A TORY MSP has criticised the SNP for holding a debate on the constitution as the Scottish Parliament heads into its last week of business before recess.
MSPs will debate the publication of the latest paper in the Building a New Scotland series in Holyrood on Wednesday.
Launched by First Minister Humza Yousaf and Minister for Independence Jamie Hepburn last week, the white paper focused on creating a constitution for an independent Scotland and the process to bring this into law following a Yes vote.
We previously told how the FM set out key policy strands including protecting the right to strike, protecting the NHS, enshrining human rights in law, potentially getting rid of King Charles as head of state, and banning nuclear weapons from Scotland.
And, on Tuesday June 27, MSPs will debate the publication of the document "Creating a modern constitution for an independent Scotland".
However, Scottish Tory MSP Jamie Greene fumed on social media: “3 sitting days left of the @ScotParl before a 2 month hiatus. Of all the things the SNP could debate, the: crisis in dentistry, delayed education reform, delayed Agriculture Bill, latest damning ferry report, NHS waiting times.
“You guessed it, a 3 hr debate on the constitution.”
Yousaf launched the whitepaper in Glasgow last week
Greene added a yawning emoji to the end of his post, with a screenshot of the parliamentary timetable for Tuesday.
A number of social media users urged Greene and the Tories to boycott the debate.
However, others were more supportive. One wrote: “Well done @theSNP, it's about time a political party takes the future Scottish Constitution seriously. No one else seems to be doing so. Which is probably why corruption is so rife in the UK government.”
Another added: “The constitution is a very important issue. Meanwhile, your party have caused so much misery for the whole of the UK. Your party have sent the country into a downward spiral of chaos & you think the constitution is not worth discussing? #IndyRef2.”
Holyrood has a packed parliamentary schedule ahead of recess on July 1.
Tuesday will see MSPs debate Westminster's Illegal Migration Bill and a ministerial statement on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill, previously blocked by the Supreme Court, before the debate on the constitution.
The motion reads: “That the Parliament welcomes the publication of Creating a modern constitution for an independent Scotland and the opportunity that it sets out for the people of Scotland to directly shape a new, modern and more democratic country with constitutional safeguards for human rights and based on the constitutional tradition of the sovereignty of the people.”
This will be followed by a legislative consent debate on provisions for electronic trade documents.
