Thankyou Danny

Two days in a row! This has to be something of a record when it comes to politicians listening! No sooner had Calton asked if Danny Alexander was listening than the announcement came that the red-haired one is looking to see if the fuel discount currently being applied to the islands can be extended to some parts of the mainland, in particular, the North West Highlands. The only fly in the ointment is that implementation is still dependent on agreement by the European Commission. Which makes Calton wonder, once again, why the SNP are so keen for us to remain part of the EU if we vote for independence. They are making a lot of big assumptions, not least that, under the Edinburgh Agreement, the UK Government would support the process of re-negotiating an independent Scotland's position within the EU because it is in the best interests of the people of Scotland! This smacks all too much of Oprah Winfrey-style 'if you speak positively, it will happen' nonsense rather than dealing with the actual reality, namely, that we'll only get to stay in the EU club if the other members want us to. It's certainly not going to happen just because John Swinney says so.