Talk of the town: Labour MSPs should go back to skool . .

LABOUR MSPs are up in arms about education cuts, claiming there are 3000 fewer teachers in classrooms thanks to the SNP.

"Every community in Scotland is seeing the real consequences of SNP cuts," declares a Labour press release.

But there are clearly some education problems closer to home. The press release is headed: "LABOUR TO HIGHLIGHT SNP FALURE ON TEACHERS"

Students prove that in tight times they're in it together

CITY students are beating the credit crunch it seems with a fiscal fightback Karl Marx himself would approve of . . . Kittynomics.

According to research by Barclays, 46 per cent of students in Edinburgh are using so-called Kittynomics to manage their living expenses.

Some 3.3 million is being saved annually by students who pool funds into a central pot of money - or a kitty - to make group purchases with friends.

Given the average kitty of an Edinburgh student has four members and some can have in excess of ten, students are allocating clear responsibilities to ensure things run smoothly.

Some 42 per cent are 'treasurers', responsible for financial decision, while 19 per cent are 'brokers', planning the spending and collecting money.

Something to panda

WE have little cause to panda to rumour in this column . . .

But one dubious story caught our eye this week with claims the British National Party was protesting the long-awaited arrival of two giant Chinese pandas to Edinburgh Zoo.

In a spoof article, The Poke website says supporters of the far-right political group have been waving placards bearing the slogan 'Don't be Bamboo-zled! BNP - Putting British pandas first' and reports one member saying, "It's the man on the street I feel sorry for. All these extra pandas in the UK will drive up the price of bamboo, making it unaffordable for the average British family."

No more lording it

LOTHIANS Labour MSP George Foulkes has enlivened proceedings at Holyrood over the past four years with his regular heckling, or "sedentary interventions" as parliamentarians like to say.

But now presiding officer Alex Fergusson is threatening to throw him out of the chamber if he carries on making "disrespectful and discourteous" comments.

But time is running out for this political drama. There are only eight more First Minister's Questions before Lord Foulkes says farewell.