Tavish ScottCommenting as the Scottish Government publishes its last Programme for Government, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott MSP said:

“Jobs must be the main objective of Government.

“We can no longer, after 3 and a half years of nationalism, have a government who put party before country. I want a Government for our nation whose approach is Scotland first, not the SNP. Alex Salmond is more interested in his own job, not that of the thousands of Scots worried about theirs.

“I warmly welcome Mr Salmond’s announcement that his campaign for re-election next May is based solely on independence.

“We can debate every day from this day as to what independence would mean. Would it mean less MRSA in Scotland’s hospitals in an independent Scotland? Would there still be 500 statisticians in an independent Scottish NHS as there are now? What would interest rates be and who would set them in an independent Scotland?

“Next May people can vote for independence by voting SNP. They won’t but at least they can.

“There will be no more clever Salmond tactic to tell people the SNP were somehow safe, when we now know their policies were in no danger of being delivered.

“This time it’s a classic high wire, total risk, all or nothing Salmond gamble – it’s independence or opposition.”