THE referendum result in September can be "cathartic" for Scotland, allowing the country to move on and improve people's lives, Scots Secretary Alistair Carmichael will claim today.

He will tell the Scottish Liberal Democrat conference in Aberdeen that the kind of key policy he would like to see would be the entrenching of the rights and powers of local authorities.

He will say: "At its best this referendum can be cathartic for Scotland. It can clear the air.

"A positive vote to stick with the UK family will not only provide certainty and stability for Scotland, but it will unplug the constitutional blockage and open the way to real progress for people.

"No more arguing over numbers and projections but real freedom to innovate and improve people's lives."

Mr Carmichael said that however much the SNP Government may hate it, the Westminster government was making great progress - with the economy growing, unemployment falling and Scotland moving forward as part of the UK.

He will add: "From 2016, there will be new horizons in Scottish politics.

"Thanks to the Scotland Act, the Scottish Parliament will have new powers to set income tax, borrow to invest and to innovate in far-reaching ways. We need the debate to begin on how those powers will be used. We need to start talking again about how we improve healthcare and education and the environment here in Scotland.

"And we need the Scottish Parliament to empower our democratically-elected local governments, increasing their financial powers, paving the way for greater community action, and introducing clear powers of general competence."

Mr Carmichael called for "a law that would entrench the role of local councils and compel Scottish governments to uphold it."

He added: "It would herald a new era in local accountability in which Scottish communities are better placed to serve their own needs, using their own capacities to meet their own priorities.

"With need these things to happen. We need a No vote to enhance Scotland, improve Scotland and move on."