Welcome for Swinney's rail announcement

The Tories called it flimsy, Labour claimed it stole their ideas and the Lib Dems said it lacked ambition.

- Ian Swanson

John Swinney's programme for government, unveiled last week, was variously attacked for not doing enough to tackle the housing emergency, falling on the climate crisis and lacking the scale and urgency to meet targets for cutting child poverty.

Mr Swinney brought forward the announcement from September to now so he would have "a full year of delivery" before the Holyrood elections.

There were pledges of 150,000 extra appointments and procedures before the next election, an increase in drug and alcohol rehab places and more cash to reduce the poverty-related attainment gap.