Nicola Sturgeon tells Douglas Ross he'll never reach the 'dizzying heights' of 'mediocrity')

Again the current finance secretary stated that the current SNP Government leaves trains that never run on time a police service stretched to breaking point and record-high levels of unmet demand Waiting times in our NHS—that’s a quote sorted for every Scottish Conservative leaflet going forward And there’s even more material we can use Kate Forbes said More of the same isn't a manifesto—it's an acceptance of mediocrity The First Minister might expect to hear that from me But did she really expect to hear that from her own finance secretary I am fully aware that for Douglas Ross mediocrity is a dizzying peak he has never come close to reaching There is also no doubt whatsoever about where Douglas Ross is currently in opposition and he's going to stay in opposition for a very long time to come Helpfully—and he has been exceptionally helpful today I’m truly grateful—he’s taken me into other subject matters So briefly Presiding Officer he spoke about crime Let us instead discuss the record of my Government which was endorsed eight times over the course of eight years under my leadership by the Scottish people Crime fell by over 40 percent Violent crime alone dropped by 40 percent Automatic early release— Excuse me First Minister Let's have one speaker at a time please Automatic early release ended of course opposed by the Scottish Conservatives We are seeing reoffending rates at their lowest levels ever The highest number of police officers ever recorded during any previous Scottish administration—higher proportionally than ever before stronger than in any other part of the UK—has strengthened the law on domestic abuse Then there's transport ScotRail is publicly owned and fares are lower on average compared to when the Tories are in power There is £11 billion invested in rail infrastructure The M74 completed the Aberdeen bypass bill the Queensferry Crossing bill—the e highest investment in active travel of any UK nation I could go on Presiding Officer and I am happy to do so later on