I am slightly concerned that my column is in danger of turning into a little bit of an anti-Nationalist rant. I think it's common knowledge that there's really very little risk of my swanning off and joining the SNP any time soon, but nevertheless, I want this column to be taken seriously (at least a little bit) and getting a reputation for not liking the government hardly fosters that impression. Nonetheless, I am absolutely enraged by this week's SNP budget, and so cannot help but comment on it. Next time, I promise, I won't mention the nasty Nats at all.

I guess, when I think rationally about it, I'm not all that surprised. To paraphrase (read 'steal'): it is a truth universally acknowledged that a government who promises to be all things to all men while in possession of a limited budget is bound to run into some serious difficulties. After all, how can you expect to offer—as was promised—greater levels of public funding to hospitals, schools and universities, to massively increase support for small and local businesses, local police forces, and agriculture, all with the backdrop of scrapping as many forms of government income (read 'tax') as possible?

The simple truth is that you can't, and the budget demonstrated exactly that. The real tragedy, however, has been the consequences for higher education funding. Universities Scotland, the umbrella group that represents the interests of higher education, called for £168 million. Instead, they've been given £30 million. That's a massive shortfall.

And the reason for this? Well, according to Fiona Hyslop MSP, the Education Secretary, it's because this is a “tight settlement.” Perhaps they were foolish to have spent £10,000 (the final figure, from the Scottish Government itself) on flags after all.

But really, I hear you cry, what on earth possessed Universities Scotland to think they could get £168million? I don't know – maybe it was the line in the SNP manifesto that read: “our universities compete on a global basis in research and development, and we need to provide more government support for them to continue to do so as a key driver in Scotland’s economic and enterprise agenda.” Or maybe it was when they claimed in the last election that they “recognise and respect the crucial role of education” and were willing to fully fund it. Maybe, just maybe, Universities Scotland wasn't being so unreasonable after all.

There's also a real danger that this could result in a major meltdown in Scottish politics with the Conservatives publishing seven "red lines" which they demand must be in the budget before they will vote for it, and Labour and the Liberal Democrats also submitting their own amendments. But without any overall control in the Parliament or a working coalition—made impossible by the SNP's devotion to independence, a devotion they've now postponed for seven years—the possibility of gridlock becomes a frighteningly real prospect.

The major problem I have is that this budget is all about style over substance. It's all about populist moves (such as freezing council tax) and none of the hardcore governing we need (such as providing universities with the £100 million extra they need to be competitive or provide the funding promised for a drug rehabilitation programme). Being in government is about making tough calls that will genuinely improve our quality of life, not pandering to Joe Average so that when you eventually get around to calling for independence you look like Mr. Nice Guy.

And the really sad thing is that these populist moves make really very little difference, other than sounding a little bit nice. If you take the average property—a Band D flat—and look at how much cash you'd save from a freeze on council tax inflation, it comes in at around £260. That's ever so slightly over a 71p saving per day. Whoopdie-do. You'd have to wait three days before you'd saved enough to even get a bus to town and back.

I'm not saying that council tax funds education – it doesn't. What I am saying is that the Scottish Government has got its priorities all wrong. We live, work and study in the country that gave the world the Scottish Enlightnement, in a city made famous by great academic minds like David Hume, Adam Smith and Charles Darwin. We should be proud of our education, and we should be prepared to fund it. We should not be bartering it away for a quick fix of popularity.