FOLLOWING the shock resignation of Nicola Sturgeon just over a month ago, we now find ourselves quickly approaching the end of what has been a rather eye-opening SNP leadership contest.

Firstly, we saw several supposedly leading figures within the SNP refuse to stand in the contest at all – hardly a vote of confidence in the party’s future prospects.

The contest then faced accusations of secrecy, as the SNP decided to ban journalists from covering their hustings events – before being forced to quickly U-turn.

When the contest finally began, instead of focusing on their vision for how to tackle the major challenges facing Scotland in the coming years, the candidates began waging civil war with each other.

Far from leaving it to opposition politicians, such as I, to point out that the SNP government has failed to make trains run on time, stretched our police to breaking point, and left our NHS with record-high waiting times – the SNP are now doing this themselves.

But anyone who had hoped that a new first minister would mean a new direction for Scottish politics, one that is focused on the country’s real priorities, will be sorely disappointed. Because the clearest theme of all from this leadership contest has been that every candidate has placed their obsession with independence front and centre of their campaign.

So, whilst this civil war wages on within the SNP, the UK Government has remained hard at work to deliver for Scotland when it announced its Spring Budget.

This budget will grow the economy, reduce inflation, and continue to support people through the cost of living crisis. This includes keeping the Energy Price Guarantee at its current level until at least the summer, which will continue to protect all households from high energy prices.

The budget will also provide the Scottish Government with an extra £320million to spend on public services here in Scotland.

The onus is now on the SNP to ensure this funding is used where it is needed the most, including on services such as the NHS and to help families who are struggling to make ends meet.

But for now, the SNP leadership candidates are too preoccupied with debating their plans for separation to worry about actually having to govern a country.

No doubt, they are also busy coming to terms with their own failures in government over the last 15 years, as well as the fact that their party membership has dropped like a stone in the last year alone – with 30,000 members having quit.

But regardless of the SNP’s endless campaign for a second independence referendum, and regardless of their new-found love of bitter infighting, we can be assured that at least one of Scotland’s governments remains entirely focused on its day job.

With their Spring Budget, the UK Government has delivered for Scotland. And regardless of how the SNP leadership contest ends next week, it will soon be the turn of the new first minister to do the same.