In a week that began with Donald Trump validating Harold Wilson’s oft-attributed assertion that a week really is a long time in politics, all eyes were back on domestic matters and Cardiff was the unusual setting to kick off Scotland’s proceedings.
The Welsh capital played host to the first meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee, where each of the first ministers of our devolved governments met with Theresa May, fresh from her visit to Washington. The prime minister - who arrived as petition signatures opposing her state visit invitation to Donald Trump clocked up quicker than her January air miles - forewarned the leaders that she wasn’t prepared to “shy away” from talking tough in the upcoming Brexit negotiations.
May’s steely attitude came in response to Nicola Sturgeon’s long standing demand for Scotland’s interests to be taken into account as part of the UK’s deal when it comes to arranging its divorce from the EU. Sturgeon hit back with a warning that she would need to see “tangible evidence” her proposals would be taken seriously or face the prospect of a second independence referendum called as soon as next month.
With the ball firmly back in May’s court, the Scottish Government’s charm offensive took Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop to Brussels on Tuesday with an appearance in front of the EU’s Committee for Constitutional Affairs. In a pitch that echoed the sentiment of MSP Alyn Smith’s speech last June which brought him online acclaim, Hyslop implored the European Parliament not to "turn its back on Scotland” and instead show solidarity to a nation which voted decisively to remain a part of the EU. Conscious of staving off their own threat of Catalonian independence, the greatest resistance to Hyslop’s advances unsurprisingly came from the leader of the Spanish MEP group. Esteban Gonzalez Pons joined Barack Obama in speaking in a language that Britain can understand – he talked about queuing – to illustrate the obstacles that faced an independent Scotland in its quest to join the EU.
As Hyslop made friends in Belgium, her Westminster counterparts were heading for a collision course with the Tories as MPs began the process for triggering Article 50. Stretching over two days, debate in the Commons transported us back to last year as the well-trodden referendum arguments once again resurfaced. Indeed, a colleague of mine suggested that Groundhog Day on Thursday had arrived early such was the deja vu. In the end, the Brexit Bill passed its first reading comfortably despite Scotland’s contingent voting against by 58 votes to 1, with Secretary of State, David Mundell, the odd one out.
On Thursday, MSPs gathered at Holyrood to vote through the Scottish budget. A prisoner to the electoral maths dealt to them by voters last year, the minority SNP government were obliged to seek deals with opposition parties in order to pass Finance Secretary Derek Mackay’s proposals. After lengthy negotiation and political posturing, a deal was eventually struck with the Scottish Greens and the agreed package meant £220m of extra spending. The announcement that changes to income tax thresholds would result in around 372,000 people paying higher taxes than they would south of the border led last night's Scottish news bulletins, but it is important to understand this change in the context of the overall taxation package that Scots pay. With other levies such as council tax and water charges significantly cheaper in Scotland than other parts of the UK, and students north of the border enjoying unique financial subsidises such as free education, the country remains the most competitive when it comes to quality of life and cost of living. This didn't stop Scottish Labour from attacking the Greens for abandoning their progressive left credentials, insisting that the extra spending is offset by an even larger cut to expenditure. The Scottish Conservatives labelled the budget as “hard-left, high-tax,” with the last word going to Murdo Fraser, who accused the government of teaming up with “lentil-munching, sandal-wearing watermelons.” Who says politicians don’t speak their minds?