Yesterday marked a triple whammy of failure for John Swinney and the SNP.
Record numbers of children are stuck in temporary accommodation, the number of Scots dying from alcohol abuse is at a 15-year high and the cost of building the new Barlinnie prison has rocketed.
All of this comes after nearly two decades of the SNP running the Scottish Government and promising to improve the lives of ordinary Scots.
It is not acceptable that 10,360 Scots youngsters were living with their families in unsuitable short-term lets last September. This was an increase of five per cent on the same period in 2023.
Temporary accommodation is only meant to be used as a last resort when a family declares themselves homeless. But clearly it is getting used more widely.
The Scottish Government and several councils have declared housing emergencies in the last couple of years.
It is no wonder the SNP housing minister is facing calls to be sacked because the situation is dire.
Deaths from alcohol are also an issue where there is a stubborn lack of progress.
That can’t be blamed entirely on the Scottish Government, given Scotland’s historic problems with problem drinking.
But they have promised to tackle drug and alcohol deaths as a “national mission”.
The SNP brought in minimum unit pricing in 2020, claiming it would bring about an improvement.
But deaths have continued to go up. Clearly this policy is not working and new ideas are required.
The soaring cost of the new prison in Glasgow is another seemingly wasteful use of taxpayers’ money.
For this vital project to reach nearly £1billion – when an auditor said it could cost £100million in 2014 – is ridiculous.
There are good reasons why costs have risen but to reach 10 times the original price seems like poor cost control.
Swinney has not been first minister long enough to take the personal hit on these failures.
He steadied the ship after Humza Yousaf’s disastrous period at the helm and had a strong draft budget.
Swinney reinstated the housebuilding fund, partly reintroduced a universal winter fuel payment and pledged to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
All of this helped his party in the polls while Scottish Labour support weakened. But there is a feeling that the SNP is failing to deliver on key policy areas.
For all his good standing with many voters, Swinney must start to deliver on the issues that really matter to people.
Kids’ life chances are being harmed by living in unsuitable housing, too many Scots are dying because of alcohol abuse and public money is being swallowed up by too many failed projects.
If Swinney wants to be re-elected as first minister in 2026 then he’ll need to prove his government can deliver on major projects and improve the lives of struggling Scots.