Brian Whittle MSP has accused the Scottish Government of letting the country down by continuing to push ahead with plans for another independence referendum during the pandemic.
The Scottish Conservative MSP argues that the SNP are taking their eye off the ball when it comes to the pace of vaccinations in Scotland, but are making time for legislation on a second independence referendum.
The criticism came during a debate in Holyrood calling for the Scottish Government to concentrate its efforts on vaccine delivery and economic recovery rather than the constitution. This followed the announcement by the Michael Russell the Constitution Secretary that the SNP were setting out an 11-point plan for a second referendum. Opposition politicians roundly criticised the announcement at a time when there is growing concern that Scotland is lagging behind other UK nations in vaccination.
In Ayrshire, the percentage of people vaccinated is sitting between 5% and 7%, against a national average above 9%. GP organisations and other groups have also expressed concerns about the efficiency of the process for distributing vaccines.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“There’s no question that the SNP’s vaccine rollout has been slower than it could have been and that’s caused concern to people living across South Scotland.
While they should have been creating a vaccination taskforce to pick up the pace, the SNP have been spending time announcing new roadmaps and taskforces for independence.
When health workers and volunteers are working tirelessly to deliver the vaccine and so many others are wondering about the future of their job or their business as the economy recovers from Covid, it’s hard to understand why the Scottish Government believe any discussion of independence should be a priority.”
