THE SNP has included supporting a second independence referendum to be held by next year as a “key pledge” of the party’s manifesto for next month’s council elections.

Nicola Sturgeon has been branded "deluded" for the focus on the constitution after she unveiled her party’s national manifesto at the Beacon Centre in Greenock – with attention also on helping people mitigate the cost-of-living crisis, helping communities recover from the pandemic and a previous commitment to abolish council tax for people under the age of 22.

But also included in the document ahead of the May 5 election is a “key pledge” that SNP councils and councillors will “support the Scottish Government’s plan to give the people of Scotland the opportunity to choose the country’s future in an independence referendum in the first half of this parliamentary term”.

Asked by journalists if SNP councillors will be “expected” to back a second independence referendum, the First Minister said: “The pledges section makes it clear if a councillor is elected they will support the Scottish Government’s mandate to offer the people of Scotland a choice on independence within the first half of this term in the Scottish parliament by the end of 2023.

“Of course a proposition that we were elected overwhelmingly on this time last year. I think the frivolity in your question was - will they be expected to support the Scottish Government, I’m not sure I’m going to have to ask them, I suspect all of them will do that voluntarily and enthusiastically.”

But the Scottish Conservatives have criticsed the constitution being a key commitment and policy in the council election manifesto.

Scottish Conservative shadow secretary for local government, Miles Briggs said: “These council elections ought to be about voters’ local priorities, yet the SNP’s manifesto proudly proclaims that their councillors’ focus will be on helping Nicola Sturgeon’s push for another divisive independence referendum.

“Voters can be in no doubt that if they elect SNP councillors next month, the state of their roads, the frequency of bin collections and rising council tax bills will just be background issues for a party for whom the constitution trumps everything else.”

He added: “In fact, there’s no mention of potholes or rubbish collections in a manifesto devoid of new ideas from a party that is clearly taking voters for granted.

“In stark contrast, Scottish Conservative councillors will be totally focused on voters’ local priorities – rather than Nicola Sturgeon’s self-serving ones. They will fight the SNP Government’s brutal cuts to local services and their centralisation agenda, while nationalist councillors remain compliantly silent.”

Alex Cole-Hamilton, leader of the Scottish Lib Dems, said: "Once again, the SNP are falling over themselves at every level of government in Scotland.

"To show the country that their principle priority is not your soaring household bills, how long your waiting for an operation or your child's education but their deluded fixation with breaking up the UK."

The SNP manifesto includes a pledge to scrap council tax for everyone under the age of 22, with the party claiming “for a young person living alone in a Band B property that will mean an annual saving of around £750.”

Ms Sturgeon said that she will “set out a timescale for that shortly”.

The First Minister added: “The last several years have been really tough for councils financially – there’s no getting away from that.

“But we have sought to take decisions as the Scottish Government, because the financial climate have been tough for us as well, that have prioritised the protection of local services.”

Sh acknowledged life has not been easy for local councils, adding that “it does show the priority the SNP will always give to local services”.

The SNP first pledged to reform council tax in 2007, but has yet to bring forward plans for a replacement, instead farming out the future to a citizens’ assembly.

The First Minister said: “I still don’t think the council tax is a fair or progressive form of taxation.

“We will continue to work with others where we can to take on potential reform.

“But at the moment, given the cost-of-living crisis, keeping the council tax as low as possible is the key point in our manifesto.”

Asked if local SNP groups will be free to form coalitions with other parties following next month’s local elections, Ms Sturgeon said that she would “trust the local SNP council groups that will be elected to make the right decisions for their own areas”.

She added: “The SNP will not go into coalition with the Tories – the Tories are bad for Scotland and we will never support them in any way.

“Beyond that, we will work with others where it makes sense and where it is right for local communities.”

Elected SNP representatives will also work with the Scottish Government to build a National Care Service that improves the way care and support is delivered for people who use community health and social care, the manifesto states.

But the plans for a National Care Service have caused concern with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) over fears it could diminish the power of local health boards.

Ms Sturgeon said she recognised the concerns of local councils, but said the plans will not “erode” local services.

She said: “The challenge (in the National Care Service) is to make sure we don’t erode local delivery of services but that we do establish a service that addresses what many people have concerns about which is a postcode lottery of care standards that are not always as high as they should be.

“And for those who work in the social care sector, a lack of consistency around terms and conditions and a lack of proper value in terms of the pay.

“That’s about addressing those issues.

“I know and recognise that there are concerns on the part of local councils about this, and we will work closely as the legislation is introduced and taken forward to try to address those concerns as much as we can.”