NICOLA Sturgeon’s government cares more about “image” than ideology, has drifted to the right and become afraid of tackling hard issues, a former cabinet secretary has said.

Kenny MacAskill said there was now a genuine “fear” of debate within the SNP, with an “inner cadre” leaking and briefing against those seen as insufficiently loyal to the leader.

He also said it was “not just unseemly but unhealthy” that the party’s chief executive, Peter Murrell, was the First Minister’s husband.

READ MORE: MacAskill attacks SNP boss as "cheerleader-in-chief" for his wife, Nicola Sturgeon

Writing in the latest issue of the Scottish Left Review, the former Justice Secretary said: “When there are complaints of the handling over candidate selection and ranking, it’s in danger of becoming an abuse of power. The marginalisation of individuals - even some in senior elected roles but from without the inner circle - is damaging to the wider cause.

“There appears to be a fear - not just a reluctance - to have open debate because everything has to be politically managed and ‘on message’.

“Fundamental issues have been stifled when such discussions are often cathartic and inspirational. The bloody nose the leadership received on the Growth Commission [in a spring conference vote] was not only good for party democracy but stimulated many within the party.

“The style has become almost presidential. For sure, promote the First Minister who is hugely able but allow others to shine.

“I pondered how years ago in opposition we’d laughingly challenge folk to name five Labour MPs. After Brown, Cook and Darling, they’d struggle. Now the same applies to the SNP Scottish Government Cabinet. Image, rather than ideology, has become paramount.”

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon 'wholly unprepared' for second referendum, warns Kenny MacAskill

Mr MacAskill, Justice Secretary for seven years when Alex Salmond was First Minister, claimed the misplaced focus on image and style was sapping the SNP’s political drive.

He said: “There’s a reluctance to be radical or act quickly on almost any issue. The heavy tendency towards inertia on even the most modest proposals such as a tourist tax or parking levy testify to that.

“Public services are not all great in Scotland. Far from it. Years of austerity have taken their toll. Being told how much better they are than in England or Wales is a debating point for politicians, more than an encouragement for voters.”

He concludes: “The SNP administration has, like Labour ones before it, become managerial and the sense of purpose blurred. For sure, there’s been progress on gender and sexual equality issues but a loss of clarity, if not direction, on wealth or land inequalities.

“Years ago, I would have described SNP’s international equivalent as Fianna Fail. Nationalist but rooted in working people, and on the centre-left of the country’s political spectrum.

“Now I sense, the SNP is actually more like Fine Gael (much as I admire the current Irish government’s stance on Brexit): on the centre-right and not willing to confront the establishment and established ways.”

An SNP spokesperson said: "Voters trust the SNP led by Nicola Sturgeon to stand up for their interests, to fight against Brexit and the worst excesses of a hardline Tory government at Westminster and to build a fairer, more prosperous Scotland. 

"That strong leadership and ambition for our country is why the SNP is on course for electoral success at Westminster and Holyrood, why we are winning the case to let Scotland choose and why more and more people are convinced by the case for independence."