By John Lamont MP
The SNP recently published their plans for the next year in a document called the Programme for Government.
This is supposed to be a list of the ways that they will improve people's lives over the next year.
But John Swinney's plans are just more of the same. There's very little new in what he's proposing, it's all just the same stuff that Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon promised and failed to deliver in the past.
My party had called for the SNP to focus on the things that really matter to your lives. We said they should set aside the usual nonsense that Holyrood wastes time on, such as gender reforms and independence.
Instead, we wanted to see a laser-focus on the issues that concern you most, such as bringing down bills, raising school standards, faster GP appointments, fixing the roads, and delivering better value for your money.
Those are the essential things that make a big difference to your lives which the SNP government should be prioritising.
Instead, John Swinney announced plans to once again spend taxpayers' money to promote independence and develop a new economic paper on separation.
That paper won't do anything to create jobs or support businesses. It will just be a waste of time, energy and resources. All it will find is that there is no economic case for independence.
John Swinney also proposed moving away from "high-stakes exams", which sounds like the SNP will do even more damage to our education system by abandoning the rigorous tests that we all sat when we were in school. It seems John Swinney is going to continue what he started as education secretary, when he let our education system slide down international league tables.
The Programme for Government didn't contain much that will help improve local services, which are struggling after years of SNP budget cuts.
You only have to look at the recent independent review of Live Borders services to see how acute the problems have become.
The proposals to close a number of buildings are concerning.
I am glad to see the council are looking closely at the review and carefully assessing local needs before taking a position.
I hope and expect they will rule out closing any essential services that people rely on.
Please get in touch with my office if you have concerns about the proposals in the Live Borders independent review.
