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Lib Dem call to ditch referendum Scott: 'End independence panto'
(about 15 hours later)
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott is to demand the Scottish Government ditches its planned independence referendum. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott has demanded the Scottish Government ditches its planned independence referendum.
Mr Scott will tell his party's conference that Holyrood ministers should focus on tackling the recession. Mr Scott told the SNP to drop the "independence panto" and focus on tackling the recession.
He will say debating the minority SNP government's Referendum Bill is a waste of taxpayers' cash. At the Scottish Lib Dem conference, he branded the SNP government's planned Referendum Bill a waste of cash
The leader's keynote speech will come a day after he told BBC he could never fully rule out a referendum. Mr Scott said economic recovery was his party's top priority, and called for more powers for Holyrood to achieve it.
Holyrood ministers currently do not have enough parliamentary support to pass the bill. Attacking the SNP in his first Scottish conference speech as leader, Mr Scott said: "You cannot waste taxpayers' money, government time and parliamentary debates on a cause that the country doesn't want and the economy can't bear. Nothing has made me angrier than to see jobs and businesses threatened on such a scale by the banking crisis Tavish ScottScottish Lib Dem leader
Government time "Ditch the referendum. Forget the spin and politics of the independence panto. Put the needs of Scotland before the interests of the SNP."
"The job of any first minister is to work day and night, non-stop on the real needs of the country", Mr Scott will tell delegates in Perth. Mr Scott's address to delegates in Perth came a day after he told BBC he could never fully rule out a referendum, which the Scottish Government currently does not have enough parliamentary support to stage.
"It's about three things - jobs, jobs jobs." Hitting out at "greedy bankers", Mr Scott went on to say the economy had been "brought low".
In his first Scottish Liberal Democrat Conference speech since becoming leader, Mr Scott will set out economic recovery and protecting jobs has his top priorities. He added: "The recession is not an economic theory but a brash reality for every business, home and citizen in Scotland today."
He will say: "As we all turn our focus to jobs, let me say this to the SNP. The Lib Dem leader accused the prime minister for "fixing" the takeover of Scottish-based bank HBOS by Lloyds, when he said it should have remained independent.
"You cannot waste taxpayers' money, government time and parliamentary debates on a cause that the country doesn't want and the economy can't bear. He added: "The country knows the banking shambles is Labour's shambles. Gordon Brown's shambles."
"Ditch the referendum." Mr Scott said the financial crisis had also shown shadow chancellor George Osborne to be how "useless".
He added: "A man who thinks a bank crisis is when you forget the pin number on your Coutts gold card.
"Nothing has made me angrier than to see jobs and businesses threatened on such a scale by the banking crisis - yet the Tories have nothing to say."