SCOTTISH LABOUR has accused the SNP of diminishing Scotland’s potential, as a string of reports confirm the economy is being allowed to fall behind.

Data published earlier this month by the Scottish Fiscal Commission revealed that Scotland’s recovery from the pandemic has been the weakest of any nation and most regions in the UK.

The commission claimed this is stifling job creation and wage growth, with devastating effects for both household and public finances.

Labour has said that the SNP is “playing fast and loose with people’s livelihoods,” as another report from the CBI shows that Scotland lags behind other parts of the UK and international competitors in nine out of 13 productivity indicators. 

The SNP has failed to respond to Scotland’s economic challenges and the shock of the pandemic, Labour said, urging the party to publish their belated National Strategy for Economic Transformation. 

The document, which was promised in the autumn of this year, promised “bold ideas on how to transform the Scottish economy.”

Scottish Labour’s finance and economy spokesperson Daniel Johnson said: “Years of dwindling Scotland’s potential with failed economic policies left us teetering on the brink before the pandemic hit, and now it will make our recovery an uphill battle.

“This is real money not making it into people’s pockets or public coffers, driving rising poverty and cuts to services.  

“The SNP will deliver their timid budget, lamenting the things they can’t afford to do — all the while ignoring the cost of their own economic mismanagement. They are playing fast and loose with people’s livelihoods.

“They must get a grip on these mounting problems and deliver the ambitious economic strategy and recovery plan we have been waiting for.”

The Scottish government was approached for comment.