Has Mr McLeish since been backtracking?
After his initital comments on long-term care, there have been numerous reports of mounting pressure on Mr McLeish from Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, who are anxious that Scotland should not have a different policy from England and Wales in the run-up to a general election. Blair is said to fear that full implementation of Sutherland in Scotland could fuel similar demands from pensioners south of the border and the spectre has been raised of a vast influx of better-off English people keen to take advantage of the possibility of free personal care in Scotland. In recent weeks, McLeish has been subtly playing down the whole issue. He has consistently denied he ever said he would implement the report in full. Why should Scotland be any different? Because it can, basically. The whole point of devolution is that the devolved legislatures in Scotland and Wales can allocate their spending according to local priorities and needs. It is up to the Scottish parliament to decide what it does with i
