Which party is getting on with the day job now?

A couple of years ago the taunt was levelled at the SNP Government by the Conservatives that we should “get on with the day job”and spend no time on the constitutional question of independence.

As the parliamentary session for 2018/19 comes to an end, it is an opportune moment to reflect on who exactly has been getting on with the day job in the last 12 months.

The week before last, the Scottish Parliament was almost entirely consumed by detailed scrutiny of the new legislation proposed by the Scottish Government to reform our planning system.

It is vital that we have in place a modern, efficient and effective planning system to support the economic development of the country but also to protect the essential rights of our communities and the desire of members of the public to live in a beautiful environment.

The Scottish Parliament has also in recent weeks legislated to establish a development agency in the south of Scotland, to put in place new measures around the age of criminal responsibility and this coming week will legislate on the arrangements for the management of offenders in the criminal justice system.

The environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham went to parliament to propose the most ambitious targets to tackle climate change that we have ever had in response to the obvious climate emergency that we face.

The first minister and Fergus Ewing were at the Royal Highland Show celebrating the enormous success of the government’s tree planting programme which is vital to support our efforts on climate change.

Whilst all this is going on we are seeing growing evidence of the closing of the property related attainment gap within the education, the expansion of early learning and the tackling of the unacceptable times that individuals are having to wait for essential hospital treatment.

Economic growth is rising in Scotland, unemployment is at its lowest level on record and we are seeing improvements in the performance of the rail network to provide effective transport connections for members of the public.

So although I would never say that everything is perfect, I do believe the Scottish Government can demonstrate that we have delivered significant improvements in the quality of life of individuals in Scotland in addition to taking the steps necessary to improve the legislative framework in which we operate.

At the same time it is utterly obvious that the Conservative government in the last 12 months has concentrated on nothing other than trying to address the internal division of the Conservative party on Europe.

They have virtually legislated for nothing and have tackled virtually no other significant issue facing the country as they have battled with each other on Europe.

The latest unedifying chapter in this disastrous story is the contest to become the next prime minister, which has already lost any of the credibility it might of had with members of the public.

As we look at a situation where three years after the EU referendum, in which Scotland voted decisively to remain in the EU, and the predictions that a No Deal Brexit will be disastrous for the farming industry we have to look afresh at our own future.

I do not believe that the current arrangements serve Scotland well and we need to take our own future into our own hands.