The Scottish Conservatives have branded the SNP’s decision to allocate £20 million to push for an independence referendum while imposing public spending cuts elsewhere as “shameful”.
At First Minister’s Questions, Douglas Ross challenged Nicola Sturgeon to justify the decision - outlined in yesterday’s Spending Review - to earmark money for another constitutional vote at the same time as cutting budgets to the likes of councils, schools, higher education and the police.
The Scottish Conservative leader accused the First Minister of “obsessing” over independence when the public expected her to focus on the cost-of-living crisis.
Nicola Sturgeon insisted that spending £20 million on a referendum was a “really good investment”.
Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross said: “Spending £20 million on a divisive referendum in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis is shameful.
“Nicola Sturgeon’s eye is off the ball again. She’s obsessing about independence, when people across Scotland overwhelmingly want the focus to be on the issues that really matter to them.
“That £20 million could pay for more teachers, nurses, police officers. It could pay for more support for people facing rising energy bills and higher costs at the supermarket.
“The SNP have got cash for another referendum - but cuts for Scotland’s public services.
“This government has received the biggest block grant from the UK Government ever - and squandered it.
“The Spending Review shows the real cost of the SNP’s failures on the Scottish public: a fortune wasted on ferries, BiFab, Prestwick Airport, failures at the Queen Elizabeth hospital, the list goes on.
“And the consequences of those failures for our country are devastating. Because of the SNP Government’s failures, we’re all facing severe cuts to budgets for the police, prisons, schools, councils, rural affairs, enterprise, tourism and higher education.
“The First Minister used to boast that she would close the education attainment gap between rich and poor pupils. She told the Scottish public to judge her on education.
“She’s failed and now she’s given up: the education budget is being slashed to the bone.”