Scots need to “drive forward now” with a fresh independence bid after voters were “conned” into staying in the UK in 2014, Alex Salmond will claim.

The former Scottish First Minister will insist that almost a decade on from the referendum, the arguments that led to a majority voting for the union have been “destroyed”.

Mr Salmond, who formed the pro-independence Alba Party after quitting the SNP, will make the claims as he addresses his party conference in Inverness on Saturday.


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He will use his keynote speech to accuse the UK Government, which has repeatedly refused requests for another independence referendum, of “running scared”.

The Herald:

Mr Salmond will say: “The Tories have not just wrecked the economy – they have wrecked their own economic case for the union along with it.”

He will claim that in 2014, pro-UK parties “told us we would be safe in Sterling”, but “now Sterling is kept afloat by sky-high interest rates and every household in Scotland is paying the price”.


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He will continue: “In 2014 they told us that staying in the UK would mean lower energy bills – falling by £50. Now every household in Scotland is paying thousands extra.

“The No campaign in 2014 sneaked home on a false prospectus. Tory and Labour – the Better Together coalition – conned Scotland out of independence.

“With independence support still running high at 48%, Scots need to drive forward now on an independence agenda and not be duped or side-tracked once again.

“Scotland has the people, the resources and the foundations to be a successful independent country. It’s time for independence.”

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