Swinney’s skill got a deal but powers must be used

The art of negotiation is something John Swinney has got nailed down. Of course, that in itself is not exactly news and is something which has been noted in this column before.

Yet his ability to forge a deal with the UK Government on the fiscal framework deserves a special mention.

It has been noted elsewhere that he “took on the Treasury and won”.

And while there were obviously concessions on both sides – it was a negotiation after all – that’s a statement which is difficult to argue with.

After Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs on Tuesday there was still one major sticking point on getting a deal, senior Whitehall sources insisted everything was actually agreed.

Funnily enough, those at the top of the Scottish Government disagreed and say that declaration strengthened their position in the final hours of the talks.

Whatever actually happened, the bottom line is we have a deal which means Scotland will only be worse off it is makes its own fiscal errors.

The “no detriment” policy has been fulfilled. There can be no more grievance about it, nor should there be.

So Mr Swinney can rightly receive praise for his skilled achievement but, as is so often the case in politics, the hard work starts now.

We need to know what will be done with these new powers, now there’s no reason not to use them.