Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has told the First Minister to “get back to the day job” after he delivered a speech on Scottish independence.
During an address in Edinburgh on Thursday morning, John Swinney said another vote on Scotland’s constitutional future “has never been more important”.
It came after the release of a Scottish Government paper which urges the UK Government to “make a clear commitment to respect the people of Scotland’s right to decide their future”.
But at First Minister’s Questions later on Thursday, Mr Russell – under pressure after two MSPs quit his party in recent weeks – urged the Scottish Government to focus on issues like the health service and drug deaths, accusing ministers of using independence as a distraction.
“We know his game, he knows exactly what he is up to, he’s desperately trying to get the focus off the SNP’s dismal record of failure on the economy, schools, ferries, drugs, crime, health, everything else,” the Tory leader said.
“This week he cynically focuses on independence and international affairs, isn’t it time he got back to the day job?”
Responding, the First Minister said he has led a debate on his Government’s priorities, adding that waiting times for inpatient care are falling, as are drug deaths – though the latter is expected to rise in the coming years – while exam results this year were the best since 2019.
“What the Scottish Government is doing is delivering on the priorities of the people of Scotland, that’s what my Government is focused on,” Mr Swinney said.
“I want to make sure that Scotland is not inhibited by the failures of Westminster and that we have the ability to choose the democratic future of independence, and I’m confident the people of Scotland will make that choice.”