Scottish Government’s budget passed without usual stramash
February 3, 2010 by Hamish Macdonell · 12 Comments
MSPs passed the SNP’s budget tonight – with considerably less fuss than in previous years.
John Swinney, the Finance Secretary, had still been forced into concessions to secure the opposition support he needed to get it through, but not on the scale of previous years.
Mr Swinney announced a £20 million boost to cope with demand for college places (after warnings of a crisis from the Lib Dems), as well as £31 million for affordable housing and £10 million in support for small businesses.
He also announced the extension of the boiler-scrappage scheme to Scotland: it had previously been restricted to south of the border.
This scheme gives householders several hundred pounds off the cost of a new boiler if their old one is more than ten years old.
Labour called for this scheme to be extended to Scotland and Mr Swinney’s decision to include it was seen as a bit of political bi-play, knowing Labour was committed to voting against the budget, Mr Swinney wanted to get them to vote against a policy they had called for.
There has also been some scepticism about the boiler scheme. After it was announced for England, hundreds of thousands of housing association homes were put forward for the scheme, leaving many homeowners at the back of the queue.
Mr Swinney also gave the Tories key concessions by opening up the government accounts to full scrutiny and setting up an independent body to look into budget cuts.
In the end, Labour opposed the budget and the Tories, the Greens and Independent MSP Margo MacDonald supported it. The Lib Dems abstained.
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well thats a blessing the tactics of last were not repieted,lessons learned,
never thought i’d be gratful to the torries,but they are a better opposition
than the childish behaviour of labour and lib-dems,who imho are a waste of space.
alex,send them home till they grow up.
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Well what a surprise. The Lib Dumbs ask for certain items within the budget, get the concession, THEN ABSTAIN. You couldn’t make it up!
What exactly do these people represent and what are their principles?
They seem to be totally oppositional for the sake of opposition, that’s if you can count their antics as opposing anything/everything. How can you ask for inclusion, get it, then not vote for what you asked for? Heaven help us if these people are the ‘balancing’ power in any hung parliament. Then of course they may just ask to form a Government, THEN ABSTAIN
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The conservatives are a superb opposition party who know how to woo voters like me with there mature decisions regarding the budget. Compare their success’ to Labour who cited the GARL project (which was the only gripe they had) as their refusal to back the budget. However they could not come up with a budget of their own and tell us what service they would cut if they implemented GARL in their spending priorities.
Such a waste of time these light weight politicians on the labour benches
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Kerr said: “The charge sheet is clear: a secretive government, a profligate government not doing enough to promote economic growth. Guilty as charged.”
Could Andy Kerr have been more ironic? As the SNP opened the spending books, his Labour party were busy at the Iraq war inquiry. Whilst the SNP were announcing it’s concessions to labour, they were busy defending accusations of secret defence cuts! Being part of Labour must surely be some dreadful sort of retribution for a wicked past life? And to think I was once passionate about the party’s claims.
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People even in the west, will hopefully begin to see that Labour are only in it for Glasgow and NOT Scotland. They are as bad as the Tories. All they want is those Westminster seats in Glasgow to keep their tired dying party in power down south in “another country” To vote against the budget on a local transport issue which benefits only Glasgow also shows they are childish in their politics, i.e. still in the huff about being thrown out of power in Scotland three years ago!
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My cousins in Shettleston refused to support Margaret Curran when she stood there for Westminster. They said she reminded them of Maggie Thatcher the way she patronised them!
Shades of Animal Farm? the unionist parties starting to blend into one homogeneous London based entity.
It’s Labour Jim, but not as we know it.
But in the end its not really a political question, I doubt it ever was, political affiliations in this part of the ‘united’ Kingdom are more about loyalty to your ‘team’ than logical, reasoned and well thought out policies to benefit you and your community.
IMHO politics here is like following the football on the back pages, you are chuffed when your side scores or even wins, and might be tempted to turn out to support them, but when they hit a bad patch you keep your head down and watch the press for news of an upturn in fortunes.
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What I am worried about is the reports that among the concessions made to the Tories was the chance for them to insist on water privatisation. That has to be a NO-NO
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Sorry, onebraal, but can you clarify what you mean by ‘the chance for them to insist on water privatisation’? I havent been closely following the progress of the budget and what concessions had to be made. I sincerely hope they NEVER get the power to do this, just cant imagine a life where I must have one eye monitoring the ticking of the electricity meter, and the other eye swivelling to simultaneously monitor the ticking of the water meter. There’ll be no eyes left to monitor the fresh air meter when the final step is taken and air is privatised also.
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Just witnessed Andy Kerr making a fool of himself at FMQ,s.
AndyKerr hates tha SNP so much he just snipes and gripes without ever offering an alternative to what he is gibbering about.
Labour realy are a sick joke.
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I also thought Andy Kerr made a right tit of himself at FMQ.s. It seems to be theme for Labour as they have nothing positive to add to any debate and can only constantly attack.
At the next elections no doubt they will try and con the people of Glasgow with the SNP being anti Glasgow. I really hope they do as it will backfire on them big time. People are fed up being treated as idiots by Labour. Labour are clearly anti Scottish and even more clearly only interested in their own positions…..oh and expenses.
The Conservatives did well with their horse trading.
Joe public is suffering owing to the financial crisis and Labour are playing games.
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Is abstention not the Liberal Democrat default position?
They have sat on the fence so long that the iron has entered their soul.In different parts of the country they offer opposite or contradictory policies, none of which are going to be applied then they abstain.
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