Salmond’s ‘legacy of failure’
Salmond bows out, leaving a ‘split country and failures’
ALEX Salmond was last night accused of ‘failing’ the people of Scotland as his reign as SNP leader draws to an end.
The First Minister was quizzed by opposition leaders as he prepared to hand over to Nicola Sturgeon after his defeat in the independence referendum.
Labour said his legacy was a ‘divided’ country following his relentless drive to tear apart the United Kingdom, while the Tories blasted him for failing to improve educational standards or the struggling economy.
A final ‘report card’, using the Scottish Government’s own figures, shows the Nationalist administration is currently meeting only two out of 11 key targets set by ministers.
But Mr Salmond insisted the SNP had a ‘substantial record of achievement’ in government, as he soaked up applause from Holyrood colleagues.
ALEX Salmond was yesterday accused of leaving behind a ‘divided’ country as he received his final Holyrood grilling as First Minister.
Labour and the Tories claimed he departs office with a legacy of failure in health, education, justice and the economy.
In the wake of his referendum defeat, Mr Salmond will officially quit as SNP leader this morning before formally resigning as First Minister next week.
Mr Salmond insisted the SNP has a ‘substantial record of achievement’ in government as he soaked up the applause from Cabinet colleagues and backbenchers during his last First Minister’s Questions.
He pointed out that he was facing his tenth Labour leader or caretaker leader, with Jackie Baillie asking the questions while the leadership contest continues.
There were light-hearted moments during the exchange, although tempers frayed as they have so often during the previous 214 encounters since Mr Salmond seized power in 2007.
‘Blinkered by wish for independence’
Mrs Baillie signed off her questioning with a single barbed comment: ‘Cheerio.’
The Tories said the Scottish Government’s own ‘performance indicators’ show the Nationalist administration is currently meeting only two out of 11 key targets.
The party also published figures which show Mr Salmond has earned more than £1million in wages since 2007, made nearly 3,500 limousine journeys and spent at least £120,000 on foreign trips.
Today, Mr Salmond will deliver his final speech as First Minister to SNP supporters at the party’s annual conference in Perth. He will be greeted like a rock star and will promise the crowd that independence ‘will’ happen.
‘When the history of independence is written, September 18, 2014, will be remembered as the most significant breakthrough i n Scottish political history,’ he will say.
Ahead of next week’s Scotland v England football friendly at Parkhead, which will be his final engagement as First Minister, he will reference the famous World Cup 1966 commentary and say of the fight for separation: ‘They thought it was all over…well, it isn’t now.’
But Labour’s Mrs Baillie said the referendum debate caused divisions that have yet to heal. She joked: ‘There are many words I could have used to describe the First Minister: humble, sensitive, modest, meek – perhaps even bashful.
‘It’s interesting that he didn’t use the word “proud”, because if I were him, I wouldn’t be entirely proud of this Government’s record, either.’
She added: ‘The real tragedy is that he was so blinkered by his passion for independence that powers he already had – powers to tackle poverty, to reduce inequality to deliver social justice – were pushed into second place.
‘For the last seven years, the First Minister has used his age- old excuse that somehow it was Westminster’s fault. Is it not the case that his real legacy is leaving Scotland more divided than ever?”
She said Mr Salmond’s failings include:
A fall in the number of teachers of over 4,000 since 2007;
Chaos in community policing following the merger of the country’s forces;
Broken promises on hospital bed numbers and a failure to meet A&E waiting time targets;
Housing supply that is not meeting demand;
Increased child poverty and a rise in youth unemployment.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson published data from the Gov- ernment’s Scotland Performs website, which shows that targets to match GDP growth rate of small EU countries by 2017, increase healthy life expectancy and rank among the top countries for productivity are not being met.
She said: ‘We are used to Alex Salmond being economical with the truth, but even he can’t dispute his own figures. The First Minister’s own Government’s report card
‘Scotland deserves
a new start’
shows that out of 11 key targets, they have met just two.
‘As he leaves office, he cannot ignore the fact that his legacy includes a failed education policy and increased disappointment in public services. Alex Salmond would rather pat himself on the back and pretend he has done a good job when a glance at the meas- ures he has set himself shows he’s failed. He has been so obsessed in pursuing his policy of breaking up the UK he has taken his eye off the ball in working to improve the everyday lives of people in Scotland. ‘Scotland deserves a new start.’ But Mr Salmond said: ‘There have been substantial achievements – if I could name but two, the reintroduction of free higher education in Scotland and, looking forward, the introduction of free school meals in primaries one to three, I think that’s a substantial move forward.’
Addressing Mrs Baillie, he added: ‘If I could offer her one piece of advice, which she could translate to her leader, whoever that may be: People in Scotland no longer know what the Labour Party stands for but they do know who they stood with in the referendum campaign.
‘Any political party in alliance with the Tory Party i s destined for destruction in Scotland and that is exactly what is happening.’