IT’S been an odd couple of weeks. After the recent SNP National Assembly, I wrote a draft proposal for consideration in the manifesto development process that was a trial balloon for some good ideas suggested by Peter A Bell. It was circulated amongst 300-plus party members, including political education officers and members of the NEC for comment and feedback. A couple of weeks ago it suddenly appeared in the pages of Wings Over Scotland, touted as a leak of the SNP’s draft manifesto. Five minutes of research would have revealed that wasn’t remotely true and that I was its original author – but that doesn’t seem to have suited the narrative being constructed around the document so due diligence went out of the window.