Shock! Horror! The Scotland Bill's a giant con .....

Over at Wings the Rev Stu has been digging around in the darker corners of Westminster's Committees and came up with this gem from last Tuesday:

"The PACAC’s hearings aren’t transcribed in Hansard, so we’ll just put that line (from Micheal Forsyth) in writing for ease of future quoting:

“My own view is that it has suddenly dawned on… the Scottish Government that the effect of these changes will be that Scotland will have less money and may find itself having to put up taxes in order to stay where it is.”

 Just so we’re all clear where we’re up to."

So there we have it, according to the last viceroy of Scotland the SNP and Mr Swinney only woke up to the fiscal traps in the better than the 'Vow' Scotland Bill last Tuesday (Feb 2nd). To us political wonks this comes across as the Tories (and Westminster) shutting the stable door well after that particular horse has not only bolted but has won a couple of Grand National's before heading to the dog meat factory and into the odd pot of glue.

A quick search on 'Scotland Bill fiscal trap' makes pretty clear the Scottish Government has been aware of the 'con' at the heart of the Scotland Bill from virtually day one of the 'negotiations' commencing. It is equally clear the Scottish Government has been stating quite categorically, from day one, they are not signing up to the current dog's breakfast put in front of them by the Tory SPADs at the UK Treasury without major changes. 

Forsyth's comment makes clear that the Scotch Tory Grandee knows the great 'con' at the heart of this pusillanimous bill has been well and truly rumbled and with now, only, four days to go before the Scottish Government walks away from the bill, as being unworkable, he needs to explain to Tory supporters in Scotland the great 'wheeze' has failed and a lot of current political propaganda which has already been prepared for the Scotch Tory's big push at Holyrood is only good for shredding.

If Ms Dugdale had any political 'nonce' she would now be paddling to create open water between her and her Unionist bestest pals in Scotland. The Record should be trumpeting how the Tories have let Scotland down and betrayed Gordon's 'Vow' by trying to 'con' Scotland out of even more of their own taxpayers money. Yet, my best guess is, all that will roll across the front pages of the Record is political tumbleweed stuck over with "SNP Bad" Post Its, on the lines of 'SNP walks away from greater powers for Scotland' or 'SNP betray the Record's hard fought for Vow'. You see, Dugdale's 1p tax hike was part of the 'SNP did not see the pitfalls' narrative coming from Unionist party central in London except nobody told her the ploy was dead in the water and the 1p tax hike which the Tory inspired Scotland Bill was supposed to force on the SNP has been well and truly rumbled. Ruthy knew to stayed silent on the 1p 'tax hike' proposal because Forsyth had told her to and as a big plus, a political advantage for the Scotch Tories that Dugdale's tax misfire would create among Scottish Unionist voters.

The bottom line is simply this;

The Scotch Tories and 'Jockanese' Labour are now left squabbling about who will be second best in May 2016 as the failure of the key political promise for Unionists in the 'Scotland Bill' leaves them with little to attack the SNP on, given most Scots will accept if the SNP walk away from the bill, they did so in Scotland's best long term interests - even, if recent poll survey's are right, many Unionist Party supporters.