Tom Peterkin: Rumblings from the faultlines begin as behind-the-scenes budget business gets under way

'I've had enough of the budget already," joked one Labour MSP as she made her way from the Holyrood chamber to the safety of the Garden Lobby with its welcoming coffee shop and comfy chairs.

You couldn't really blame her. The perorations of the Scottish Parliament's sundry finance experts were hardly inspiring stuff yesterday during the first stage of the three-stage bill to be considered by MSPs over the coming weeks. The tortured exchanges associated with trying to get Scotland's 30 billion budget through a parliament hamstrung by the lack of an overall majority can be a bit tiresome.

But the rhetoric emanating from the chamber yesterday was merely the public face of a process that sees the real business conducted behind the scenes.

The Garden Lobby, the corridors and MSPs' offices are the scenes of much frantic activity as MSPs, acting as envoys for their party finance spokespeople, have informal chats to gather intelligence to pass back to their leaders.

It can get a bit like a mating ritual between species, who don't particularly like each other and are hampered by backbench chaperones who don't want things to get too chummy as the election approaches. The looming election can only add to the feverish atmosphere at Holyrood. It is difficult to establish a consensus between parties, who are preparing to knock seven bells out of each other.

So it is not surprising that we can already see deep election faultlines opening up. Labour is demanding a 40 million Futures Job Fund, a Gordon Brown policy abolished by the Tory/ Lib Dem coalition.

The SNP government is already facing a 30 million hole in its budget as a result of the opposition to its Tesco tax/Princes Street tax/Salmond supertax (call it what you will). Therefore the prospect of Labour's demand being met seems about as likely as Andy Gray being asked to make a speech at Germaine Greer's 72nd birthday party this week.

Iain Gray will then be able to go into the election claiming that the SNP denied Labour its big jobs plan. Labour abstained last night, but it will be difficult for Gray to vote for it if his main demand is not met.

The alternative scenario is for the SNP to take a deep breath and give Labour what it wants, in the hope that it would scupper its election tactics.

The Greens signalling their dissatisfaction by voting against the budget at the first opportunity, effectively ruling themselves out of the equation. The Tories voted with the SNP, signalling that they are prepared to do business with the Nationalists.

At this stage, it would seem that the Lib Dems hold the key. After much chat that they were minded to vote against finance minister John Swinney yesterday, they eventually abstained. Tavish Scott's party is asking for more investment in college places – a bridge that would not seem too difficult for the SNP to cross.