Revulsion with Westminster’s “race to the right” will push Scots towards independence, John Swinney will tell SNP members as he closes the party’s conference on Monday.

Speaking at the final conference ahead of next year’s election, the First Minister will draw comparisons between the current political climate and the Thatcher era of the 1980s and early 1990s, saying dislike for those policies eventually led to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament.

Addressing members on Monday afternoon, the First Minister is expected to say: “On Westminster’s watch, the basic essentials of life – energy, food and more – are becoming more and more expensive.

PA Media

“In many ways, the deep-seated problems facing the UK right now are a culmination of decades of failed Thatcherite economics.

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