By John Lamont MP
In his first move since being reinstalled as First Minister, John Swinney pushed through a vote on independence in the Scottish Parliament.
I am mystified why Mr Swinney thinks independence should be his number one priority when there are so many other pressing issues that need our attention.
If he had focused on NHS waiting lists, fixing the roads or bringing down household bills, he could have had my support.
But to focus on independence seems to confirm that the SNP are distracted yet again by their obsession, instead of working hard to improve people's lives.
The other major political news recently also concerned the SNP. The party's former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon's ex-husband, Peter Murrell, pled guilty to embezzling hundreds of thousands of pounds of luxury goods from the SNP.
This story has shocked people to their core because of the huge number of luxury items that Mr Murrell bought using SNP party funds.
Nicola Sturgeon denied any knowledge of his actions and claimed to have been completely oblivious.
So, if we are to believe Ms Sturgeon, she had no idea that her husband had purchased a Jaguar iPace, a £124,550 motorhome, a Volkswagen Golf, two Bremont watches, two Montblanc fountain pens, salt and pepper grinders worth over £2,500, iPads, Kindles, a PlayStation 3, four Nintendo 3DS handheld consoles, £400 of Le Creuset mugs, and a £3,000 coffee machine.
If Ms Sturgeon's account is to be believed, it seems she is extraordinarily naive, gives no thought to anything happening around her, and pays no attention to detail whatsoever.
We are being asked to believe that the very same person who the SNP claimed was bright and astute is in fact the polar opposite.
You may ask why Ms Sturgeon's honesty and credibility matters now that she is no longer a frontline politician.
It concerns me, and I believe it should concern all of us, because during the time of Mr Murrell's crimes, the SNP repeatedly demanded independence, just like they did once again in the Scottish Parliament last week.
If they got their way, Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP would have been running the finances of a new country, when they couldn't run the finances of their own party.
Or, in Ms Sturgeon's case, the finances of her own household.
The SNP's bid for independence has always been financially reckless but only now is it becoming clear just how thoughtless it is.
