JOHN Swinney has unveiled new plans for an independent Scotland.
At an event in Edinburgh on Wednesday, the First Minister announced a new independence paper titled "A Fresh Start with Independence".
The 91-page technical document sets out why the Scottish Government believes Scotland should be independent, and what it believes an independent Scotland could look like.
The paper suggests Scottish households would be more than £10,000 better off per year if the country was independent.
It comes off the back of an assessment from the Resolution Foundation, which found UK households would see an £8300 per year bounce if the average income and inequality was the same as other countries of a similar size.
If the same analysis was applied to an independent Scotland, the paper argued, Scottish households would be £10,200 better off.
But the paper adds: “That does not mean Scottish households 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 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.”
Independence is about giving Scotland a fresh start - and a chance to build an economy that works for us. A future where all decisions are made by people who live here. I’m in the stunning National Portrait Gallery this morning, where I will set out more at 9am. pic.twitter.com/RiHyJ5Js2k
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) October 8, 2025
Speaking at a launch event in Edinburgh on Wednesday morning, the First Minister said the opportunity of independence is "the opportunity of higher living standards".
“As we embark on building a nation state in Scotland, there is every reason to believe that we can match the high productivity, higher living standard societies of our neighbours in north-western Europe,” he said.
“The opportunity of Scottish independence is the opportunity of higher living standards.
“Today’s paper sets out, therefore, not just the why of independence, but how a future nation state can practically be achieved.
“As the urgency and necessity of independence is now clearer, it is these themes that we will take to the people of Scotland – the benefits of self-government, the huge potential that is all around us, the evidence that independence for countries like Scotland leads to higher living standards and greater equality.”
Swinney also said it is "urgent and essential" that Scotland becomes independent as a result of the "rightward shift" in the UK.
The First Minister said: “Given the direction Westminster is intent on taking Scotland day by day, the need for people in Scotland to consider an alternative future is becoming more and more pressing.”
“Indeed, I believe it is urgent and essential.
“The prospect of Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister is a very real one, but even if Farage does not make it to Number 10, he is driving the agenda at Westminster ever more to the right.
“I believe, with all my head and all my heart, that cannot be the best future for Scotland.”
The publication comes just days before the beginning of the SNP conference, where the First Minister will put his plans for seeking a new independence referendum to party members.
The proposal would see Swinney seek a second referendum if the party gains a majority in next year’s election.
However, an amendment to the motion laid by Swinney which will be debated at the Aberdeen event this weekend would treat the vote in May as a de-facto referendum, meaning victory for the SNP or any other party which entered into a pro-independence agreement would provide a mandate for Scotland to become independent without a poll similar to that of 2014.
The First Minister previously told The National that debate around the SNP's independence strategy was part of being "a democratic political party".
He said: "The conference will decide, I've got my proposals there, I believe they're the right way forward for the party, and it's for the party to make it's choices."
