Nicola Sturgeon believes Scotland ‘will become independent’ if Tories are ‘intent on a hard Brexit’
The SNP First Minister gave her keynote address to the party conference in Glasgow and affirmed she believed the answer to Scotland's problems would be independence
SCOTLAND'S First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says her belief Scotland will become independent is stronger than ever - if the Tories push for a "hard Brexit".
She told the party conference in Glasgow it was a matter of how independence is secured, and not when.
Ms Sturgeon was adamant that it would be the answer to Scotland's problems and she was confident it would happen.
She vowed to deliver a referendum if Prime Minister Theresa May negotiates a "hard Brexit".
The First Minister said: "I have never doubted that Scotland will one day become an independent country.
"And I believe it today more strongly than I ever have before.
"But I've always known that it will happen only when a majority of our fellow citizens believe that becoming independent is the best way to build a better future, together."
She added: "We know what kind of country we want Scotland to be. And I believe it's a vision that unites us.
"An inclusive, prosperous, socially-just, open, welcoming and outward-looking country.
"The question now, in this new era, is how best to secure it. Let's resolve as a nation to answer that question together."
Support for independence is still strong, polls show, and with Brexit looming Ms Sturgeon said it might provide some "common ground" on which a majority for independence could be built.
She told her party: "Some who voted No believed that staying in the UK offered a greater economic security, a stronger voice in the world and a guaranteed place in the EU.
"But the future looks very different today. And make no mistake - it is the opponents of independent, those in the right of the Tory party, intent on a hard Brexit, who have caused the insecurity and uncertainty.
"So it falls to us, the advocates of independence to offer solutions to the problems they have created."
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She was adamant, with independence the solution would like in the Scottish people's hands.
She told the party promises to Scotland had been broken and an independent nation would bring a "better, stronger, fairer future".
During her keynote speech she touched on those in Westminster in charge of the Brexit plans, and warned they could not be trusted to keep Scotland's interests at heart.
To counteract the work of Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox, Ms Sturgeon said she would place a "Scottish Innovation and Investment Hub" in Berlin at the heart of a four-point plan for post-Brexit Scotland.
She said: "More than ever, we need to tell out European friends that Scotland is open for business. so, today I can announce a four-point plan to boost trade and exports."
This includes a board of trade, a new trade envoy scheme, a permanent trade representation for Scotland in Berlin and doubling the number of Scottish development international staff in Europe.
Ms Sturgeon told the delegates: "Make no mistake - today, we face a choice of two futures.
"The primary contest of ideas in our country is now between the SNP and the hard right Tories."
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