Summary
SHORTLY after David Cameron took control of the Tory party, one of his colleagues was asked what the new leadership's attitude would be towards Alex Salmond and the SNP administration in Edinburgh. "We will cuddle the SNP to death," was the answer. Fully aware of the possibility of Scotland reacting negatively to a Tory government it didn't elect, Mr Cameron's view was simple: don't give the Nationalists anything to rebel against. Today, thanks to comments from George Osborne, we can see what that means in practice. If Mr Osborne becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer in seven weeks' time, he will introduce an emergency Budget and announce swingeing cuts to public services in England and Wales. But, he tells us this weekend in a policy announcement with far-reaching implications, Scotland will be spared the pain for a year.
Mr Osborne's logic is sound. He accepts that the Scottish Government has already, in good faith, set its budget and had it endorsed by the Scottish Parliament. Any attempt to force the Scottish Government to abandon its financial plans and instead adopt a new Tory age of austerity for 2010-11 would have been seen as an attempt to interfere in the legitimate democratic process of Scotland's devolved government. Mr Osborne has made the right decision, and this newspaper welcomes his stance.See the full content of this document
Extract
Leader: Osborne's Gambit
And yet the Tories must be aware that this opens up a can of worms. The key point is one of timing. The next Scottish parliamentary elections are just a year away. Mr Osborne's understanding attitude means that Mr Salmond can spend that pre- election period operating within ...
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