SNP To Launch Fresh Scottish Independence Bid

Nicola Sturgeon has vowed to launch a fresh bid for Scottish independence this summer, whatever the outcome of the EU referendum in June.

The Scottish First Minister is also promising a rethink on some of the arguments the Yes campaign made last time, in a bid to turn the 45% who voted Yes into a majority for independence.

Her pledge came as she addressed the SNP's spring conference in Glasgow with a new poll suggesting the party is on course to win an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament again.

After election pledges in her speech on health, education, tax and even a promise of broadband for all Scots, her independence vow electrified her audience of 3,500 SNP delegates.

She said one of her heroes was Eleanor Roosevelt, who once said: "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Ms Sturgeon told the delegates independence was "a beautiful dream" and this summer the SNP would "embark on a new initiative to build support for independence".

And signalling a change of tactics and strategy, the First Minister admitted that, in 2014, many Scots didn't find the pro-independence arguments compelling enough.

"We will listen to what you have to say," she told the conference. "We will hear your concerns and address your questions - and in the process, we will be prepared to challenge some of our own answers.

"And, patiently and respectfully, we will seek to convince you that independence really does offer the best future for Scotland.

"A future shaped not by perpetual Tory governments that we don't vote for, but by our own choices and our own endeavours.

"That is how we will turn the 45% of September 2014 into a strong and positive majority for independence."

The First Minister's announcement was immediately condemned by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who said: "It's clear the SNP - from top to bottom - just isn't prepared to let this go.

"People voted decisively to remain part of the UK and it's time Nicola Sturgeon respected it."