to amend the budget it is the mark of a party which simply can't hack it in the real world.
Scotland could give the Greens 33 million with one day of Scottish Oil & Gas Revenue - If Scotland did not let this vast revenue go to London !
In the 1970's
Scottish North Sea Oil
saved the Union + 60 million Brits
from Bankruptcy.
In 2010 say YES
and save Scotland + 5 million Scots
from the Credit Crunch Recession
with a £45 billion budget opposed to £33 billion pound
budget
Imagine Scotland keeping all of its oil revenue, opposed to none of the
£22,831 a Minute North Sea Oil makes.
with £32 Million Oil Money a Day Scotland could afford to;
Re build 2 High Schools a Day
Build 256 Two Bedroom Homes a Day
Erect 16 Green Wind Turbines a Day
Give all Scottish Resident's each £2300 a
year in additional services, investments, loans and DEVELOPMENT GRANTS for Scotland's Future Prosperity.
BEFORE YOU VOTE READ THE SECRET MCCRONE SCOTTISH ECONOMY REPORT
http://www.oilofscotland.org
IF YOU USUALLY VOTE for the Scottish Labour Party YOU STILL CAN IN AN INDEPENDENT "OIL RICH" SCOTLAND
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