DESPERATE BID TO KEEP 'FLIMSY' NATS' RULE

JOHN SWINNEY made a series of embarrassing U-turns during his final Programme for Government in a desperate bid to keep the SNP in power beyond next year's Holyrood election.

- David Walker

Opponents accused of him "rehashing" old policies on the NHS and child poverty and "running down the clock" with a dearth of new legislation for the last 12 months of this parliamentary term.

The First Minister said peak rail fares would be scrapped from September 1, and promised to lift the ban on drinking alcohol on board ScotRail trains.

But his pledges on the health service including 100,000 additional GP appointments to end the "8am lottery" - came on the same day more woeful A&E waiting-time figures were published.

He was also undermined by his former boss, Nicola Sturgeon, making a rare appearance at Holyrood and breaking her silence on the Supreme Court trans ruling.

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay mocked Mr Swinney for the surprising number of empty seats in the SNP benches during his setpiece speech with Ms Sturgeon among those failing to turn up in person.

He said: "Today's flimsy programme for government is just more of the same from the SNP, and it will do little to restore public trust.

Mess

"No wonder that around one in three of their own MSPs could not be bothered to turn up to listen to this.