Scotland on Sunday

Very soon the Scottish Executive will face the kind of decision that would test the mettle of any administration - let alone one which likes to proclaim its left-wing credentials. It will be asked to help acquire for the nation one of the grandest, most aristocratic, most immaculately decorated and perfectly furnished houses in Scotland. It will be asked not just for a token contribution but for serious money, running into many millions of pounds. The reasons for saying "No" to the purchase of Dumfries House - a magnificent Adam mansion near Cumnock in Ayrshire, owned by Johnny, the present Marquess of Bute, are legion. Why dip into the public purse for a house, built and owned by one of the richest families Britain has ever known (so wealthy were the coal-owning Butes in the 19th century that they were said to account for a third of Britain's GNP)?