Growth report is ‘second biggest mistake of Sturgeon’s career’

Nicola Sturgeon has “panicked” and committed “the second biggest mistake of her career” by publishing a report suggesting an independent Scotland faces a decade of belttightening, Willie Rennie has said.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader claimed the SNP’S Growth Commission had been “astonishingly mishandled” and made it easier to argue for the Union.

“Nicola sounds increasingly desperate, almost panicky, about what she’s done,” Mr Rennie said, putting the report alongside the First Minister’s 0 Willie Rennie said report was ‘astonishingly mishandled’ abortive push for a second independence referendum.

“She’s obviously tried to bring a bit of realism to the independence message, but the realism now sounds dark and despondent… You’ve got a nationalist camp that’s divided as never before. Their criticisms of Brexit could equally be applied to independence. That’s the big opportunity”.

Mr Rennie joined Lucy Salek, the Lib Dem candidate in the Lewisham East by-election, at local charity Brighter Horizons, which stepped in to offer day services for adults with learning disabilities after the council shut drop-in centres.

Lewisham voted 2-to-1 to stay in the EU, and the Lib Dems hope to claim second place. Mr Rennie admitted the party’s national polling was “puzzling”, but said the Lib Dems would draw more support by demonstrating “winnability”.