Scotland’s Innovation Week debate tests SNP policy as NHS strains and independence loom

EDINBURGH — In a high‑stakes session at Holyrood, Scottish opposition leaders pressed the SNP government over the pace and effectiveness of its innovation policy. Tory leader Russell Findlay cited the Scottish Government’s Innovation Scorecard, saying the data show declines in more than half the targets and arguing the government’s strategy has stifled rather than spurred innovation.

Findlay brandished a printout of the scorecard and told lawmakers that Scotland is behind every English region and even several European peers. He framed the debate as a test of whether the SNP’s long‑standing pro‑growth rhetoric translates into real results, warning that independence talk cannot mask weak performance in crucial growth metrics.

During the exchange, Deputy First Minister John Swinney cited the government’s commitment to growth, saying, “Economic growth is central to the government’s agenda” and pointing to Kate Forbes’s work to boost collaboration between the games industry and Scottish universities.

Findlay pressed back on independence, arguing that full powers would empower economic development. The First Minister denounced the doom‑laden analysis and, in a dig at the opposition’s stance, reaffirmed the union as the framework within which Scotland pursues growth. He also echoed the broader point that independence would come with trade‑offs that require hard choices, while reiterating that those who argue independence is a simple solution are overlooking the broader economic picture.

In the same exchange, Swinney asserted that Scotland is competitive within the UK, while acknowledging the political reality that the union shapes the country’s policy levers. He also implied that the independence argument remains central to ongoing debates about Scotland’s economic strategy, a point Findlay used to illustrate ongoing friction between the two sides.

The discussion then shifted to the public‑health arena, with Anas Sarwar, the Labour leader, pressing the First Minister on the state of the National Health Service. Sarwar cited preventable deaths and long waits in A&E as a barometer of NHS performance, challenging the government to provide a credible plan for faster and safer care. Swinney defended the government’s record by arguing that recovery dynamics post‑Covid and workforce pressures are intertwined with broader policy decisions at Westminster, including immigration controls that affect staffing.

“What does John Swinney say to mothers who can’t access the maternity care they need because of his government’s incompetence?” Sarwar demanded, underscoring a 2018 controversy in Stranraer where a maternity clinic briefly closed. Swinney replied by highlighting that staffing flows depend on international workers and that immigration policies, controlled at Westminster, influence the NHS’s ability to recruit the personnel it needs. He emphasized that Scotland’s health service relies on the broader United Kingdom framework for workforce supply, a point that underscored the tension between devolved and reserved powers.

The session also touched on the 2018 temporary closure of Stranraer’s maternity service, with speakers tying the issue to wider concerns about access to care and the capacity of the NHS. The exchange reflected how the devolved government’s ability to deliver health and growth strategies can be constrained by the broader political relationship with the UK government and by migration rules that affect staffing—and how those constraints shape public perceptions of government competence.

As the session concluded, Findlay’s questions remained firmly rooted in independence as a vehicle for economic renewal, while Swinney and the government sought to anchor the debate in concrete metrics, growth policies, and health service delivery. The clash illustrated the enduring divide over Scotland’s future path: endorsement of the union’s institutional framework versus a push for full powers to pursue a distinctly Scottish growth agenda. The exchange at Holyrood underscored how debates over innovation, independence, and NHS funding remain central to Scotland’s political calendar and to its standing on the world stage.