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Tom Peterkin: And Hey Presto, with one bound he was free
Scotsman
But things did hot up for a bit when the Conservatives‘ Gavin Brown claimed there was some “completely unsubstantiated stuff” in the Swinney budget. Making great play of the fact he had actually managed to read Swinney’s Scottish Spending Review and …

Goldie urges more help for firms
The Scottish Government’s budget is “silent” on extending help to businesses using Holyrood’s existing powers, Conservative leader Annabel Goldie has said. …

BBC News – As it happened: First Minister’s Questions
Annabel Goldie has her go. 1209. How many businesses will benefit from a corporation tax plan, asks the Tory leader? 1209. FM says corporation tax powers …

Aberdeen councillor speaks about red-light arrest
Aberdeen Evening Express
Shamed Gordon Leslie was picked up by police in Aberdeen’s harbour area just hours after being selected to stand as a candidate for the Liberal Democrats in the Scottish Parliament. Today Councillor Gordon Leslie, who has now become an independent …

Gina Davidson: Who’ll blink as we get to brink?
Scotsman
Pretty easy point-scoring, but government finance is all just one big merry-go-round of blame: if it’s not the SNP’s fault at Holyrood, it’s the Tories at Westminster, or it’s the profligate, mostly Labour-run councils in Scotland and all those public …

Fury over booze tax
Glasgow Evening Times
The plan was thrown out after Labour, Tory and LibDem MSPs voted it down in the Scottish Parliament. Mr Swinney said his new “health levy” was necessary to pay for an increase in preventative spending to combat the problems caused by alcohol and …

Building projects ‘the way to beat recession’
Scotsman
The SNP Government said it was switching £750 million pencilled in for government departments towards infrastructure spending, including the new Forth road crossing and construction work on schools and homes. ash to pay for building work on hospitals …