POLITICS is all about priorities and inevitably there are more competing priorities than there are resources.

Two decisions this week led to the priorities of some people being questioned.

The first: on the same day that Mike Dailly was at Holyrood arguing for a no evictions law for bedroom tax arrears, the basis of Labour's Jackie Baillie's Bill, there was a vote on the subject at Westminster.

Ten Scots Labour MPs, including two in Glasgow, didn'e show up for the vote. They were 'paired' with Tory no-shows so the outcome was not affected.

Nor would the goverment have scrapped the policy if it had lost the vote. But given Labour's stated opposition and outrage, the decision to 'pair' was more significant than the outcome.

Because pairing is done only on issues 'not of great importance'. So where does the bedroom tax come on the list of priorities?

Our MPs should have been in the Commons arguing atheir case and forcing their Tory and LibDem counterparts to do the same.

Some have said they had longstanding commitments or engagements, which meant they couldn't attend. It is apparently an acceptable excuse at Westminster, if not in the real world.

Try telling your landlord your reduced income, due to a benefit cut, means you can't meet the rent because you had a "longstanding commitment" with a gas bill, food shopping or shoes for the children, and see how acceptable it is.

This is going to haunt Labour for a long time in Scotland whenever they argue with the SNP over the bedroom tax.

It is a shame because it is one of the few issues which Labour and SNP MSPs are united in opposing.

The second: the Wellington Cone saga was as strange a spectacle as the 'decorated' statue itself, with councillors forced to slap down officials in the face of bizarre protest.

I can't get worked up about whether there is occasionally a cone on a statue or not but the language of the report did hit a nerve. It was suggested the cone was a "depressing image" of Glasgow. C'mon, gie's peace.

I can think of many more depressing images of the city than a traffic cone on the head of Mr Arthur Wellesley.

And there are issues more worthy of protest.

This week unemployment figures showed that Glasgow north east is home to 15% unemployment, the highest in Scotland.

More food banks are opening up all over the city as families struggle to put food on the table.

These are depressing images of Glasgow today and if the officials responsible for the report strayed more than a few hundred yards from George Square to meet real people experiencing real problems they would quickly find them.