David Maddox: Laying down the rules

This is a posting for the Scottish political train spotting class.
The morning's Scottish Government briefing to journalists has finally clarified the rules on what happens with budget votes in terms of the Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson's casting vote.
Mr Fergusson has a duty to support the status quo, which is different to convention in Westminster where the Speaker supports the government.
So if this afternoon there is a tied vote, which until yesterday's decision by Labour to not oppose the budget at this stage looked possible, Mr Fergusson would support the Scottish Government. This would be done on the basis that at this point the budget is being discussed, so he would vote to support the continued discussion.
The tricky moment for the Scottish Government comes on the third and final stage vote on January 28. This is the stage where Labour are threatening to join the Lib Dems to vote against the budget and the Greens have suggested they might vote against as well if they do not get their £1 billion free insulation scheme.
If all three parties banded together and the Tories and Independent Margo MacDonald backed the SNP there would be a tied vote- 64 each.
In these circumstances Mr Fergusson would have to vote down the budget on the basis that discussion was over and the status quo is the 2008/09 budget.
All in all it means that opposition parties are better holding their fire for as long as possible, but that their only real weapon is the political nuclear option.

David Maddox: Holyrood and the police

Not to be outdone by their colleagues in Westminster, we have just learnt at the back end of First Minister's questions that MSP want their own protacol on when and how police should be allowed to search their offices and arrest them.
This is of course MSPs trying to spread the continuing furor over the arrest of Damien Green, the Tories' immigration, spokesman by the Old Bill in Westminster.
In the exhanges with labour leader Iain Gray, First Minister Alex Salmond made a quip about how his Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, will not be calling in the police to arrest oppositon MSPs. The unspoken meaning was "unlike the Labour government in Westminster."
Mike Rumbles, the Lib Dems' chief whip in Holyrood, made a point of order at the end of FMQs repeating a request he made to Alex Fergusson, the Presiding Officer, that he should make a statement and issue his guidance, as was done by Speaker Michael Martin yesterday.
Apparently Mr Fergusson is considering the matter.
There was a further intervention by former Labour First minister Jack McConnell asking that the guidance is given as a statement to the full parliament.