Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has today urged Scots to back the independence referendum to be held in two years time, saying that Westminster-rule over Scotland 'is beyond salvation'.
Launching a strong attack upon the Conservative/Liberal Democrats coalition in London, Mr Salmond said the choice facing 5m voters in the October 2014 referendum, which was agreed last week, is 'now clear'.
"Scotland can vote 'No' and secure nothing, or we can vote 'Yes' to get the platform that we need," he told over 1,000 Scottish National Party delegates gathered in Perth for the party's annual conference.
Independence, he said, 'is about using that power to create a more prosperous economy and a more just society', though he accepted that a majority of Scots remain to be convinced of its merits.
"But we also know that there is a majority for change in this country. We know that at heart people trust their own Parliament far more than they will ever trust Westminster," he said.
Scots want decisions about future decisions over social welfare, the Trident nuclear missiles, or their relationship with the European Union to be 'controlled in Scotland', not left to Westminster, where Scotland's voice is in the minority.
In 1997, three-quarters of Scots voted for devolution: "And in the years that have followed, that appetite has grown. They have seen what our Parliament has achieved and they like it," he added.
Opponents of independence are against, he claimed, 'because an independent Scotland would be run by the people of Scotland, for the people of Scotland.
"Instead of telling people in Scotland what they can do. They tell us what we can’t do," he said, even though Westminster 'can’t run a railway' - a jibe about the collapse of a major rail contract this month.
Changes made in Scotland - such as free medical prescriptions and elderly care, along with third-level university education - are now at risk because of spending cuts directed by London.
"Have no doubt, what was gained with devolution can only now be guaranteed with independence," said Mr Salmond, adding that Scottish Labour is now 'even more extreme' on the need for cuts.
Scottish Labour, he said, believes that enough wealth exists to pay for the replacement of the submarine-carried nuclear missiles held at Faslane on the Clyde.
"But they tell us we are too poor for Scotland's free personal care. If that is the price of London government, it is a price that Scotland will not pay," he told cheering delegates.
Mr Salmond narrowly won a significant vote yesterday, where delegates reversed a decades-old opposition to membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, as long as the Faslane missiles are removed.
