John Swinney to face FMQs after unveiling Scottish independence paper

John Swinney is set to face First Minister’s Questions after unveiling fresh Scottish independence papers and analysis.

The SNP Government published a new paper on independence on Wednesday, which set out why Scotland should become an independent country, and what an independent Scotland could look like.

The “Fresh Start with Independence” document claimed Scottish households would be more than £10,000 better off per year if the country were independent.

However, the paper said it does not mean Scots would “instantly” be more than £10,000 richer each year if Scotland was a nation state, or even that we would be as successful just by being independent.”

“Instead it shows how much better those comparable nation states do than the UK, and what we might be able to do if we were able to make our own choices about the shape and direction of our economy,” the paper said.

“The prize of independence, the Scottish Government believes, is not matching the performance of these independent countries straight away, but the opportunity to start catching up.”

Scottish Labour finance spokesman Michael Marra MSP accused Swinney of making “baseless claims” which are “entirely detached from reality”.

The First Minister listed Brexit, rising energy bills, UK migration policies, and stagnating living standards in both the UK and Scotland as “obvious factors” that have changed since Scotland last considered the question of independence in 2014.

He insisted that the current UK economic model “is not working for Scotland”.

The new paper states that energy bills would begin to fall, and Scotland could rejoin the EU, regaining the right to live, work, study, and travel across the region.

Swinney also promised that independence would boost the Scottish NHS and wider health and social care.

The Scottish Conservatives called the SNP’s paper a “fantasy” and said the First Minister was “out of touch”.

FMQs will start at midday on Thursday in the Scottish Parliament.