The minority SNP Government has managed to get its budget overwhelmingly approved by the Scottish Parliament.

Politically this is a triumph. Labour stands on the sidelines and looks glum. The LibDems and Greens support it on the basis they had some small influence on it. Only the Conservatives stand against.

What those MSPs who either voted for this budget or stood aside to let it pass fail to grasp is it takes Scotland further down a path to financial trouble.

Scotland’s net fiscal deficit in 2023/24 was £22.7 billion, 10.4% of Scotland’s GDP. Excluding Oil & Gas (which remember the SNP Government wants to get rid of), the deficit is £26.6 billion, 13.2% of our GDP.

For comparison, the deficit for the UK was 4.5% of UK GDP.

The difference is stark, the absolute figures beyond alarming.

The UK needs to work to get its deficit down and is making a not very good attempt to do so but it is, painfully, trying.

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