Sometimes language fails us. There is a word for the feeling of having been here before. Two words, in fact: déjà vu. Yet there is no word for the kind of déjà vu where something feels amiss, where roles have been reversed or people are not acting the way we would expect.

Such a word would be useful in Scottish politics at the moment. We are heading into a political debate which may seem familiar at first, but in which the SNP and Labour positions are the polar opposite of what they were just a few years ago.

Last week Nicola Sturgeon’s government announced a radical new use of its welfare powers. There would be income top-ups for Scottish families living in poverty to counter