As Labour grapples with mounting economic woes ahead of the Budget, Andy Maciver argues that John Swinney could seize the moment—offering Scots a tax cut and a vision of competent governance that contrasts sharply with the chaos unfolding at Westminster.

My daughter is in the midst of her National 5 prelims. It may not surprise readers to hear that the social sciences are the subjects which float my boat, and last night I had a flick through her Modern Studies textbook. Curriculum setters have managed to make this very interesting subject rather boring, but fortunately for budding students of politics and governance, the country of today is offering plenty of material for the curriculum of tomorrow.

The demise of the British economy, the associated defenestration of the Labour government and Conservative opposition, and the simultaneous surge in support for the Reform party may, in future years, be seen as a once-in-a-century event worth studying in close detail.

As we head into this month’s Budget, even the most optimistic amongst us are struggling to find any positive indicators for the near future. We would like to think, and the government would like to tell us, that Britain is experiencing largely the same headwinds as our European and global peer group, however the truth is that we are not. We are the outlier, performing uniquely poorly with uniquely dispiriting long-term indicators.

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