Sturgeon: Back me to 'get on with the job' of COVID recovery

Nicola Sturgeon has urged voters to back her party to ensure a reopening of society and a lasting economic recovery following the pandemic.

With just three days until the polls open, the SNP leader will today visit the south of the country where she will urge voters to elect an "experienced government" which will "get on with the job" of pandemic recovery. 

Sturgeon is expected to say the election amounts to a clear choice between her experience or opposition parties "which have retreated into negativity and scaremongering".

She is expected to say: “Every vote for the SNP is a vote for our plan for record investment to protect and remobilise our NHS.

“It’s a vote to ensure that, once the immediate COVID crisis has passed, and only then, that the people of Scotland have the right to choose the kind of recovery they want, investment and optimism for Scotland, or austerity from the Tories.

“We have had a challenging year, and we are not out of the woods, but I am optimistic about Scotland’s future. I know that if we all continue working together as we have done over the last year, we can control COVID, get on with the job of opening our society back up, and build a lasting economic recovery that benefits everyone."

Yesterday, Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross attacked Sturgeon, claiming she intends to hold a second independence referendum before Scotland has fully recoverd from the pandemic.

His comments came after a BBC interview in which Sturgeon was pressed over the timing of a second referendum.

Ross said: "The threat has never been more real. Sturgeon is explicit. If she secures a Holyrood majority, she will hold a damaging and divisive referendum while Scotland is still reeling from the impact of COVID.

"This is beyond irresponsible. When our Scottish Parliament should be entirely focused on rebuilding and recovery, Sturgeon will plunge us into chaos and uncertainty."

He added: "If pro-UK voters lend the Scottish Conservatives their vote on the peach-coloured party list ballot paper, they can prevent an SNP majority and stop another referendum.”

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar will today meet teachers in Glasgow, where he will urge voters to use their second vote for Labour to prevent what his party calls "the SNP’s failures on education" creating a "lost generation" of children.