Scotland’s largest political gathering took place last weekend at the SNP spring conference in Edinburgh.

It was great catching up with so many people from across Clydebank and West Dunbartonshire as we look towards Scotland’s future with confidence.

With the Westminster parties delving ever further into chaos over Brexit, it’s been left to the SNP to focus on offering a positive vision for Scotland.

The Tories and Labour used to dominate Scottish politics, but it’s increasingly clear Westminster is failing Scotland – where our interests are side-lined and ignored – and it is the SNP that more and more people are turning to to stand up for our local communities.

In three opinion polls published last week, support for the SNP was on the rise whilst the Tories and Labour continue to lose the backing of Scots.

With Westminster in turmoil, it’s no surprise to see support growing for the SNP and for independence. In 2014 the people of Clydebank and West Dunbartonshire voted strongly for Yes to independence. Much has changed in the five years since then, but the case for an independent Scotland has never been stronger.

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As we face being dragged out of the EU against our will by a Tory government we didn’t vote for, Brexit has highlighted the damaging democratic deficit at the heart of our system of government.

The SNP has a mandate for a second independence referendum – a mandate secured at the last Holyrood election to offer the people of Scotland the choice of a better future than Brexit Britain. The choice must be ours to make, and I welcome the First Minister’s plans to bring forward legislation to enable a second independence referendum by 2021.

Of course, Tory and Labour politicians are already queueing up to try to deny Scotland its right to choose a better future. The truth is though that the unionist parties are running scared because they realise “project fear” tactics won’t wash a second time.

This year marks 20 years since the Scottish Parliament was reconvened. Back then the UK Government believed devolution would kill support for independence “stone dead”.

In fact, the opposite has happened: more Scots than ever are seeing we’re better off if decisions are made in Scotland rather than the shambles that is Westminster.

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