The leader of the Scottish Conservatives has accused the SNP of “taking their eye off the ball” on rural issues.
Ruth Davidson used a visit to Aberdeenshire to claim the “failure” to deliver millions of pounds of CAP payments on time was damaging people’s livelihoods.
Her comments came as Labour’s Neil Findlay lashed out against the Tories over their “unravelling” justice policies.
Polling suggests the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour are locked in a fierce battle for second place, while the SNP continue to retain a commanding lead.
Ms Davidson, who was speaking during a visit to the Thainstone Mart, said: “For many people in Scotland, the election campaign may be grabbing the attention, but the fact is that thousands of farmers and crofters are still waiting to receive their CAP payments from the Scottish Government.
“This was a failure of the SNP Government’s making and I have been speaking to farmers to discuss how best we ensure it is avoided in the future.
“We are talking about people’s livelihoods and a key sector in our economy, but the SNP had taken their eye off the ball on this and many other issues.
“Indeed, Nicola Sturgeon did not act until hundreds of farmers were preparing for a mass protest outside Holyrood, while
Scottish Conservative MSPs were calling for a full independent inquiry into the fiasco.”
The SNP has said “great efforts” have been made to ensure farmers do not miss out on payments – and have accused some members of Ms Davidson’s party of threatening to cut off support for farmers “altogether” by backing leaving the EU.
Meanwhile Scottish Labour’s Mr Findlay said the Tories policy of “swift and certain” prison sentences risked harming the penal system in Scotland.
His comments came after Philip Fairlie of the Prison Officers Association branded the policy “naive and confused”.
Mr Findlay said: “It only took 24 hours for Ruth Davidson’s manifesto to start to unravel.
“This policy risks creating a revolving door into Scotland’s prisons and putting hardworking prison staff under pressure.
“It’s no surprise that the Prison Officer’s Association have attacked it in such strong terms.
“Ruth Davidson now needs to come clean about how much this plan would cost and how it would work.
“This is not the way to reduce offending and re-offending in Scotland. Scottish Labour will set out proposals in our manifesto that put prevention first and make sure that people feel safe in their homes and their communities.”
