John Swinney has been accused of pursuing another independence referendum instead of concentrating on the NHS, ferries and greater powers for local communities.

Scottish Liberal Democrat MSP David Green made the criticism following today’s meeting between the First Minister and nationalist leaders from Wales and Northern Ireland.

Swinney met Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth, Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O’Neill in Cardiff on Monday 14 September.

The four leaders signed a memorandum committing their parties to greater cooperation and calling on the UK Government to prepare for potential constitutional change.

But Green said the SNP had failed to secure the majority it wanted at the election to pursue another referendum and argued that the First Minister should instead concentrate on problems facing people across Scotland.

He singled out NHS waiting times and the continuing importance of ferry services to island communities among the issues he believes should command Swinney’s attention.

Green said:

“The SNP did not achieve the majority they craved at this election to pursue another referendum.

“That is because they have let people down on the issues that matter, from the long waits in our NHS, to the ferries our island communities depend on.”

The Liberal Democrat MSP also used his response to challenge the way power is distributed within Scotland itself.

He argued that the Scottish Government has become too centralised and said Swinney should have used the meeting to discuss ways of transferring greater power to local communities.

Green added:

“The First Minister should look in the mirror and acknowledge he presides over a government that is far too centralised.

“He should have used this summit to find common purpose in pushing power out to communities.

“Those are the reforms that people, particularly those I serve in the Highlands, are yearning for.”

The criticism comes as constitutional politics moves back towards the centre of debate following today’s Cardiff meeting.

The SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein have committed to working together on areas including the economy, renewable energy, European cooperation and national self determination.

Their memorandum states that constitutional change is coming and calls for the UK Government to prepare for and facilitate that change in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Green’s intervention offers a sharply different argument, questioning whether another independence campaign reflects the priorities of voters and placing particular emphasis on the everyday pressures facing Highland and island communities.

It also shifts part of the constitutional argument away from the relationship between Edinburgh and Westminster towards the balance of power between the Scottish Government and Scotland’s own communities.