Swinney butterflies?

SO the Deputy First Minister is feeling the strain over financial matters. Welcome to the club, Mr Swinney. What does it feel like, in the pit of your stomach, to know you have financial commitments you may not be able to meet?

Just like tens of thousands of Scottish households, Mr Swinney will have to prioritise his expenditure. But unlike those households, he knows that if the Scottish budget goes into the red for yet another year, there is a ‘family member’ always prepared to save the country from bankruptcy – the UK Government. Clearly Mr Swinney’s stomach will be a butterfly-free zone. Most citizens won’t have that luxury.

Consequently, his boss is all set to maximise her grievance politics with Westminster by ignoring proposed tax cuts, labelling them ‘fiscally reckless’ and ‘morally repugnant’.

Well, First Minister, many pensioners (and working folk) who find themselves drawn into paying income tax (or increased levels) will apply these terms to your administration’s actions.

Doubtless Mr Swinney will ‘reluctantly’ make cuts in carefully selected areas to minimise a negative effect on voter support.

Will expenditure on Indyref 2 be put on hold? Of course not. Nothing can be allowed to delay or derail the quest for independence – the pain of extra financial burdens is a price worth paying.

GRAHAM WYLLIE, Greengairs, ayrshire.