Remember in the 2007 Scottish Parliament General Election Labour broadcast a message that insisted that an SNP victory in that campaign would result in a tax rise of £5,000 for every family in Scotland. It wasn't a costed claim, no details were ever offered, it was just a figure pulled out of the air, and Scottish-controlled taxes have actually gone down in real terms with a council tax freeze (as well as measures which save the poor money like the reduction in prescription charges). It was ironic that the claim was being made at the same time as Labour was proposing changes to the Council Tax banding which would see some houses' bills go through the roof without benefiting any other households.
We appear to have round two of the madness now with Labour proposing Council Tax rises and coming up with an uncosted wishlist of their own which, it turns out after the SNP costed it, would result in a tax rise of about £3,000 for each Scottish household. It can't just be me who wonders why, when Scotland's public purse is facing massive cuts, Labour thinks it appropriate to give every 18-year old a year's free subscription to the newspaper of their choice (unless it's an attempt to get favourable headlines) or to extend free travel to include trains as well as buses or why Labour thinks that Scotland needs yet another commissioner. Nor can I see why students should be entitled to a guaranteed £7,000 income while studying nor why Labour thinks that young people who want to volunteer need an organisation to support them.
The clock, it would seem, continues to tick but Labour is falling further and further away from reality.
