Normal Service Resumed.

Mr Smith must admit to being surprised by the defeat last week of the Scottish Government's budget, especially by the margin of 65 votes to 64. Mr Smith didn't think that our political representatives at Holyrood had it in them. Well it would appear that MSPs of all parties are now falling over themselves to pass a slightly amended SNP budget in exchange for a few baubles.

"ALEX Salmond was last night on the verge of rescuing his government's battered Budget by making enough concessions to bring all the opposition parties on board. Just a day after seeing it thrown out by the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister believed last night he could secure the unanimous backing of every MSP for the Budget just by making a series of simple changes."

What exactly is the point of voting down a budget because it didn't include major items, like a 2% cut in taxation, or major expenditure to try and offer more help to those made redundant in the current economic downturn, when apparently a letter from Alex Salmond is now enough to placate at least the Liberal Democrats?

Mr Smith thinks our politicians risk doing their credibility damage with the voters and, yet again, let Mr Salmond emerge from a crisis largely of his own making, looking like the cat that got the cream.