Scotland would be a happier, healthier and wealthier nation if it voted for independence, according to Ayr's SNP MSP.
Siobhian Brown was speaking today after the first in a series of documents from the Scottish Government was published, showing how Scotland in the UK compares to other similar-sized independent European nations on key comparators.
The paper claims other comparable nations are wealthier, happier and fairer than Scotland currently is under Westminster control.
However, the SNP are already being criticised for setting the scene for a second independence referendum in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
Ms Brown said: "Scotland has everything it takes to be a hugely successful nation – yet Westminster control has held it back while comparable countries of a similar size prosper.
"Independence gives Scotland the opportunity to fulfil its full potential to be a fairer, greener and more equal nation.
"It puts the power into the hands of Scotland – not Tory governments that Scotland didn’t vote for.
"A decade of Tory austerity coupled with a Brexit that Scotland didn’t vote for has made us poorer.
"As the cost of living crisis deepens for people in my constituency of Ayr, Prestwick and Troon and right across Scotland, it’s right that the Scottish Government lays bare the cost of living with Westminster in this series of papers.
"Scotland has the ambition to be a better nation – but it’s only with the full powers of independence that we can make that hope a reality."
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