Chancellor Gordon Brown said he would spend more treasury money to help the poorest families with young children. He said: "Our starting point is a fundamental belief in the equal worth of every human being, and our duty to help each and everyone develop their potential to the full: for all children and all adults - to help them bridge the gap between what they are and what they have it in themselves to become."

Mighty fine words considering Scotland still has 60,000 children below the EU poverty line.

The Scots could better themselves by targeting taxes raised by a Scottish exchequer that no longer filled coffers in Westminster.