Holyrood should go into recess before the EU referendum so MSPs can hit the campaign trail, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have claimed.
Business could still be scheduled in the Scottish Parliament in the run up to June 23 – despite it not sitting in the weeks before the Independence Referendum in 2014.
North East MSP Mike Rumbles said there was a “strong case” to “clear the decks” ahead of next month’s In/Out vote.
The Liberal Democrat said such a move would a “clear signal” the SNP are “serious about winning this referendum and are not just carping from the side lines”.
The SNP’s Humza Yousaf said the Nationalists were “taking nothing for granted” ahead of the vote.
Polls have continuously suggested the majority of Scots will back staying with Brussels, with the contest in England being much tighter.
Mr Rumbles said: “It was right that the Scottish Parliament did not sit in the weeks before the independence referendum.
“This gave MSPs and staff at Holyrood the opportunity to get out there and make the case for Better Together or the Yes campaign.
“There is a month to go until the EU poll and no one is suggesting that we suspend Holyrood until this question is resolved. But there is a strong case for the final week of the EU campaign to be about our place in Europe and nothing else.”
He claimed the SNP had “so far spent most of their time on the EU campaign trail criticising the official Remain campaign and speculating over what Brexit would mean for the case for independence”.
He added: “That is not the way to persuade people to vote to stay in the EU. Working with other parties to clear the decks at Holyrood would be a clear signal that they are serious about winning this referendum and are not just carping from the side lines.”
But Mr Yousaf, who is campaign director of SNP In Europe, said: “We take absolutely nothing for granted and will continue working hard highlighting the key social benefits of our EU membership right up until June 23rd.
“There is a strong, positive, progressive case for staying in Europe and the SNP will make it loudly and clearly over the next month – and everyone who wants to see the UK vote to remain in the EU should commit to doing the same.”
