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You don't have to be a conspiracy theorist or signed up to the grievance school of Welsh politics, although it certainly helps, to notice that the Scots seem to have got rather more of what they wanted from the coalition deal than the Welsh.

The Scots have the promise of a new law to implement a change in the way the Scottish Parliament is funded - it will have to raise more of its own cash. The Welsh get an undated commitment to a referendum on the National Assembly's powers.

I have struggled to find any reference to the Assembly referendum in the Welsh Liberal Democrat manifesto for the 2010 general election, although it does commit the party to giving the Assembly law-making powers.

The party's leader, Kirsty Williams, and her deputy, Roger Williams (no relation) have always argued for a referendum as soon as possible with this autumn mentioned as a preferred date.

So why not put that in the coalition agreement? They could argue that the referendum date is not the UK Government's to choose, although it clearly has rather a large say.

Perhaps the Lib Dem demand got lost in the negotiating process as, I understand, did their suggestion that St David's Day become a bank holiday.

This foundered, apparently, due to the fact that in Scotland St Andrew's Day is designated a public holiday although employers are not required to recognise it as one.

I'm old enough to remember the days when the Conservatives used this policy as an example of their own commitment to all things Welsh, although the Tory side showed little enthusiasm for the cause during coalition talks.

Welsh Lib Dems will have to be satisfied with a vague promise of jam tomorrow on changing the formula that decides more than half of public spending in Wales.

"At this time," says the coalition agreement, "the priority must be to reduce the deficit and therefore any change to the system must await the stabilisation of the public finances. Depending on the outcome of the forthcoming referendum, we will establish a process similar to the Calman Commission for the Welsh Assembly."

So two commissions for the price of one then - to follow the Holtham Commission that delivered what its sponsors, the Labour/Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly Government, hoped.

Cast your mind back to February - three months ago - when the then Labour Government refused to reform the Barnett formula.

This is what Roger Williams said then: "I am simply appalled at the Government's point-blank refusal to reform the funding system so that Wales gets its fair share. How can they possibly claim to be working for Welsh people while they consistently ignore expert advice on how the Barnett Formula is harming Wales?

"Instead of real reform the Government is content to tinker round the edges, assessing trends in spending rather than actually doing something by acting. With each year changes are delayed Wales is losing out on more and more vital investment that could go towards changing the lives of people up and down Wales.

"I want to see a fundamental overhaul of the Barnett Formula so that the Welsh Assembly Government has the money to provide services on an equal footing to England. The Government should stop treating Welsh people like second class citizens, stop fiddling and move forward with reform on this totally inadequate system."

No news yet on whether Roger Williams is appalled by his own Government's failure to change the Barnett formula or if he thinks the Con/Lib coalition is treating Wales like "second class citizens".

UPDATE: Roger Williams says: "This deal will be very good for Wales, and for Plaid Cymru to knock the real progress we are making on bringing fairer funding to Wales, through a Calman-style commission from the Treasury that will look at a whole range of options including tax variation, smacks of opportunism.

"In an ideal world we would introduce fair funding straight away, but we still have some work to do, and a Treasury review is exactly the kind of step that Plaid Cymru should be welcoming.

"Everyone knows that when you're in coalition, compromises have to be made."

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