THE SNP will open its annual conference today with an extended attack on UK Labour, in a sign of nervousness about a change of Government at Westminster hurting support for independence.

Depute leader Keith Brown will tell delegates that “any suggestion that a Labour Westminster government will be better for Scotland is simply laughable”.

He will argue that UK Labour governments are "temporary and have always been followed by another Tory government” in a pattern “repeated time after time”.

Only independence can break the cycle, he will say in Aberdeen.

Scottish Labour said it showed the SNP didn’t care if the Tories stayed in power at Westminster, and any claims the party had to being progressive were a “sham”.

Mr Brown’s criticism of Labour comes as a series of opinion polls point to a 30-point lead for Sir Keir Starmer’s party since Liz Truss became Prime Minister and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-budget shredded the Tories’ reputation on the economy.

For years, the SNP has warned of virtually permanent Tory rule at Westminster, arguing independence is vital to break free of it.

The realistic prospect of a Labour government for the first time in over a decade means the Nationalists are now having to change tune.

Mr Brown will say: “Keir Starmer is just another Tony Blair. Under Starmer, the Labour Party is as Trumpian as the Tories in their denial of Scottish democracy.

“It is an incontrovertible fact that the SNP has a cast-iron mandate to hold an independence referendum.

“But Labour always side with the Tories to protect Westminster control – no matter how high a price the people of Scotland pay.

“Labour supports the deeply damaging Brexit that Scotland did not vote for.

“I repeat, Labour supports Brexit, and stands against any Scottish aspiration for our country to re-join the European family of Nations.

“And never forget, never forgive that, in 2014, it was Labour who championed the ‘No’ campaign message that only a No vote would deliver economic stability. It seems absurd now, but that’s what Labour promised. They can’t be trusted with our future.

“Labour are only ever the handmaidens of more Tory rule.

"If they get into power, they are soon turfed out by the Tories and gift to them the same powers of Westminster control they always abuse.

“It’s a pattern repeated time after time after time.

“Your homes, your pensions, your incomes are not safe under Westminster control. It is a price that Scotland can no longer afford to pay. Be in no doubt, independence is Scotland’s only chance to escape Tory chaos for good.”

Mr Brown will also call Ms Truss as a “symptom of the dysfunction at Westminster”, not the cause, predicting “it won’t be long” until her own party force her out.

“She has delivered more chaos and confusion than even the most pessimistic prediction. In less than a month, she has tanked the economy; risked the pensions of millions; scrapped the cap on bankers’ bonuses; announced and then u-turned on income tax cuts for the wealthy; created a debt crisis; and showed the world she is singularly unfit for the job.

“It is a sobering thought indeed, that when the history of 2022 is written, it will record that Boris Johnson was not even the worst Prime Minister this year."

Scottish Labour deputy Jackie Baillie said: “There you have it in black and white - the SNP don't care whether the next UK government is run by the disastrous Tories or a reforming Labour government. All they care about is their narrow nationalist obsessions.

“Unlike the SNP, Labour is focused on the priorities of the people of Scotland – tackling the cost-of-living crisis and building a fairer, greener and more secure future for our country.

“Scotland can lead the way on delivering the change that the UK needs by delivering Scottish Labour MPs across the country and booting the Tories out of Downing St.”