David Maddox: Budget latest

After last week's excitement we have a day of near complete consensus ahead of us 126 - 2 in favour of the budget.

The news is that the Finance Secretary John Swinney (pictured) has taken his revenge on the Greens, best served cold apparently (revenge not Greens). There decision to vote down the budget last week now looks costly.

Having got everybody else to support his package - the Lib Dems yesterday at no extra cost and Labour today for 7,800 apprentices - Mr Swinney knows that the Greens are isolated.

So instead of offering them £22 million plus £11 million from social partners for their free insulation scheme, he's putting in just £15 million for a different means tested insulation scheme. I gather he told Green leader/ co-convener Patrick Harvie in an e-mail at quarter to midnight last night - ouch!

The Greens have put in a reasoned amendment putting back the principle of a free for all scheme, but it looks like they have little support. We shall see when voting happens 5pm. Meanwhile there will be much self-justification and finger pointing on display when the budget debate starts in half an hour, and maybe even some consensus.

One final thought. If the Greens are right royally, for want of a better word, stuffed by the SNP in this vote, then it will be interesting to see what happens next time the Nats want them to support them in a tight vote. Maybe I am wrong, but Swinney's vengeful spite could be the start of a two year Green strop.