Scottish Budget 2012-2013

As predicted in last week’s blog, this year’s Scottish Budget passed its final stage with few revisions being made. However, Finance Secretary, John Swinney, did have new spending announcements, such as additional capital spending of £382m, for 2012 to 2015, including £19.5m for student support; £45m for housing; £72m to roads projects and £94m to local government.

The aim of Swinney was to appear to be willing to listen to the other parties, even if the Government  no longer had to compel at least one of them to support the Budget to get it passed. The SNP are now in a curious situation; with an overall majority, they are able to pass all their legislation, but in doing so, they will not want to be seen as riding roughshod over opponents, and allow accusations of arrogance to develop.

That being said, Scottish Labour, and the Scottish Conservatives still opposed the budget, citing reasons ranging from the continuing level of cuts to colleges, to not doing enough to tackle unemployment.

While Ken Macintosh, Labour’s Finance Spokesperson, did well, his speech could have been written at the Budget debate last year with continuing accusations that the Scottish Government weren’t going far enough, to protect jobs and increase productivity. It is unlikely that this argument will receive any more traction among the public than it did last year.

Gavin Brown, the Conservative Shadow Spokesperson, argued that the Scottish Government had received more funding for the year ahead, than they had for 2011-2012. John Swinney responded that even with additional funds, the depth of the cuts as a result in a reduction of the block grant by the UK Government required tough decisions to be made.

It was interesting to note that Willie Rennie’s speech was more positive than the other two parties, and indeed, the Liberal Democrats supported the bill, primarily as a result of further money being allocated to colleges.

John Swinney can now demonstrate that his consensual approach to the Budget does have results, and this perhaps further isolates Labour and the Conservatives in the Chamber. The Scottish Government will be pleased with an extra tactical victory for a Budget that would have passed regardless of the support of any of the other parties.

By Robert

So what credit rating would an independent Scotland have?

The answer is no one is quite sure.

The reason I pose this question is that yesterday the world’s three biggest credit rating agencies, Standard & Poor, Moody’s and Fitch, indicated that Scotland would not automatically inherit the UK’s coveted top-notch rating after independence. ‘So what?’ I hear you say. Well, it matters an awful lot.

Just look at the on-going Eurozone crisis. When sovereign debt and deficits are running at arguably dangerous levels, an independent country’s ability to borrow cheaply from the markets is imperative. When this comes under threat – think Greece, Portugal etc. – the markets become hostile to lending to said country as the chance of any return on their investment decreases. This in turn pushes the level of interest up on servicing said countries debts, making it difficult for said country to raise capital to not only service the existing debt but also pay for important things like hospitals and pensions.

Credit rating agencies, such as S&P, Moody’s and Fitch, are used by investors, investment banks, governments and broker-dealers to determine the likely level of return on any potential investment. As such, investors use credit rating agencies as independent, easy-to-use measurements of relative credit risk. If the agencies rate a countries credit rating as high, say AAA, it lowers the cost of borrowing for said countries. This in turn increases the level of risk capital in the economy, leading to potentially stronger growth and more room for manoeuvre in difficult times. If, however, a country is downgraded, as with a large part of the Eurozone, the opposite happens. The markets get spooked, pushing the cost of borrowing up for the downgraded country, which makes it more difficult for said country to service its debt and/or gain access to cheap credit.

The importance of a nation’s credit rating should, therefore, not be considered lightly. The SNP have repeatedly claimed that, despite not having any form of credit history, it would inherit the UK’s AAA credit status upon gaining independence. This would mean that, as a newly created independent nation, the Scottish Government would be able to borrow from the markets with relative ease. This in turn would enable it to pay off its inherited proportion of the UK’s debt and deficit, while also paying for important everyday commodities, such as education and infrastructure. 

However, as the credit rating agencies indicating the rating is not guaranteed, a rather large question mark is placed on the affordability and sustainability of an independent Scotland. An issue the unionist parties have been quick to jump on in early skirmishes. They claim that an independent Scotland with a large fiscal deficit, high public debt and heavily reliant on fluctuating North Sea oil and gas prices would inevitably lose any potential inherited AAA rating. This in turn would result in higher borrowing costs and possible further austerity. It’s worth noting that the SNP Government dismisses such a scenario, claiming Scotland’s finances are in a stronger position than their UK counterparts, in the five years to 09/10.

Importantly, the three credit rating agencies have declined to provide any specifics on the basis that the Scottish/UK Governments have not requested a draft rating. It is also worth noting that in the event of separation, the rest of the UK is not absolutely guaranteed to maintain its AAA status either. As such, there will no doubt be greater focus on investor confidence in the Scottish market, as the debate on independence rumbles on.

Scottish Budget Outlined

It was a somewhat muted Stage One debate on the Scottish Government’s Budget for the coming year. This was both as a result of the preceding statement from the First Minister, laying out the programme of consultation on the independence referendum, and a budget which has so far had very few surprises.

The headline policies include;

• More than £750m transferred from resource expenditure into the capital investment programme
• £500 million allocated to preventative spending, through three “change funds”.
• Delivery of 25,000 modern apprenticeships and fund the ‘Opportunities for All’ programme to guarantee training or learning opportunity for every 16-19 year-old.
• Workers whose pay is controlled by the Scottish Government receive the Scottish Living Wage of £7.20 per hour.
• Maintain police and teacher numbers.

The Council Tax freeze will also continue for another year. While being promoted in the Chamber by John Swinney as a budget for growth, it is by and large a case of business as usual. This point was accentuated by Ken Mcintosh who faced his first major policy speech under his new brief as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance. In a considered speech, he expressed support for moving to preventative spending, the increased apprenticeships on offer, early intervention programmes and spending on the health service.

However, along with the other opposition parties, he rounded on the Scottish Government for cuts to housing and colleges budgets of 40% and 20% respectively. Last week’s unemployment figures were also used to argue that Ministers were not doing enough to create growth and jobs.

The Scottish Government of course countered these points, and argued that their hands continued to be tied by the UK Government and the on-going spending restrictions.

Budgets in previous years have had an element of surprise due to the SNP needing to negotiate with the other parties in order to get the Bill through Parliament. This is now no longer the case, and while John Swinney stated that it was his intention to create a Budget that could be supported by as many of the opposition parties as possible, it is unlikely that any changes made in the next month will be more than tinkering around the edges.

By Robert

Scottish Government Spending Review

The key theme running through the Scottish Government’s spending review today was ‘preventative spending.’ John Swinney announced his intention to save money through spending that will stop many health and social complications from hopefully ever developing.  However, it is likely that many Scottish Local Authorities will feel that ‘punitive spending’ would be a better description of the announcement.

Swinney stated that 2011-2012 funds for Local Authorities will be retained in cash terms, including the resources needed to fund the Council Tax freeze. This will amount to a real terms cut over the next three years. It was unclear as to whether an agreement has been made with Local Authorities regarding compulsory redundancies, a significant area for debate. Furthermore, as expected there will be another freeze on public sector pay.

There was also a wider challenge to the public sector that it must “reshape and integrate.” Indeed, today also saw the publication of the Scottish Government’s Response to the Christie Commission. Scotland currently has 32 councils, 23 NHS Bodies, 20 Universities, 43 Colleges, and over 100 other public bodies. Although there is no explicit mention of mergers in the Scottish Government’s document, it is very unlikely this landscape will look the same by the 2016 elections.

The Scottish Government stood by its commitment to ring fence health spending with the announcement that NHS spending is to be protected and territorial health board budgets to be protected in real terms over next 3 years. Leaving himself no flexibility over a third of his budget meant that the predicted angst for Local Authorities did indeed come along.

In addition to this, the opposition parties were quick to jump on real term funding cuts for higher and further education, and bodies like Skills Development Scotland. The employability skills and Lifelong learning budget is set to fall from £244M (2011/12) to £226M (2014/15). However, funding for 25,000 Modern Apprenticeship places will remain. Nevertheless, the funding for the higher education sector has already been warmly received with Anton Muscatelli, Principal of the University of Glasgow calling it “a fantastic commitment.”

The other big surprise and story of today’s spending review is a levy on big retailers who sell tobacco and alcohol, due to come in from April 2012. This will prove very controversial with the retailers and their trade associations. It is not clear yet what the figures involved are and what size of retailers this will apply to. However, if we thought this Parliamentary session was not going to see another titanic scrap between the supermarkets and public health lobby, we were wrong.

The debate in Parliament that followed featured what will be the basic political narrative for this Parliamentary session. The Scottish Government blamed Westminster cuts for the coming pain. Although there was some recognition of Mr Swinney’s bind, the opposition parties blamed the Scottish Government for passing on the hardship and failing to prioritise properly. We know for certain that the next few years will present serious financial challenges and acute pain for many. What we do not know is who the voters will blame.

By Kenny

Scottish Labour Manifesto

This morning Scottish Labour launched their manifesto with an unsurprising emphasis placed on economic growth and job creation, particularly among Scotland’s youth. The launch which took place at Clydebank College was delayed due to a fire alarm and the party faithful were forced to stand in the rain.  There were no Lib Dem ‘Scottish Water’ style surprise policy announcements, given Scottish Labour has been trailing policies since its conference last Autumn. Indeed, the manifesto is largely aspirational in tone and much of the detail about long standing policy commitments are not clarified.

Nevertheless, this manifesto launch is very important for Scottish Labour. The momentum in this election seems to be swinging towards the SNP and it has seen significant poll leads shrink. Scottish Labour need this election to be about core Labour issues and policies. If the voters go to the polls thinking about front bench teams, leaders and personalities they are unlikely to win this election.

Labour’s policies for job creation and economic growth are the first section in the manifesto. Scottish Labour intend to honour its commitment to keep people in employment and training by:

-        Providing  10,000 guaranteed jobs through the Future Jobs Fund

-        Guaranteeing a modern apprenticeship for all those who qualify

-        Announce a target for a £7.50 living wage

On education, Scottish Labour plan to make Scottish education the envy of the world. At the heart of these plans is an emphasis on improving standards of literacy. This will involve new jobs and specialised training for up to 1,000 teachers. There was also a focus on Scottish Labour’s hard-line justice policies. This stance has ruffled the feathers of party members, but the campaign team hope these populist messages will resonate with the wider electorate. Policies include:

-        Its commitment to jail all knife carriers 

-        Put victims first, through the creation of a Victims ‘Commissioner, a Victims’ Fund and a new charter of Victims’ Rights

-        Repeal plans to scrap the use of short prison sentences

-        Deliver better services and cost efficiencies through the creation of a single police force and a single fire service for Scotland

Unsurprisingly for a party that is eager to define itself as the ‘party of the NHS’ Scottish Labour has a strong section on the importance of health care. In addition to promising efficiency savings through merging IT systems etc., Scottish Labour’s main pledges are below:

-        Prioritise the protection of NHS jobs, with no compulsory redundancies for NHS staff, to maintain the focus on the highest standards of care for patients

-        Deliver a National Care Service within the lifetime of the next parliament,

As stated above, there are no great surprises in this manifesto. Rather it collates and summaries previous announcements. Instant reaction support from the media suggests a level of scepticism about some of the costings, or lack of costings in the document.  The next few weeks will tell us if this manifesto becomes a plan for Government or a testament to a defeat that will dampen the spirits of Scottish Labour supporters in a way rainclouds never could.

By Kenny

Scottish Conservatives: Manifesto Launched

This morning, Annabel Goldie became the first Scottish Leader to publish her party’s Scottish Election Manifesto.  Launching the manifesto at the Glasgow Science Centre, Ms Goldie claimed that the Conservatives were delivering “common sense” policies that tackled the need to cut the spending deficit, while offering practical help for hard pressed families, communities and businesses.

The headline commitments include:

-          Placing a duty on local authorities to promote economic growth  

-          Pledge to create 10,000 jobs by supporting Scottish businesses

-          Introducing a graduate contribution capped at £4,000

-          Abolish the Local Government Concordat and replacing it with a requirement upon councils to set out their own plans and report on progress.

-          Freezing public sector pay until April 2013 for those earning over £21,000 to protect jobs

-          Protect the Health budget and reintroduce prescription charges, injecting £37m into the NHS

-          Re-introduce prison sentences of less than 3 months, offer tougher community sentences and commit to a review of Scotland’s rehabilitation network

-          Maintaining police numbers and introduce directly elected police commissioners

-          A promise not to use current or future powers to increase Income Tax or introduce new taxes, while continuing the council tax freeze to at least 2013

Other notable commitments include lowering the school leaving age to 14, reinstating a modernised Right-to-Buy programme, a £200 Council Tax discount for pensioners, continue the party’s ‘transparency revolution’ and establish new cancer drug and IVF funds.

As expected the manifesto has a strong focus on economic growth, the need to tackle the deficit and job creation. It does, however, sidestep some thorny issues such as renewable energy where only very generic commitments are made. Additionally, while the some of the Party’s education and health policies may seem at first glance controversial, they have been widely trailed and publicised in recent months.

For those who believe the Conservatives cannot deliver on these promises, Goldie asked them to review her party’s success over the last parliament. More Police on the beat, help for families by backing the Council Tax freeze, supporting business through cuts to rates and establishing a national drugs strategy.

The Conservatives hope that by being upfront and ‘honest’ with the electorate, they will be rewarded in the polls. The problem remains though, what if the Party’s idea of commons sense is markedly different to that of the electorate.

BUDGET SUMMARY

This, the first day of the election campaign proper, coincided with George Osborne’s second budget since taking office and the launch of his ‘growth’ strategy. Across the Scottish political spectrum there were calls to scrap the planned rise in fuel duty which Osborne dutifully delivered – he also managed to deliver a 1p reduction from 6pm tonight. The fuel duty escalator is abolished and replaced with a fair fuel stabiliser that increases tax on North Sea oil production when oil prices are high, and delaying inflation increases this year and next.

Other important measures in the budget include…

• An expected rise in the taxable allowance threshold was also announced, up now to £8,105. 2.19 million taxpayers in Scotland will gain by £48 a year in 2012-13, and 21 thousand taxpayers will be taken out of tax altogether.
• Income tax and national insurance are likely to be merged under the government’s tax simplification scheme – this will now be consulted on by HM Treasury
• Corporation tax is reduced by 2p not 1p announced in the emergency budget last year.
• A £250m new fund – called First Buy – will help first time buyers to enter into a new shared equity scheme on new build home and flats.
• The UK is the first country to set a carbon price aimed at providing investment in low carbon technologies. In 2013 a tonne of carbon will be set at £16 and in 2020 it will be £30 per tonne.
• The planned Green Investment Bank has had it funds raised from the original £1bn to £3bn which will also enable its operation to begin next year, rather than 2013. From 2015/16 it will have the ability to borrow to provide extra investment security for large scale renewable projects.
• New funding for enterprise zones in England were announced – the Chancellor also said that money would be made available in Scotland for a similar policy to be pursued.
• In terms of duties, there will be no changes to planned alcohol duties, cigarettes will rise 2p above inflation and mileage allowances will be raised from 40p to 45p – the first rise since 2002.

By Matt

John Swinney’s last Budget?

Today’s labour market figures put things into a bit of perspective for Scotland’s MSPs today as they heard John Swinney’s last budget before the Scottish Parliamentary elections next year. Unemployment in Scotland continues to grow – in the three months to September 21,000 more Scots lost their jobs, a rise of 0.5% and paints a gloomy forecast before public sector cuts really come home to bite.

This budget is without question the most important since devolution – the Comprehensive Spending Review has given a framework for substantial cuts in the block grant and a severe reduction in Scotland’s funds for capital expenditure. John Swinney somehow has to manage expectations, protect frontline public services and position Scotland on the road to economic recovery – no easy task ahead of an election year. Consensus in the parliament is critical if this budget is to pass.

Today’s statement was the start of the process, but it is where the hard work starts. John Swinney has been trying hard to mend relationships with Scotland’s local authorities following his pressure to extend the council tax freeze for 2011/12. Cosla has been on the warpath recently as local authorities struggle to maintain services amid these spending constraints. Many, including Edinburgh, have already said that a significant number of staff will be lost. Although Cosla’s leadership has agreed a new contract with the Scottish Government, Swinney has to wait for this to be approved by each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities before it becomes binding. If this doesn’t happen it could become very destabilising into the New Year.

The main political parties have been calling for a longer term spending commitments rather than a traditional year-long budget – this due to the CSR which gives a three-year framework for UK departments. Iain Gray has already publicly stated that John Swinney’s tenure has been a waste of four years, severely criticising the SNP’s record on capital infrastructure.

Swinney has some good advisers around him – Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize winner, has recommended switching revenue spending to fund capital projects in order to keep the economy turning. In his statement he referenced the advice given to him by the Beveridge Review and the newly formed commission to address future public services by Campbell Christie.

So what was the basis for the statement? This year’s budget has been guided by three principles; enabling economic recovery, protecting and reforming public services and maximising Scotland’s transition into a low carbon economy. A further 3% efficiency savings for all departments will be the target for 2011/12.

The leaked decision on a public sector pay freeze featured prominently. John Swinney was also keen to outline the government’s record on achieving public sector efficiencies, outperforming Whitehall departments. These will be offset by the government’s promise to deliver a living wage of £7.15 as well as the Health Secretary’s decision to remove consultant distinction awards in the NHS.

An increase in business rates was outlined for Scotland’s larger retail and out-of-town properties in Scotland, although there were no extra details on what this increase will be. It will set out in an order to parliament shortly.

Swinney stated that the government would protect existing capital investment projects over new ones in order to protect road building.  The Finance Secretary promised to transfer £100 million from this year’s budget to support essential capital projects as well as a programme of infrastructure investment worth £2.5 billion in health, education and strategic transport projects.

A priority has been to protect jobs in the public and private sectors. The budget will ring-fence 34,500 training opportunities in 2011-12 and will fund a near £400 million housing and regeneration budget which will contribute to building 6,000 new affordable homes. Money has also been allocated to improve broadband infrastructure.

Overall, the Finance Secretary’s statement was conciliatory in tone and he called upon the parliament to achieve consensus in order to deliver a sustainable economic future for Scotland. He said Scotland has an opportunity to ‘follow a different path’ to Westminster but challenged the parliament to ensure that it takes more responsibility for Scotland’s future financial decisions – a nod towards the Scotland Bill that is due for publication next month.

Andy Kerr gave a short response accusing the Swinney of putting party before country but did not say anything significant on the proposals outlined. The Conservatives welcomed the public sector pay freeze and urged public sector reform and increased efficiencies. Jeremy Purvis noted the Liberal Democrats concerns on business rates, while Patrick Harvie, the convener of the Greens, who could be critical in getting the budget through, attacked the Finance Secretary for implementing Tory cuts in a country which didn’t vote for them.

The Budget will now move into Committee stage for scrutiny before the Parliament votes early next year. This is where the negotiations really start.

By Matt

Scottish Government Legislative Agenda 2010/11

Alex Salmond came to the Scottish Parliament’s chamber to deliver the SNP’s fourth programme for legislation since coming to power in 2007 in a typically bombastic fervour ahead of the new parliamentary session. Iain Gray was quick to quip in his response that this would be his last. Tough words but the Labour leader was equally up for an argument this afternoon as he clearly see residence at Bute House within his grasp.

The 2010/11 Legislative Agenda was delivered in the context of impending public sector cuts, potential new powers (and lack of an Independence Referendum) for Scotland and next year’s election. Annabel Goldie and Tavish Scott declared that while there was merit in each bill, it did not represent much of a vision for the SNP’s last months in power.

Despite this session being slightly shorter due to the election there will be 10 bills, including the Alcohol (Scotland) Bill from the last session.

The BUDGET BILL will be at heart of the overall legislative programme. The First Minister has promised to publish the draft Budget Bill within four weeks of the publication of the UK Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review. Despite calls to publish the draft bill sooner, Salmond argued that logic should determine that the Government “sees the books” before making final spending decisions. At the heart of the Budget will be decisions to “best protect frontline services” within the context of a falling budget. Within this the First Minister again promised to reduce class sizes, implement Curriculum for Excellence and fund major infrastructure projects.

There will be two bills to modernise Scotland’s housing sector. The LONG LEASES BILL will convert long lease properties into ownership and the PRIVATE TENANT HOUSING BILL will aim to tackle rouge landlords.

In terms of delivering a fairer Scotland, the Government will also introduce a NEW PUBLIC RECORDS BILL to improve accountability, strength and governance and introduce measures to uncover the historic abuse of children. The Government will also introduce a child poverty strategy in this parliamentary term. A DOUBLE JEOPARDY BILL will also be introduced, importantly opening up the possibility of a new trial into the World’s End murders. A FORCED MARRIAGE PROTECTION BILL will also be introduced, as well as a RESEVOIR SAFETY BILL to increase Scotland’s flood protection.

Salmond was also quick to defend the SNP’s record on health protection, referring to the ALCOHOL BILL and the recent decision to set a minimum price of 45p per unit. In order to streamline procedures regarding death certification a HEALTH, CERTIFICATION and DEATH BILL will be introduced. This rounds up the Government’s health agenda for this term.

The future of Scottish Water will also be debated this year. Plans will be spelt out in a SCOTTISH WATER BILL to give the organisation more powers to better manage Scotland’s water supply. Salmond was very clear that the Government intends to keep Scottish Water in public hands. In order to make Scotland Greener Salmond has promised to ensure that Scotland benefits from its expansion into renewables by ensuring that a national fund is established to ensure that Scottish communities benefit from its national resources, similar to the oil fund but in Scottish hands.

Lastly, Salmond paid tribute to  Jimmy Reid who once said: “Government by the people for the people becomes meaningless unless it includes major economic decision-making by the people for the people”. Salmond criticized the unionist parties for not allowing Scotland to decide on independence in a referendum to jeers from the opposition benches. In order to achieve this, the First Minister said that the first stage of devolution is over and Scotland now needs control of both sides of its balance sheet so that “we can set our own agenda”, independent of Westminster.

By Matt

100 Days of the Coalition: A Scottish Perspective

This week the UK Coalition Government celebrated 100 days in power.  Many commentators questioned whether a coalition between two parties sharing conflicting ideologies would even make it this far. A recent YouGov poll suggested that despite a much publicised ‘love-in’ and continuous complementary exchanges between senior members of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats (though not all – Simon Hughes MP), 47% of those polled do not expect the coalition to survive past 2 years (max 630 days to go then!).

If you read the national newspapers, and depending on your political ideology, the Coalition has either been a radical modernising force or a chameleon PR risk which the country cannot afford to entertain.  Either way, the first 100 days has seen radical reforms to the English education system (free schools) and an emergency Budget that aims to cut the deficit quicker, deeper and apparently fairer than those outlined by the previous Labour administration.  The NHS is set for major overhaul with the purse strings given to local GPs, reviews to spending and defence are underway, ID cards have been abolished and there are plans to elect police commissioners; while the awareness and understanding of the Big Society is increasing – though some scepticism remains about how it will work in practice. But what has the Coalition meant for Scotland?

The most obvious and pleasant outcome of the Coalition is the thawing of relations between Westminster and Holyrood.  Under Labour, relationships soured considerably after the SNP came to power in 2007. Cameron constantly banged on about resetting relations and introducing a ‘respect agenda’ throughout the General Election campaign.  George Osborne agreed to the Scottish Government’s request to defer the cuts agenda in Scotland for a year, while the Scottish Government is to actively participate in European talks when relevant (fisheries), a consent previous UK Governments failed to entertain. All sounds good. Cameron visited Holyrood within the first few days of his premiership and met the First Minister Alex Salmond. It was wildly reported how surprised and taken aback the Scottish Government were with Cameron’s stance on a number of previously thorny issues.  There remains talk of the Fossil Fuel Levy returning to Scotland, something Labour had continually refused despite umpteen requests.   Respect was the name of the game.

Problems emerged though when Nick Clegg announced his radical road plan for political reform.  He stated the AV referendum would be held on the same day as the Scottish Elections.  Mr Clegg apparently did not consult the Scottish Government.  I know the respect agenda was/is a Conservative policy, but Clegg’s distinct lack of respect and subsequent refusal to deal has left many with a sour taste in their mouth.

On Calman there remains a commitment to implement the proposals sooner rather than later.  Many feared that a Conservative Government would kick the issue into the long grass.  The Liberal democrats and SNP have ensured that it has not.  The Scottish Government has demanded Calman-max after the Chancellor’s emergency budget left many of Calman’s tax proposals arguably obsolete. The Secretary of State for Scotland, Michael Moore, has quietly gone about his job, sticking to a consistent policy line of Calman will be implemented nothing more, nothing less.

On Megrahi, the Coalition and the Prime Minister in particular, have seen relations become somewhat strained.  It was no secret that Cameron opposed the decision, however he has stopped short of calling for a full blown inquiry into the matter. This was a difficult tight rope to balance when considering he had to keep the Americans onside but at the same time not renege on his promises in relation to the respect agenda.

So with 100 days gone, the ceiling hasn’t fallen in.  Thatcher as yet has not returned to haunt the Scots, apart from the brief flurry about the coalition abolishing free school milk – which was short lived. While there has and will continue to be disagreements on various issues, most notably the cuts agenda, the Coalition and the Scottish Government have made considerable strides towards thawing relations. Ultimately, a big improvement on what came before it.