Scotland will vote for independence when Scots are convinced it is a “compelling and demonstrable” proposition, the First Minister has said.

Speaking to supporters and journalists gathered at an event in Edinburgh to mark the tenth anniversary of the referendum, John Swinney reflected on the vote, which he claimed had “left an overwhelmingly positive legacy on our country.”

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In 2014, 55% of Scots voted to remain part of the UK. Although his side lost, support for independence has remained relatively stable ever since.

“We have had a long, dark decade – a decade of austerity, of Brexit, of a cost of living crisis and a global pandemic," he told supporters. 

“As a nation, we can’t just regret the things that we cannot do – it is time for us to start focusing again on the things that we can,” he said.

“And that is exactly what we are going to do. It starts by reawakening the sense of optimism, of hope and of possibility that was so prevalent throughout Scotland in 2014”.

Mr Swinney argued that the referendum had led to more powers over tax and welfare for Holyrood which “made a difference in the lives of people in Scotland”.

He said: “People can see as a consequence of the pressure to get more powers here in Scotland we have added to the achievements and the strengths we have already put in place.

“People can see the positive impact of decisions being taken here in Scotland.”

He added that the “challenge” for independence supporters is now to convince more Scots that their priorities could be better addressed outside of the UK.

Mr Swinney added: “I think we are closer to achieving that than we were in 2014.”

He argued that the referendum had shown that “constitutional change delivers real change.”

(Image: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

In the wake of the referendum, there was a jump in support for the SNP, with the party returning 56 MPs at the 2015 election.

However, it has struggled in recent months and was roundly defeated at the 2024 general election, winning just nine seats.

With a Holyrood election looming, he attacked Labour, attempting to contrast their promises of change to the “real change” he said had been delivered in Scotland because of the post-referendum powers.

“For ten years – ten long years – Labour told us we don’t need independence. All we need to do is get rid of the Tories.

“Well, it’s taken Keir Starmer less than ten weeks to completely demolish that argument.”

“The problem for Scotland is not a just an incredibly damaging Westminster Tory Government,” he said.

“We now have an incredibly damaging Westminster Labour Government.

“There is a pattern here. The problem for Scotland is government from Westminster.”

Asked how he would secure independence, Mr Swinney said the SNP had to show it provided a solution to the everyday challenges Scotland faced by Scots.

He said independence had to be established as a “compelling and demonstrable” proposition.

“When we boost support for independence we will be able to deliver independence," he added.

Asked specifically how that would happen, the First Minister said the UK Government would be unable to "turn its back on the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland."

“Our priority is to build support for independence," he added.

He said “a Westminster government that denies the democratic choices of the people of Scotland” was “an unsustainable position”.

During a Holyrood debate on the constitution, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross claimed the three SNP-led governments since the referendum had focused on the constitution above all other issues.

“As historians look back over the last 10 years, they will see them as Scotland’s lost decade,” he said.

“The years in which we divided our country and fought bitter arguments against ourselves on an issue we had already voted on.

“Generations of Scots will come to see this as a national act of self-harm.

“They will wonder why some chose to continue the same arguments again and again, why the government of the day chose to indulge in fantasy politics instead of dealing with the real issues faced by our country, or why the national interest was ignored for the SNP’s nationalist interest.

“My message to John Swinney and the SNP Government is this: You lost, get over it and let us all move on.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the First Minister would "rather deliver a constitutional speech in the chamber than deal with the issues that confront the government. "

He added: “We must ask ourselves - what has this SNP government been doing over the last 10 years since 2014?

“The First Minister may want to talk about new powers - he has powers over housing now and Scotland has been plunged into a housing crisis.

“The First Minster has powers over the NHS - but under the SNP’s watch nearly one in six Scots are on a waiting list, A&E is in turmoil and thousands of Scots are being forced into private healthcare.

“The SNP has full powers over our education system but standards are falling in our schools, teacher numbers are being cut and the poverty-related attainment gap persists."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton hit out at the SNP for tabling a debate on the constitution when there "are so many topics crying out for this parliament’s attention and for parliamentary time."

"The SNP have spent the last 10 years picking at the scab of their defeat; it colours everything we do in this place, he said.

“I am glad that ten years ago we voted to remain in this family of nations. Let this time, this afternoon we indulge this failing government in its obsession and in its fanaticism be the very last one we do in this chamber," he added.

Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer said the last decade had “only deepened” his party’s support for independence.

He highlighted how there had been “10 years of Tory government, Brexit, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and now a Labour Government but no change from those Tory policies”.

Mr Greer added: “Greens believe in independence for a simple reason – we think the best decision-makers for Scotland are the people who live here.

“The Scottish Greens believe that this isn’t as good as it gets for Scotland.

“We can be a fairer, greener nation with the powers of a normal independent country.”

Alba MSP Ash Regan argued that with pro-independence parties having a majority in Holyrood, they can still push the issue forward.

She stressed she wants to maintain the “spirit of the referendum” in which supporters of different parties “put our differences aside for independence”.

Ms Regan said: “There are three pro-independence parties in this chamber. If we start working on it today, we still have the time, we have the arithmetic, to turn this ship around and achieve independence.”