On the edges of their seats
- Published
Roseanna Cunningham lost her front bench seat momentarily during the debate
It was edge of the seat stuff, the budget debate. Actually, for one cabinet secretary, it went a fraction further.
Roseanna Cunningham was so exercised in jabbing a furious finger at Murdo Fraser of the Tories that she fell off her front bench perch.
Some helpful soul drew the attention of Murdo Fraser to the minister's temporary plight. Mr Fraser smiled mischievously, as only he can do, and nodded: "I know, I know." Before proceeding to excoriate the budget.
Perhaps it was the scale of the issue - £34bn in discretionary spending; £42bn of a total budget, including annually recurring costs like pensions; nearly £12bn in income tax raised by Holyrood.
Perhaps it was the zeitgeist, the uncertainty of Brexit - Derek Mackay, the finance secretary, indicated once again that he might have to revisit his plans in the event of a no-deal departure from the EU.
Perhaps it was the tension of the last minute negotiations with the Greens. They eventually settled for more cash for councils in the year ahead, plans for a three year settlement for local authorities and a scheme to revise their revenue raising capacity, including taxes on tourists and workplace parking.
I know, I know, it always looked likely that there would be a deal. I said so, repeatedly, on the wireless and the telly, playing down some of the more excitable forecasts of an early Holyrood election.
But, still, it was intriguing to witness. Neither side would confirm the deal until it was all signed and sealed (the SNP still shiver at the memory of a previous budget deal with the Greens, a decade ago, which fell apart at the last second).
Derek Mackay was in triumphant mood after securing a deal
And it all seemed to bring out the dramatic, even in senior figures. Bruce Crawford is convener of Holyrood's finance committee - and a former parliamentary business minister, well used to coping with minority government.
As news of the deal began to emerge, Mr Crawford was seen striding up a corridor, holding a piece of paper - and declaring, with evident glee, "peace in our time".
A quote from Neville Chamberlain, of course. In rather different circumstances. Perhaps he hesitated to cite Winston Churchill for fear of upsetting Ross Greer of the Greens.
Caustic debate
Still and all, whatever the cause, there was real tension at Holyrood today. The barbs were palpably more bitter, the rhetoric more caustic. And not just aimed at the Scottish government.
The Greens came in for critical attack from their opposition rivals for allegedly selling out. But they got their own back.
For example, when James Kelly of the Labour Party attacked them, they instantly questioned what Labour's persistent protests over successive Budgets had achieved - before answering their own question by gesturing Zero towards Mr Kelly.
Plainly angered, he responded that the Greens had backed a "cuts budget" which Labour would never do.
The Greens pointed out how many concessions Labour's budget stance has won
Willie Rennie of the Liberal Democrats said the Greens were simply backing the SNP because they both favoured independence. The Lib Dems, he said, would not sanction such an approach.
But Mr Mackay insisted it was an advantageous budget for Scotland which would bolster services while fostering growth in the economy.
Quite a day, then. At one point, Derek Mackay was described as being Holyrood's Dr Who - with Patrick Harvie as his eager helper.
I would prefer to look to another work of science fantasy. Mr Mackay seemed to me more like Yoda, benignly content with the settlement, while gazing in satisfaction upon the political frenzy around him.
One can almost hear him. "Pleased, I am. A deal, it is."
- Published28 January 2019
- Published31 January 2019
