ANAS Sarwar has said Humza Yousaf’s Programme for Government is “not bold enough” as the Tories dug in over a lack of timeline for dualling the A9.
The First Minister’s first major policy programme announcement since he took office saw various attacks from the Unionist party leaders.
The Scottish Labour leader said that the announcement did not “match the scale” of the cost of living and NHS crises facing Scotland, and criticised a lack of planning to tackle A&E waiting times.
Douglas Ross demanded the FM set a date for dualling the A9 and said there was “nothing to back up” the commitment in the accompanying documents after the 2025 timeline was scrapped last term due to issues with procurement.
He also attacked the Scottish Government over the incoming short-term lets licensing scheme and said they wanted to shut down the North Sea oil and gas sector “as soon as possible”.
Both party leaders said the policy programme did nothing to help Scottish businesses, and likened his announcement to an imitation of his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon.
Sarwar (below) said the PfG showed the SNP had “lost its way, no clear direction, no sense of purpose and no central mission”, claiming they were trying to clear a mess of their own “incompetence and financial mismanagement”.
“Because the truth is Scotland needed a Programme for Government to match the scale of the twin crises hitting Scotland, the cost of living crisis and an NHS crisis,” he told the chamber.
“It took the First Minister 22 minutes to even mention our National Health Service because this package today isn’t good enough, it isn’t bold enough and it won’t do enough to confront those challenges.
“Families needed a government that was relentlessly focused on reducing their incomes in a cost of living crisis, but instead they have a government that will hit them with council tax and income tax rises.
“Scots also needed a clear plan to reduce A&E waiting times and confront the NHS crisis, instead too many of them are left waiting in pain while we push further into debt and people are forced to go private.
“We need a new vision and a meaningful strategy to fix the long underlying failure to fix these twin crises.”
Sarwar refused to take a number of interventions from SNP MSPs, including Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Sommerville, and spent the remainder of his speech setting out Labour Party policy over shouting from the SNP benches.
He also jibed that Scots would deliver “judgment” on the SNP government at the Rutherglen and Hamilton West Westminster by-election due to be held in October, a seat hotly contested by the SNP and Scottish Labour.
Elsewhere, Ross (below) challenged the FM to intervene in his response to the PfG in relation to dualling the A9.
In February 2023, then transport minister Jenny Gilruth said dualling the road by 2025 would be “simply unachievable”.
“He made the commitment that this Scottish Government, his Scottish Government, will dual the A9 from Perth to Inverness, so I say to the First Minister, when?” Ross asked.
The FM did not stand up in response after Ross said he would give way to any statement from Yousaf.
“The First Minister inserts this into the Programme for Government and claims this is a big announcement but there’s nothing to back it up,” Ross said.
“This is a crucial infrastructure project that is absolutely vital for Perthshire and the Highlands of Scotland, indeed, for connectivity across our country. We had the highest death rate on that road in 20 years, and the First Minister can’t say when his promise will be delivered.”
When the FM (below) did intervene after Ross attacked his NHS record, the Scottish Tory leader could be seen motioning to the Deputy Presiding Officer to ask how much time he had left.
After the exchange in the chamber, Ross accused Yousaf of being a “poor Nicola Sturgeon tribute act”, following similar comments made by Sarwar ahead of the announcement.
Both party leaders also attacked the FM for working with the “extremist Greens”, while Ross also hit out at Yousaf for mentioning independence before the NHS.
The FM had set out that the Scottish Government were working with “one hand tied behind their back”, an announcement met by groans from the opposition benches.
