Russell Findlay has questioned whether John Swinney can deliver the sweeping reform of Scotland’s public services announced in his Programme for Government, accusing the SNP administration of having a poor record of turning major promises into results.
The Scottish Conservative leader welcomed recognition that the structure of public services needs to change, but claimed the First Minister’s programme was “big on rhetoric” while offering too little detail about how those reforms would actually be achieved.
Swinney has put public service reform at the centre of his plans for the next five years, including replacing Scotland’s 14 territorial health boards with two strategic boards and examining substantial reform of local governance.
Findlay argued that previous attempts at major structural change should leave the public sceptical about whether the government can deliver its latest plans.
He pointed towards the creation of Police Scotland and the abandoned National Care Service proposals as examples of what he described as a poor record on reform.
Findlay also attacked proposals including food price caps and an expansion of GP walk in centres, describing the wider programme as being characterised by “meddling and gimmicks”.
The Conservative leader said:
“John Swinney’s Programme for Government was big on rhetoric, but painfully thin on detail.
“My party is delighted that the First Minister finally agrees with us that Scotland’s public sector is bloated and inefficient under the SNP, and that we need to see cuts within it.
“But I have very little faith in his and his ministers’ ability to deliver the reforms that are desperately needed.
‘Their track record is dire.
“Just look at the mess they have made of Police Scotland which lurches from one crisis to another, or the millions they squandered on their abandoned National Care Service.
“The public will rightly be suspicious because they have heard it all before from the nationalists.
“They are big on ideas, but abysmal on delivery.
“All of this is a huge distraction from the £5billion blackhole looming in Scotland’s finances.
“A blackhole which the SNP are entirely responsible for after two decades of scandalous waste, incompetence and reckless spending, including on their ballooning benefits bill.
“Swinney’s plans for the years ahead are characterised by meddling and gimmicks.
“They are designed to get him headlines, rather than being common sense ideas that will deliver positive changes for people in Scotland.”
Findlay also criticised Swinney’s commitment to pursue independence, describing the proposed referendum legislation as “Zombie legislation brought back from the dead to act as a dangerous distraction.”
He said:
“Continuing to pursue his lifelong dreams of breaking up the United Kingdom when he should be focused on what really matters to Scots.
“Swinney has been at the heart of this failing SNP government for nearly the entire time they have been in power, and his record is one where there has always been a huge gulf between his rhetoric and his delivery.”
