"ALISTAIR Darling, the Transport Secretary, yesterday became the second Cabinet minister in a week to upstage the Scottish Executive when he supported the idea of a new road bridge across the Forth.
He gave his unequivocal backing to a new £500 million link despite the fact that only two months ago Jack McConnell, the First Minister, said it would be "stupid" to agree to any such plan without waiting for an assessment of the current bridge.
Last night, Mr Darling, also Secretary of State for Scotland, was accused of electioneering after speaking out while campaigning for the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election.
The minister, who spoke out against a second bridge ten years ago, said: "The key thing now is to campaign for a second bridge because of the fact that the existing bridge is not going to last as long as people thought."
Not exactly responsible behaviour, however, either on the part of UK Ministers in promising things which they cannot deliver or on the part of Executive Ministers in allowing them to do so.
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