May 25th - that was the date when Labour claimed that COSLA was greetin about the concordat between the SNP Scottish Government and Scotland's local authorities and that seven councils had asked for the return of ring-fencing.
The story fell apart when Robbie Dinwoodie of the Herald phoned COSLA to ask what the background to the story was. COSLA expressed some degree of surprise and it transpired that Labour - in the form of Arthur Midwinter - had made it up.
I hear that Labour press officers are now blaming each other for the mess, none willing to admit that they peddled the lie. What's worse, telling the lie or trying to cover it up?
In the midst of this farce, Labour held its strategy meeting - without Mike Elrick, chief policy advisor to Wendy Alexander who was left in Parliament while Labour met in Glasgow - to decide what vision it could offer Scotland.
What is Labour's vision for the future then? A Childhood Consultation (no, I don't know either), one-to-one tuition (I assume in schools, it's not clear), John Park's apprentice Bill (paying employers to take on apprentices they don't need), and the Calman Independence Commission (he doesn't know yet). That's it- except Wendy's promised a referendum again.
So there you have it - no ideas, no policy, and no vision, Labour is a party at war with itself with no idea what direction it should be heading.
Lies, damned lies and tantrums - is this really the best we can now expect from Labour?
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