THE spectacle playing out at Westminster is unedifying for the entire country. Many echo the Tory maverick David Davis’s call for Boris Johnson to “in the name of God, go”. I sense that won’t be long.

In Scotland, there was a fanfare announcement by the Scottish Government about offshore wind. I fear they’ve sold the county and the country short. Fuel bills are rising and families are suffering. This was a chance to be bold and deliver some salvation, not just now but for future years.

For sure the £800 million obtained from the tranche of 24 gigawatts released isn’t to be sniffed at. But it’s a fraction of the rate achieved south of the Border. They released only eight gigawatts but received £700 million. Their sale was also for four years only, ours is in perpetuity.

The opportunity to take a stake through a national energy company was passed up, as was taking a share in developments. Instead, it was sold to multinationals and no Scottish company got a sniff. Indeed, there’s the absurdity of Vattenfall, the Swedish state energy company, having a stake. The Scottish Government claim that the benefit will come in the supply chain. How will that happen, as it’s certainly not happening at the moment?

Where are the East Lothian companies involved now as it spills ashore or the work for local folk? The construction yards, whether across the Forth in Methil or elsewhere, are largely idle, with the turbines built abroad. Jobs to come at Leith aren’t in construction but the assembly of turbines built elsewhere and transported there for assembly. Yes, it’s welcome, but it’s not the high-end contracts or skilled work that should be there.

The danger is that future contracts, as with turbines, will simply go abroad. The bounty should have been released slowly, allowing Scottish businesses to gear up. Westminster sold Scotland’s oil off cheap but it’s the Scottish Government doing it with wind energy. Families struggling to heat their homes deserve better.