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All a matter of time. And, of course, money.

But, somehow, at first minister's questions today, time seemed to predominate.

According to Labour's Iain Gray, the Scottish government had been dilatory over the issue of university funding.

It had been evident for some time, Mr Gray averred, that Scotland would require to change tack in order to match the challenge posed by enhanced tuition fee cash available to universities in England.

Yet, he argued, Alex Salmond and his education ministers had done nothing until now.

Their present consultation, he said, would not generate any solution until August of next year.

Mr Salmond was unimpressed. He argued that a "Scottish solution" would be in place in tandem with the implementation of the new fees structure in England.

Wizard wheeze

But just what might that solution be? Mr Salmond has ruled out up-front tuition fees.

A permanent graduate income tax finds little favour.

Which presumably leaves some form of limited graduate contribution - not a million miles away from the endowment which Mr Salmond's government scrapped.

Unless, of course, someone can come up with a wizard wheeze in the meantime. That someone, it seems, will not be Iain Gray. At least not for now.

He declined Mr Salmond's invitation to state his policy preference, noting that it was his role to ask questions in the chamber, not to answer them.

Timing, too, dominated the exchanges with Annabel Goldie and Tavish Scott.

Miss Goldie was exercised by the prospect that prisoners might be given the right to vote.

Disenfranchised villain

She wanted this limited, suggesting that, as an interim, judges might indicate whether the sentence they were handing down carried an entitlement to vote or not.

You can just see it, can't you? "Hector MacSwick, you are a miserable wretch.

You will go to prison for the rest of your life - and, what is more, you will never again be able to vote, not even for the European Parliament. Take him down."

Cue helpless sobbing from disenfranchised villain.

Mr Salmond seemed less than keen on the prospect. He suggested, fairly gently, that it might make sense to wait until the UK government had decided what, exactly, it was going to do - elections policy is reserved - before issuing guidance to Scottish judges.

As for Tavish Scott, he accused Mr Salmond of delaying a deal on ferry services between Gourock and Dunoon.

Mr Salmond demurred. And so the day wore on.

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