LAST week, we saw an all-too-familiar political tale play out when the UK Government announced its Autumn Statement.

When the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, announced the UK Government's plans to grow our economy and cut taxes, the SNP was waiting with bated breath to find fault with these plans.

Thankfully though, the Autumn Statement left even the prime minister's harshest opponents with very little to say.

The prime minister has delivered on his promise to halve inflation by the end of the year, and the UK's economy has grown more than in any other major western nation.

This meant that the chancellor had the freedom to announce an Autumn Statement which truly delivered for Scotland.

The statement included a cut in the National Insurance rate from 12% to 10%, which is worth over £450 each year to the average worker.

Self-employed workers will also benefit, thanks to reforms to National Insurance which will save them £350 each year on average.

State Pensions have also been increased, meaning over one million pensioners in Scotland will receive a boost of over £900 each year.

However, the Autumn Statement will also benefit businesses across Scotland and the whole of the UK, which will receive a total of £11billion in tax cuts which will help to grow businesses and create more jobs.

Difficult though it may be to find fault with a statement that delivered for Scotland in so many ways, this didn't stop the SNP Government from trying.

Later that day, we saw the SNP's own finance secretary suggesting that the Scottish Government was only receiving an additional £10m in funding as a result of the Autumn Statement.

Given that the true figure is over 50 times higher – at £545m – this does not bode well for someone who is supposed to oversee the Scottish Government's finances.

The following day, the First Minister himself continued the SNP's attempts to clutch at straws, when he claimed that the Autumn Statement was 'deeply disappointing', and that more needed to be done to grow the economy.

The irony of this statement, given that SNP-led Scotland is set to grow slower than the rest of the UK, was apparently lost on the first minister.

This discrepancy in growth will only be made worse by the fact that businesses in England and Wales are set to receive huge discounts on their Business Rates, while the SNP refuses to match this for Scottish businesses.

Given the SNP's poor record on this issue, it isn't too surprising they're trying to shift the blame elsewhere – even if their claims don't withstand any scrutiny.

Truly, last week's Autumn Statement told the Scottish public a tale of Scotland's two very different governments.

The SNP Scottish Government continues to let down people and businesses across the country, and despite its considerable powers, it refuses to accept responsibility for any of its failures.

Thankfully, the UK Government will remain focussed on their own job, and delivering on the priorities of the Scottish public – regardless of what the SNP may say in response.