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Shona Robison is hardly a beam of sunshine at the best of times but her pre-budget update was gloomier than a Leonard Cohen set. 

Serious-faced and in soporific tones, she outlined the fiscal drubbing that was on the way.

The Scottish Government would take £460 million from wind power, cut £188 million from ‘across all portfolios', and lop off £60 million through emergency spending controls in the public sector.

The last time someone swung an axe like this, Jack Nicholson was coming through a hotel room door.

While damning the new Labour government for doubling down on ‘the folly of austerity', the SNP finance secretary doubled down on her own mob's austerity, including a £160 million cut to winter fuel payments and £65 million wheeched away from the off-peak rail scheme. 




Shona Robison blames Westminster for the hundreds of millions of pounds worth of cuts she needs to make to balance Scotland's books

Asylum seekers would also have to do without concessionary travel, though at this point it would mostly involve taking a bus to all the services that can no longer afford to remain open.

There would also be a freeze on travel budgets. Angus Robertson might even have to spend some time in Scotland.

The statement was studded with jargon like ‘investment hierarchy' and ‘efficiency levers' and an undertaking to ‘identify and 에그벳사이트 implement opportunities to deprioritise lower impact spend'. 

If Robison wants to make efficiency savings she should impose a 75 per cent cut on her verbiage.

The budget wasn't the only thing in deficit. 

The gap between the Scottish Government's fiscal folly and its contrition about the consequences was gaping wide. Instead, Robison blamed Covid, the Ukraine war, the cost-of-living crisis and, of course, Westminster.