Eddie Barnes: Beveridge brave to set out Snip Board options but who dares act?

IT'S not often, this close to an election, that you hear someone in authority telling you an unpleasant and unvarnished truth. Crawford Beveridge, take your bow.

Scottish politics has recently had a touch of unreality about it, amid complaints from the SNP that yet more spending is required, and assertions from Labour that even more is indeed coming. Mr Beveridge, who heads the high-powered independent review into the Scottish budget, set up in February, has now provided some cold facts: it is cuts that are coming, and they will be harsh.

His review group has been widely compared to a similar independent review set up in Ireland in 2008, which became known in Dublin as "An Bord Snip" – the Snip Board. It recommended some 5.3 billion in savings, most of which were later adopted. Ireland is now credited with slowly emerging from its horrendous slump.

Scotland's snip board will not be quite so drastic; the required 3bn cuts over three years are not so deep – but its general purpose is the same. Ireland's snip board chairman, Professor Colm McCarthy, said the real aim of his report was to move the debate forward. Mr Beveridge's job is similar: to lay the ground by setting out the options, enabling politicians to make tough choices. Those options are now becoming a little clearer. Mr Beveridge has acknowledged that a privatised Scottish Water is an option (as did a previous review). He has also agreed that universal benefits – such as the free bus travel for pensions scheme – should be scrutinised. It is already clear this veteran of Scottish public affairs has decided to take a firm grip.

The Scottish Government was specifically asked to rule either of these measures out last night, but in a statement a spokesman said it would "carefully consider" them. However, there is a large grain of doubt over whether SNP ministers will heed the findings.

Scotland is locked into a near permanent electoral cycle; Westminster this year, Holyrood next, local government the year after. This means there is no such thing as a convenient mid-term when unpleasant decisions can be made. Alex Salmond knows that if he were – for example – even to hint at reform to Scottish Water in the next few months, Labour would run a campaign ahead of the 2011 elections on how he was a "Tartan Tory", intent on privatising the country's assets. Both he and Mr Beveridge may have the intent for reform, but stark electoral politics may yet get in the way.