Tony Blair used to whine that he never really compared the Scottish Parliament to an “English Parish Council”, it was only the nasty Scottish press who twisted his remarks! In fact, he did so compare. (1/5) 
Similarly, there is little point in John Swinney complaining that his attendance at the grandly titled Council of the Nations and Regions doesn’t carry a perception of a regional status for the nation of Scotland - it does deliver that status. (2/5)
Of course the First Minister has the right to insist on bilateral JMC meetings with the Prime Minister. I am not sure in which world that correct business approach includes a convivial group selfie with the political opponent who is freezing Scots pensioners. (3/5)
If John or his advisers had read Gordon Brown’s original proposal for this Council, then they would have realised that this wasn’t some ad hoc reset meeting, but part of a plan to pull any independence teeth from devolution. (4/5)
It is designed to diminish the status of our Parliament and the First Minister. Part of becoming independent is about thinking independently, not subserviently. John should have politely declined the meeting with the words “Scotland is a country not a county”. (5/5)
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