The pro-independence campaign would win a referendum if one was called tomorrow, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens has claimed.
Lorna Slater said Nicola Sturgeon was accurate when the First Minister last week insisted "I've got time on my side" as polling suggested a majority of younger Scots voters back ending the Union.
Speaking to the Record ahead of her party's autumn conference this weekend, the Green MSP said: "If Unionists want to win and have a chance of stopping Scottish independence, they need to call a referendum very soon.
"The longer they leave it, they more chance we have of winning.
"Now, I think we could win a referendum if it was called tomorrow, but other people might disagree.
"I feel Scottish independence is inevitable and will come. I think the First Minister is right - even if the UK Government blocks a referendum now, which I don't think they will, we'll win it in the future.
"This is the future that young people want."
She continued: "When the last referendum was called, support for independence was at 27% and on the day of voting it was at 45%.
"That's how much the campaign shifted the dial. Independence is now at around 50%. We can shift that dial with a campaign.
"We haven't even started campaigning yet - we're watching this horror show of a government down in Westminster, with its disastrous handling of the coronavirus, and Brexit leading to empty shelves.
"It's one disaster after another."
Opposition parties have accused the Greens of "selling out" by signing a cooperation deal with the Nationalists in August - and point to a series of u-turns in recent weeks, including on the issue of vaccine passports which Patrick Harvie previously expressed doubts on.
Slater said: "I think it's a big part of the transition from being in opposition to being in government - it's about demonstrating you have that practical, negotiation aspect to your policy making.
"In opposition you can ask for the world and the moon.
"Things like the vaccine passport - the First Minister herself says she wishes that we were not in this position.
"But when the UK Government pulled the furlough scheme, while cases were rising in Scotland, we had to do something.
"The Scottish Government has a responsibility to keep people safe so it was the right thing to do under very difficult circumstances."
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton yesterday accused the Greens of swapping "environmentalism for nationalism" but Slater rejected the claim.
"It's a strange thing to say as the cooperation deal is about tackling the climate crisis, it is about transformational politics," she said.
"It's about leaving a legacy like the National Care Service, improved railways, and active travel.
"We didn't need a cooperation deal to agree on Scottish independence. That was something we already agreed on."
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
