Humza Yousaf has been accused of throwing local councils under the bus through unfunded tax freezes.
Yesterday, Yousaf used his main stage speech at the SNP Conference to announce that council tax will be frozen in Scotland next year.
But Scottish Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said the freeze "looks like a policy change that was made by a speech writer who otherwise had nothing for their boss to say".
The MP for Orkney and Shetland accused Yousaf of only having one political idea, which is "breaking up the United Kingdom".
WATCH: Humza Yousaf delivers a speech at the SNP Conference
He told GB News: "It is not funded so yet again councils will be left having to do the SNP and Greens dirty work for them in delivering cuts.
"This is an increasingly desperate government that is out of ideas.
"In truth the only idea they ever had was breaking up the United Kingdom and that is not so much a political idea as an obsession for them".
The announcement to freeze council tax comes after the Scottish Government consulted on increases of 7.5 per cent to 22.5 per cent for properties in council tax Band E or higher.
First Minister Humza Yousaf told the SNP conference: “We have consulted on what level the council tax should be next year.
“And conference, we have reached our decision. I can announce to the people of Scotland that next year your council tax will be frozen.
“That’s the SNP delivering for people when they need it the most.”
Yousaf was forced to deliver his main stage speech to a half-empty hall yesterday at the conference in Aberdeen.
Despite moving to a venue with a smaller capacity than last year, the event was still significantly undersubscribed.
The capacity of the main conference hall is understood to be around 1,300 seats - but many of them have been left empty, despite Yousaf delivering the keynote speech of the event.
Conference Halls at both Conservative and Labour conferences were packed out for the leaders' speech, with both seeing queues outside the doors.
Yousaf used part of his speech to thank his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon.
He became party leader and Scotland’s First Minister in February after Sturgeon’s surprise decision to step down.
The First Minister told the party conference, taking place in Aberdeen: “Nicola Sturgeon transformed Scotland.
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Yousaf used part of his speech to thank his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon
PA
“She reformed Scotland’s public services. She improved the life chances of thousands of Scotland’s young people.
“And we will never forget that in the toughest of times our country faced, Nicola was the calmest of voices and the coolest of heads.
“So for all of this and more, we say thank you Nicola.”
