Sunday Herald

Even as parliament workers moved into the new building at Holyrood last week, the message running round the world is how angry the Scots are about the escalating price, up from £40 to £431 million, almost 11 times the initial estimate (the Sydney Opera House cost only 10 times its original budget). The reasons are well known. First, the politicians underestimated the real price and then meddled during construction; the managers have mismanaged; the architects have changed the plans; even the Fraser Inquiry, set up to investigate the mess, is costing too much – what a disgrace! It is understandable that many are angry, just at the moment when their feelings have been stirred by the promise of a new national institution. But I think this story of failure, repeated so often in the media, is fundamentally wrong.