The leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats has accused the SNP of having a “vice-like grip” that is “centralising the life out of Scotland”.
On a visit to Inverness, Willie Rennie claimed Nicola Sturgeon’s party is “Edinburgh-knows-best government of the worst sort”.
He made the comments on the campaign trail with now just over a week until the Scottish Parliamentary elections on May 5.
Polls suggest the SNP is on course for victory, with a hard-fought battle for second between Labour and the Conservatives.
The Liberal Democrats are also hoping to increase their tally of five MSPs in the last parliament.
Last night, the SNP insisted their “manifesto spells out radical plans to hand more power than ever before to local communities”.
But Mr Rennie said: “The vice-like grip that the SNP government has over local authorities has made it almost impossible for them to take certain decisions based on what is best for their local communities.
“The SNP have centralised the life out of Scotland.”
The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader pointed to issues such as the deployment of armed officers on routine duties and the teacher recruitment crisis as examples of how “centralisation has had a chilling impact on local democracy”.
He added: “The SNP pay lip service to localism but the truth is that this is top-down, Edinburgh-knows-best government of the worst sort.
“People in places like the Highlands cannot wait any longer for the SNP to get serious about localism.”
But the SNP hit back and claimed Mr Rennie had a “lack of vision” that could leave his party “falling into fifth place”.
A spokesman said: “Willie Rennie’s claims are ridiculous – the reality is that the SNP manifesto spells out radical plans to hand more power than ever before to local communities the length and breadth of Scotland.
“If re-elected next Thursday, the SNP will introduce a Bill to decentralise local authority functions and budgets to communities, we will empower community councils to deliver local services and we can ensure that coastal communities benefit directly from revenues of the Crown Estate.
“Our record in government and bold vision to keep Scotland moving forward are why people can trust the SNP with both votes in this election. Meanwhile, the lack of vision from the Lib Dems leaves them at risk of falling into fifth place.”
