It’s that time of year again: GERS day – when Scotland’s annual fiscal health is laid bare – has come back around and the figures paint a pretty bleak picture for the Scottish government. There is a £26.5 billion black hole in public finances (don’t fall off your chair, Rachel Reeves) while the country’s deficit has grown by more than £5 billion. With a Scottish parliament election just around the corner – and the party of government on track to lose seats – it’s more bad news for First Minister John Swinney’s SNP.

Today’s GERS stats raise questions about the SNP’s full fiscal autonomy idea

Swinney’s administration appears to have buried its head in the sand over the figures – with an earlier press release choosing to overlook the headline figures and boasting instead that Scotland’s rev

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