THE Scottish Tories have mentioned the SNP more than themselves in their manifesto for the Holyrood election, just hours after being accused of having "no vision".

The Tories referenced the SNP 81 times in their 60-page plan to “Rebuild Scotland”, but mentioned their own party only 66 times.

In contrast, the SNP manifesto last week mentioned the SNP 106 times and the Tories just three times, with Boris Johnson getting two namedrops and Westminster 13.

The Tories also mentioned the word “referendum” more than “NHS” in today's manifesto, with the former getting 30 mentions and the latter 26, although “health”, “school” and “business” all got more than a referendum. 

READ MORE: Douglas Ross warns Nicola Sturgeon's Indyref2 plan would mean 'economic chaos'

Launching it this morning in Glasgow, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said his manifesto was a “positive policy programme, focused on rebuilding Scotland after the worst year many of us faced in living memory”.

He said the plans, including a £600m one-off fund to help the NHS clear a treatment backlog left over from the pandemic, would ensure a sound recovery from coronavirus and lockdown.

READ MORE: Scottish Tories ask voters to back them 'this one time' to stop Indyref2

However he said the recovery was also threatened by the SNP’s desire to hold a second independence referendum.

The Tory manifesto also included tax breaks for the better off, including a raising of the threshold at which house sales tax is paid from £145,000 to £250,000, and an end to council car parking charges to help motorists which would cost around £45m a year.

Boris Johnson has already refused to give Holyrood the power it needs to hold Indyref2, saying the No vote of 2014 should stand for around 40 years.

However Nicola Sturgeon has said a pro-independence majority of MSPs after May would be a mandate for a fresh vote by the end of 2023, Covid permitting.

Mr Ross today appealed to people who had never voted Tory before to give the party their list vote to prevent an SNP majority - the trigger for the first referendum - and so block a  second one.

Ahead of the manifesto launch, the SNP accused the Scottish Tories of "running scared of democracy".

Depute leader Keith Brown said: "The Tory strategy for trying to block a referendum on independence is utterly undemocratic.

"It’s clear that Douglas Ross and his party have no route through the pandemic, no vision for recovery, no ambition, no intention of setting out a detailed plan on how they would run Scotland and offer no leadership." 

Scottish Labur leader Anas Sarwar said: "Douglas Ross and the Scottish Tories are a like a broken record.

“The fact is that Douglas Ross’s Tories, just like the SNP, are not interested in uniting the country – they are deliberately talking up division for their own political purposes.

"The Tories are more interested in their opponents because they have nothing positive to say about themselves.

“Scotland deserves a better government -  but it deserves a better opposition too.

“Only Scottish Labour is fully focused on our national recovery from the pandemic.

“We need to focus on what unites us as a country, not what divides us. This next Parliament must be about our national recovery, not going back to the old arguments.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat campaign chair Alistair Carmichael MP added: "Any pretence of the Scottish Conservatives running a positive campaign went out the door with Ruth Davidson.

"Douglas Ross seems to be the only one who wants to talk about independence more than Alex Salmond.

"People who want a positive plan for Scotland should back the Scottish Liberal Democrats and put recovery first."