Say what you like about the Tories, at least Liz and Kwasi shook a leg and got on with announcing their response to the myriad economic crises facing Britain. The SNP, on the other hand, don’t have quite the same sense of urgency. They originally promised their own financial statement would come within two weeks of the UK government’s budget. That promise was made on the 7^th of this month; the government promptly followed through with their announcements last Friday. Meaning the Deputy First Minister should be up on his feet on the 7^th October…

This afternoon, however, John Swinney told MSPs that he’ll be setting his emergency budget review out a whole month after the Tory government’s, on the 24^th October. The delay seems enigmatic and likely to exacerbate economic uncertainty north of the border. That’s until you realise this new timetable allows the SNP to hold their conference on the 8-10^th October without being overshadowed by tough spending announcements and cuts…