As-it-really-happened: First Minister's Questions on
Thursday, 27 September, 2012
Key Points
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Report
Reporter: Financial correspondent Max McCaird |
Hello and welcome to our live page coverage of First Minister's Questions. Today Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will be in the hot seat as Alex Salmond is away on “business” (he says) in the US.
1153:
General questions are being answered by a number of cabinet ministers, ahead of FMQs – but that’s boring so we’ll pass on to the important bit where Honest Johann fillets the Natz.
1200:
Ms Lamont talks of the Christie Commission. She quotes some words from it on the detestable “universal entitlement to benefits”. She said spending choices needed to be fair for people in Scotland before the referendum.
Ms Sturgeon questions why Ms Lamont has set up a commission to report after an independence referendum. "I agree with Campbell Christie," Nicola Sturgeon reluctantly admits
1203:
"What I said was, we need an open and honest debate, just like John Swinney said," Ms Lamont goes on, and on. She then quotes the Beveridge report which says key benefits may not be affordable. She adds that that report called for a debate on looking at those who could afford to pay.
1205:
Nicola Sturgeon weakly tried to blame the generosity of London suggesting that it is not easy to deliver balanced budgets when they are being cut by the Tories.
1208:
"If Labour thinks the council tax freeze is so damaging why in the local government election, did Labour say they would protect the council tax freeze?" asks Ms Sturgeon.
1208:
"This sounds like a lot of nonsense," brilliantly ripostes Ms Lamont. If there are cuts, why does she [Nicola Sturgeon] set out the same policies as in 2007, the Labour leader adds. Ms Lamont gets personal and says that the £200,000-a-year Sturgeon household gets free benefits.
1209:
"We know your council tax freeze is under-funded," say Ms Lamont. She goes on to list the examples of those struggling in her community. Ms Lamont adds: "Let the people of Scotland choose, because if she [Ms Sturgeon] shuts the debate then she had better explain to the carer who can only care for the elderly person 15 minutes in the day."
At this point the link from the Scottish Assembly failed, but we are reliably informed that Ms Sturgeon then broke into fits of weeping and abject despair, collapsing into her seat and bringing the session to an end.
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