THIS week’s SNP conference will “mark the start of a new chapter in Scotland’s road to independence,” Nicola Sturgeon has predicted.
In the conference programme, the First Minister said that while other parties argued over past grievances, hers was focused on fulfilling the country’s potential.
Around 2000 delegates are expected at the Aberdeen gathering tomorrow and Saturday, with the first item of business the declaration of a new SNP deputy leader.
Ms Sturgeon’s introduction also endorsed the controversial report of the SNP’s Growth Commission, which has infuriated many on the Left of the Yes movement.
The 354-page document, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said would continue austerity after independence, recommends years of tight public spending to halve Scotland’s deficit and keeping the pound, tying Scotland to UK monetary policy.
There are no plans for a main hall debate on the report, however it is expected to feature in a fringe tomorrow hosted by the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Ms Sturgeon said the report was “packed full of new ideas for Scotland’s future”.
The Scottish Tories called on Ms Sturgeon and deputy First Minister John Swinney to admit the 2013 White Paper on independence had been “misleading and nonsensical”.
Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw said the striking change of tack in the Growth Commission showed the White Paper had been a “work of fiction”.
He said: ““Will Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney have the courage to be honest and accept they hoodwinked people? Or are they still too afraid of Alex Salmond to question him?
“These are the questions that will follow the SNP leadership as they prepare for their conference this weekend. People will be watching to see if they answer."
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said the SNP was running scared of having a full debate on the Growth Commission at its conference because it had turned out to be a “cuts commission”.
She said: “Nicola Sturgeon’s new blueprint for separation offers a decade of austerity and tax breaks for the richest and their big corporations.
“Given how badly it has gone down with Yes supporters and the public, it is no surprise to see the SNP now running scared of discussing it at its conference.
“But while Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP put their fingers in their ears, trade unions, experts and think tanks will continue exposing their cuts commission.”
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