SNP like a broken record on Independence, Scottish Labour claims

Scottish Labour has stepped up its attacks on the SNP by using a new election broadcast to accuse leader Nicola Sturgeon of “playing a broken record'' with demands for another independence referendum.

With just a few days of General Election campaigning left, the party has challenged the First Minister's record in government and claimed she offers “the same old answer for everything'' - another vote on independence.

The broadcast claims that areas such as health and education have suffered as a result of a focus on constitutional politics.

It comes as the SNP leader warned that votes for Labour “risk letting Tory MPs in by the back door''.

Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said Ms Sturgeon's administration at Holyrood had presided over reductions in teachers and cuts to local government funding.

She said the Scottish Government has also failed to tackle A&E waiting times and had presided over a real-terms pay cut for nurses.

Ms Dugdale said: “On Thursday, people can send Nicola Sturgeon a message that she should focus on the day job, rather than forcing another independence referendum that people in Scotland don't want.

“After ten years of the SNP campaigning for independence, Scotland's schools and hospitals have suffered.

“Nicola Sturgeon's answer is another referendum - she is playing a broken record.''

Ms Dugdale also insisted that, contrary to the message the election is a two-horse race in Scotland between the SNP and the Conservatives, Labour is best-placed to beat the nationalists “in the majority of seats across Scotland''.

These include Edinburgh South, East Lothian, Lanark and Hamilton East, Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, Midlothian, and Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, the Labour leader said.