In politics, as in life, you’re sometimes better off begging forgiveness than asking permission. Sometimes you simply need to do a thing and deal with the fall out afterwards.

It’s not a form of behaviour to be pursued regularly, though. A habit of doing what you want, when you want, without any consultation, can quickly, and rightly, come to be seen as simple contempt for others.

This is a habit the SNP seems to be slipping into. The Scottish government has in the past made much of its generous approach to consultation – the disastrous gender reform bill was, we were regularly told, the most consulted upon piece of legislation in Holyrood’s history.

When it suits them, though, ministers are perfectly, and disturbingly, willing to plough on with a scheme that has been shared with no one, and that gives every impression of having occurred to them about five minutes before its launch.

The council tax freeze is a good example of this. There was no warning that one was being considered until Humza Yousaf announced it in his SNP conference speech back in October. In fact, 48 hours before his speech Yousaf didn’t know he’d be announcing it either. There had been no discussion with councils, which were horrified. It hadn’t been signed off by the cabinet either, which was surprising given the weighty economic consequences of the decision.

Want to see more SNP fails? – Health Matters