‘Decade of failure’ by SNP in government
NATIONALIST ministers have been attacked over a ‘decade of failure’ with claims they have broken more than 50 key manifesto promises.
As today marks ten years since the SNP came to power on May 3, 2007, the Scottish Conservatives have published a list of 51 Nationalist pledges which have since been broken by the Scottish Government.
The list points to a number of key areas such as education, healthcare and the Scottish economy, which is lagging behind the rest of the UK. The Tories claim the SNP has failed to deliver on its pledge to reduce class sizes, improve performance in reading, writing and maths, and slash the pupil-toteacher ratio which has led to Scotland falling in international education rankings.
On health, the Conservatives say the SNP has failed to introduce a maximum 18-week wait for treatment, increase early detection of cancer by a quarter or cut the number of anti-depressants prescribed.
Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Murdo Fraser said: ‘It’s a shameful record, and one that’s getting worse by the day. This is powerful evidence that a party in government obsessed by nothing other than the break-up of Britain is bad for Scotland. While Nicola Sturgeon, and Alex Salmond before her, have been focusing all their attention on the constitution, our schools, hospitals, police service and economy have suffered.’
The Labour Party has also attacked the Nationalists on their record of failure, adding that by agitating for a second independence referendum the SNP was breaking another pledge – that the 2014 vote would be a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity. Scottish Labour business manager James Kelly said: ‘A decade of SNP government has meant a decade of division for Scotland. Rather than break down the barriers that hold the poorest in our country from getting a fair chance in life, the SNP government has simply broken promise after promise.’
A Nationalist spokesman said last night: ‘Since the SNP was first elected as a minority government, Scotland has gone from strength to strength – and the public has repeatedly endorsed our record.’