SCOTTISH BUDGET AND THE RIGHT HON. MEMBER FOR BANFF AND BUCHAN

That this House welcomes the approval of the SNP Scottish Budget by the Scottish Parliament which will deliver funds to freeze the council tax, invest in local authority services, cut business rates, abolish prescription charges, and scrap the graduate endowment; notes that Labour and Liberal Democrats failed to support these popular measures; expresses bemusement at Labour MSPs' confusion and contradiction as they failed even to support their own amendment to the Budget; and congratulates the right hon. Member for Banff and Buchan on his leadership as First Minister of Scotland, and the popularity of his minority administration, which shows the UK Parliament the benefits of proportional representation and minority government.