Wimps?

It's getting to be a habit. The Scotsman anticipates yet another climbdown:

"THE Executive is set to defy Westminster by agreeing a deal with trade unions over pensions, which could avert the new wave of strike action across the public sector in Scotland.
Pat Watters, the president of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the councils' umbrella body, yesterday revealed that Scotland is preparing to go it alone with a proposal to meet demands for retirement benefits to be preserved...
The Scottish Executive and the UK government, which is responsible for local government pensions in England and Wales, have maintained that the rule contravenes European anti-age discrimination regulations.
Until now, ministers north and south of the Border maintained a united front, but Mr Watters yesterday revealed there was now the prospect of a Scotland-only solution."

It was only yesterday that the same paper reported:

"TOM McCabe, the finance minister, yesterday signalled a retreat from a decision to publish radical reform plans for the public sector in Scotland."

And, of course, last week we had the climbdown over Scottish Enterprise (see here).

Something of a pattern emerging? Is there a grand old duke of York in the house?