THE SNP has been accused of wasting precious Holyrood time by debating a “fantasy” written constitution for independence hours after dire NHS statistics were published.

One infuriated critic said he would be surprised if any of the SNP’s own benches had read the new Government paper on the issue as it was “so bloody boring”.

Willie Rennie, a former leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats and a key player in the No campaign of 2014, told parliament: “We’re wasting our time. Let’s get real”.

Pointing at SNP MSPs, he said: “We've got this fantasy debate just to keep this lot united behind the First Minister who's failing. We need to be focusing on the harsh reality that my constituents are facing and I know all of your constituents are facing as well.”

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The North East Fife MSP said he hadn’t read the Scottish Government’s latest paper on independence and wouldn’t do so because he had more important things on his plate.

The Scottish Government debate was held just hours after new figures showed record cancer waits and record numbers of delayed discharge patients stuck in hospitals last year.

SNP constitution secretary Angus Robertson said the UK’s unwritten constitution had shown its priority was “the preservation of Westminster power”.

He said a written constitution in an independent Scotland would “empower the people with the fullest range of rights and give them the power to enforce them”.

He said last week’s Scottish Government’s paper on the subject was “hugely exciting”.

Mr Rennie said that 10 years ago, when Alex Salmond was First Minister, there was a real sense of anticipation among MSPs to get “stuck in” to the independence referendum.

But now, despite Mr Robertson’s best efforts, there was none and not even SNP MSPs believed that an independence campaign was close.

“There is no anticipation. There is no excitement about this,” Mr Rennie said

He said he wouldn’t be reading the new independence paper as he had to deal with local issues including fire service cuts, an NHS surgery scandal, a child victim of violence in schools and delays to the payment of devolved benefits. 

Mocking SNP MSPs, he said: “Now they're looking at their phones. The only thing that gets them interested is the constitution. When they face the hard reality of life that my constituents are facing, they’re no longer interested anymore.”

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He went on: “Today of all days, they choose to have this debate. We’ve got the longest delayed discharge of all time - it was supposed to have been eradicated.

“Not cancer waiting times that they could have debated, the worst on record again. 

“Why are we not debating those issues, rather than this fantasy paper? 

“I'd be surprised if even the backbenches have read it. It's so bloody boring. Let's get focused on what matters in people's lives rather than wasting our time with this debate.”

MSPs later voted to welcome the publication of the latest independence prospectus paper.

Mr Robertson’s motion on “Building a New Scotland – the Constitution of an Independent Country” was supported by 64 votes to 47.