‘Distracted’ by independence: Sturgeon attacked for ignoring Scotland’s REAL concerns
SCOTLAND’S First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been “distracted” in her dream to hold a second independence referendum and has ignored the real needs of the country, according to Ruth Davidson.
MSP Ruth Davidson rages at Sturgeon's independence plans
The leader of the Scottish Conservative party has launched an attack on what she sees as the dismal record of the ruling SNP party north of the border, saying that they are not “focused on the day job” in their zeal to hold another vote on the country’s status as part of the United Kingdom.
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, she laid into the likes of Mrs Sturgeon and the party’s former leader Alex Salmond: “Scotland is being run by a government that isn’t focused on the day job. It’s been like this for a decade.
“While Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond have been storming barricades, they’ve forgotten to mind the shop… That’s what happens when you get distracted.”
Ms Davidson then savaged the party’s track record on domestic issues such as “education, the NHS, enterprise” all fell short and were lacking adequate funding.
While Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond have been storming barricades, they’ve forgotten to mind the shop… That’s what happens when you get distracted
Referencing a school in Blairgowrie that had sent a letter to parents asking if anyone could teach maths as they were so short of funds, Ms Davidson wrote: “Flags for a referendum campaign, tick. Flights to European capitals to muster support for independence, tick. Maths teachers… er, get back to you. And on it goes.”
Ms Davidson also claimed the Scottish police were desperately short of funds with patrol cars being held together by “duct tape and cable ties” and also accused the SNP of underfunding the NHS there, saying the country was short of “almost 850 GPs.”
Ms Davidson, who has lead the Tories north of the border since 2011, also claimed the SNP had mismanaged the country’s finances by overspending by £1 billion “with major projects from hospitals to bridges over-budget or delayed.”
The 38-year-old continued: “Running a country takes focus. Reforming services takes concentration.
“It takes real leadership to make tough calls on what gets money, or where and how and by whom schools and hospitals should be run.
“There’s more than enough to be getting on with. But independence means that already challenging task is ignored.
“Every second spent plotting the next move on the constitution is a second that should have been spent elsewhere.
“Every time Nicola Sturgeon gazes at her political chess board and ponders her next move, she’s not looking at the steadily mounting pile of other, much more urgent, issues in her in-tray.”