THE SNP have issued a withering response after the Scottish Conservatives claimed that spending public money on independence planning is an “abuse of Government resources” and unveiled plans to ban it.
The Tory manifesto, which will be published next month, will also pledge to prevent civil servants working on independence papers and abolish the role of constitution secretary, which is currently held by Angus Robertson.
Should Russell Findlay’s Tories win power, they have also pledged an addition to the Scottish civil service code which would enforce the neutrality of Government employees on the issue of independence, meaning they would have to refuse to carry out work advocating either leaving the Union or another referendum on the issue.
However, the SNP have dismissed the policy proposals out of hand, with MSP George Adam saying: “You have to feel a bit sorry for Russell Findlay at this stage – my plans for St Mirren winning the Champions League hold more weight than this.”
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Adam went on: “The chances of the Tories being in government are zero and the only thing Russell Findlay needs to plan is which golf course he’s going to run down the days on after the election.
“A fresh start with independence offers Scots a chance to break free from a scandal-ridden Westminster and build Scotland anew – Russell Findlay and his dwindling supporters have precisely nothing to offer the people of Scotland.”
The Tories managed to equal their record 2016 Holyrood result in 2021 after running a campaign angled against independence, positioning themselves as the tactical Unionist choice to oppose the SNP's plans for a second referendum.
However, polling shows that the Unionist vote has been split by the emergence of Reform UK, meaning they may struggle to win success by deploying the same tactics again.
Unveiling his policy proposals, Scottish Conservative leader Findlay said: “Scottish taxpayers are sick and tired of SNP ministers squandering their hard-earned cash on pro-independence propaganda.
“It’s outrageous that supposedly neutral civil servants are being forced to work on promoting John Swinney’s lifelong obsession with breaking up the UK.”
He continued: “Enough is enough, this abuse of Government resources must stop – and the Scottish Conservatives’ proposals would ensure it does.
“We’d also dispense with the totally unnecessary role of constitution secretary.
“For years, John Swinney and co have neglected the day job to relentlessly focus on independence and, as a result, our public services are in meltdown and household bills have gone through the roof.
“We know this will intensify if the SNP win in May, because John Swinney has told us he has a ‘secret plan’ for independence.
“But the public can prevent this happening by voting Scottish Conservative on their peach ballot to stop an SNP majority.”
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