CAN there be anyone who would relish having what they said and did 30 years ago suddenly cast up and published for all to see? Fortunately, for most of us, the secrets of 30 years ago stay that way – secret – but it is not so easy for politicians such as the former Tory MP David Willetts.

Thanks to the latest release of cabinet papers under the 30-year rule, we now know that in January 1986, David, now Lord Willetts, wrote a letter to the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in which he described Scots as pampered. He also said the country was a juicy target for cuts and suggested the Tories could get away with cutting public spending in Scotland because their position was already so bad north of the border it was unlikely to deteriorate much further.

Three decades on, we now know how wrong Lord Willetts was on the Tories’ position – their popularity kept on falling in Scotland after the days of Margaret Thatcher and has never recovered. But Lord Willetts’ letter is also a reminder of the risks in making in which ill-considered accusations that the Scots are “pampered” or even “subsidy junkies”.

What the newly-released cabinet papers reveal is that the then Scottish Secretary George Younger felt the ministers championing cuts to Scottish public spending were prejudiced against Scotland. That was certainly what opposition politicians at the time suggested – and it was a message that stuck and contributed to the claim that the Tories lacked political legitimacy here.

There are some who argue that the same weapon – the suggestion that a party is no longer legitimate and has become “toxic” – has now been turned against Labour just as it was against the Tories in the 1980s and 90s. That is hard to prove, but perhaps the cabinet papers could act as a reminder to modern politicians, particularly those involved in the current talks over the new funding framework for Scotland – on both sides – that the best way to talk about public spending is calmly and fairly. Talk of snouts in the trough is not only untrue, it is very likely to backfire.