Wednesday's Cultural & Leisure Services Committee heard how a gift of £270,000 from the managing Director of Scotia Land Ltd would mean museums could be kept open on Mondays.

This gift is a huge embarrassment to the Labour administration. Only a few months ago they were defending the Monday closures, saying what a sensible move it was. The gift shows how strongly the public has felt about the plan which the SNP voted against in the budget. It shows Labour are out of touch with public thinking and represents a "Get out of Jail Free" card for them. 

In the debate at committee there were some fairly extreme views expressed. Vice Convener Archie Graham said they would take money from anyone! The Liberal Democrats argued that the gift was not part of the Council's plan and should not be accepted. They voted to turn it down and keep the museums closed.

John Mason for the SNP criticised both of these viewpoints as extreme. While it is not ideal from a democratic point of view to have such decisions dependent on rich individuals, we need to look at such offers on a case by case basis. In this instance there is no reason to question the donor's motives or the object of his generosity, so the SNP voted for the Council to accept the gift.