The Liberal Democrats, as one of the key supporters of the Calman review into devolution, missed yesterday's deadline for putting in a submission.
The Liberal Democrats, as one of the key supporters of the Calman review into devolution, missed yesterday's deadline for putting in a submission.
They have had to ask for an extension to the deadline and have been warned that this carries the risk of their views not being fully considered.
The Scottish Labour Party only put in its submission earlier this week, while the Tories in Scotland have elected not to put in a submission at all - developments that have delighted the SNP given that the process was intended to isolate them.
The Liberal Democrats, as part of their 11th-hour Budget haggling, persuaded the SNP Government to put in a specific plea on borrowing powers and it is understood that this will be submitted soon for the consideration of the specialist sub-group under economist Anton Muscatelli.
A spokeswoman for the LibDems said: "We have explained that we would like a little bit of extra time," saying this would enable the party's forthcoming spring conference to make some final input.
The party has also revived the Steel Commission as part of the whole process, and says this will inform the whole contribution.
A spokesman for the Calman Commission confirmed that yesterday was the closing date and that the LibDems had asked for extra time to put in their submission. But he said they were informed that "this runs the risk of not feeding into the thinking of the final report".
The failure of the LibDems to make a main submission to the Calman process before the specified deadline was ridiculed yesterday. The SNP's Alasdair Allan said: "This is deeply embarrassing for Tavish Scott. The LibDems' constitutional confusion is beginning to make Labour look coherent.
"First his party rebels over a referendum on Independence. Now the LibDems fail to make a submission to the very commission they set up. After making such a fuss over the Scottish Government's evidence it would be deeply humiliating if the LibDems failed to submit any of their own.
"If the LibDems, like the Calman Commission, want to be left with any credibility when they report it's time they confirmed the right of the people of Scotland to choose their constitutional future and backed a referendum. Perhaps Tavish Scott should take Mike Rumbles' advice and ask his party to decide."
For the LibDems, a party stuffed with constitutional wonks, to fail to put a submission in by the closing date to a Commission it helped found and has continued to talk up is extraordinary.
It may also be very bad politics. Party leader Tavish Scott this week restated his view that it would be wrong to have a referendum on independence, a view not universally shared within his party.
At various points several of his MSPs have demurred over this stance, believing that it runs entirely against Liberal Democrat principles.
This may have made the forthcoming party conference in Perth tricky. But now, if the party's whole approach to Calman is up for grabs, it could create an open season on the issue of the LibDems' approach to where the Scottish Parliament goes from here.
