Lib Dems talking about Independence

I watched a bit of 'Conference Report 2009' at lunchtime but sadly have watched the highlights of the Scottish Lib Dem conference late on a Sunday night. So what exactly are the Lib Dems about? Well it would appear that they have nothing else to talk about but Independence. Tavish Scott is 'twisting' on whether the Lib Dems will support an Independence Referendum (but only after the 2011 election, he doesn't want to play his aces just yet!). Ming the Meaningless was his usual bitter old self towards Alex Salmond, the man who has done more than he could.

Watching Hugh O'Donnell and Jim Wallace tussle over defining fiscal autonomy "within the Calman Commission" discussions was hilarious as Jim's face girned at Hugh's fulsome support for full fiscal autonomy. Ooops, didn't take long for Jim to get Hugh back on message.

Meanwhile Vince Cable's speech was a huge disappointment. Here was the grand man of economic rune reading. No doubt Vince started off his career in fortune telling but then lost the knack by joining the Liberals. Anyway, here he was spreading doom and gloom about whether an Independent Scotland could cope with the collapse of a bank the size of RBS. Does that not beg, would an independent Scottish banking regulator allow RBS to have gambled in the way that it did? Would the small Scottish financial community have heard the ex-Group Director of Regulatory affairs blowing his whistle in the way the City of London singularly failed? However, no amount of jealousy that Alex is our First Minister and Vince is out of government could be hidden.

Finally, I had to laugh when Vince said the Lib Dems were not just about devolving power to Edinburgh, but also about decentralising power to local authorities and communities... now please explain to me what exactly the Scottish Lib Dems did to decentralise power to councils and communities in their eight years in coalition? Did they fight to remove ring-fenced funding? Did they legislate to reform the Council Tax which they have campaigned to 'Axe the Tax' in England & Wales... and then belatedly in Scotland? No.