It feels like we are at the fag end of a fag-end government. And yet the depressing reality is that we are still only halfway through. With a Holyrood election not due until May 2026, the question that hangs is how can this clusterbourach possibly limp on for another two-and-a-half years without more Scots becoming the collateral damage for a party that feels rudderless and out of control?
With councils threatening bankruptcy, the country’s financial watchdog warning of a £2bn funding black hole, the parliament’s finance committee calling out the government for a failure to ensure policies are affordable, our capital city – among other towns and cities – declaring a housing emergency, educational standards dipping, the NHS on its knees, destitution on the rise and life expectancy on the decline, how much longer can this stasis go on?