The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
‘Sturgeon must reshuffle Cabinet’
The Scottish Labour leader has called on the first minister to reshuffle her “failing” government.
Kezia Dugdale claims the SNP government’s record on education, health and the economy shows it is “not fit for purpose” and has “stopped listening and stopped working”.
She said: “Nicola Sturgeon has been sent a clear message to get back to the day job.
“She has spent so long obsessing about the constitution that she has forgotten what really matters to people – schools, hospitals and jobs.
“Her government has presided over 4,000 fewer teachers, while class sizes are up, Scotland is falling down international tables, teachers are under-paid and parents are being asked to fill-in in classrooms.
“A decade of SNP mismanagement of our NHS has left staff overworked, undervalued and under resourced, while the government refuses to lift the pay cap for nurses, and hospital services are threatened with closure. Health Secretary Shona Robison is failing patients and staff.
“And Scotland has a hidden jobs crisis in our labour market because the SNP is not doing enough to create high-quality, well-paid jobs.
“This SNP government is not fit for purpose because it has stopped listening and stopped working.
“It’s time for Nicola Sturgeon to reshuffle her failing government.”
SNP MSP Linda Fabiani said: “While the Tories and Labour one-trick ponies try to outdo each other in their obsession with independence, the SNP government is getting on with the job of delivering for Scotland.”