A speech that ticked a lot of boxes - Swinney's challenge is making it a realitypublished at 16:42 BST

16:42 BST

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent, reporting from the conference

Image source, Getty Images

That’s a speech that will have ticked a lot of boxes for the SNP delegates in Aberdeen - I overheard one audience member refer to it as “a John special”.

John Swinney defined himself against a Westminster system that he says doesn’t work for Scotland, and he suggested that independence is within sight.

There was a smattering of policy announcements that will also go down well with delegates - making it easier to recruit care workers from outside the UK, and a promise of more GP appointments.

But - as ever - the speech is the easy part. Making all of that a reality is where things may well get more challenging for the first minister.

We are now ending our live coverage, thanks for joining us.

SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney wrapped up his speech at the party conference in Aberdeen a short while ago.

If you missed it, or need a recap, here are the key lines:

An independent Scotland?: The first minister made the case for independence, saying the nation faced a choice between "decline, decay and despair" with the UK government or "hope, optimism and ambition" with Scottish self-government.

Hopes for a win: He said winning a majority of seats in May's Holyrood election would allow a second independence referendum to take place. As a reminder, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer would have to consent to a referendum.

Criticising Starmer: Swinney accused Starmer of becoming a "right-wing prime minister" and "dressing up as Nigel Farage". During the speech he also hit out at Starmer's digital ID scheme, saying he will not allow any Westminster politician to "define us by Brit cards".

New announcements: Swinney announced a new network of walk-in GP services and outlined a government plan sponsor workers from overseas to work in the country’s care homes, external that are "crying out for staff".

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

Independence is back - not that it is ever far from mind for the party that exists to bring it about.

On Saturday, SNP members backed John Swinney's plan to declare a mandate for a second independence referendum if the party wins a majority of seats in next year's Holyrood election.

But can this be achieved by an SNP that opinion polls suggest is far less popular than it was in 2021, never mind at the heights of its Holyrood majority in 2011?

A potential pathway is opened up by a more fragmented unionist opposition, with the emergent Reform UK drawing support away from other parties, not least the Conservatives and Labour.

Even if the SNP only has a 35% vote share in any given constituency, that could well be enough to win if the other 65% is split multiple ways.

However, to increase the chances of SNP success, the party is seeking to rebuild the broader coalition of independence-supporting voters it has attracted in the past.

That is why you will hear the independence argument threaded through the SNP’s election campaign.

The SNP’s political opponents - including the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats - see talk of independence as a distraction from the day-to-day business of delivery on health, education and law and order.

But the SNP hopes the goal of independence can unite and motivate its activists to campaign, can motivate its membership to turnout to vote and can motivate lapsed supporters to return to the party.

Image source, Getty Images

Before Swinney gave his speech Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Conservatives deputy leader, accused the first minister of "playing to the nationalist gallery to distract from his party's atrocious record".

"He has been at that heart of that government for almost all of the 18 years the SNP has been in power, but still he prioritises an obsession with independence over Scots' real priorities," she said.

"After all that time, it is laughable he is saying that the SNP are not to blame for the state Scotland is in, or that another divisive push for independence is the fresh start the country needs.

"It is time for John to move on."

Image source, Getty Images

We can now bring you some reaction to Swinney's speech.

Ahead of the address, Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the people of Scotland "won't be fooled" - and that the SNP has had "almost two decades to get it right" but claimed things are only worsening.

"Our NHS is on its knees, with record waiting lists and thousands forced to turn to the private sector, violence in schools is rising, and the housing emergency is worsening by the day," she said.

"Instead of focusing on the priorities of the people of Scotland, they'll spend their conference talking to themselves about division.

"We can't risk a third decade of this tired and incompetent government."

Speaking after Swinney's speech, Baillie took aim at the walk-in appointments pledge, saying it was as though Swinney had "only just discovered" the NHS crisis.

She said: “After 18 years in power, if John Swinney and the SNP had the ideas to fix Scotland’s NHS, they would have done it by now."

In our next post, we'll take a look at the reaction from the Scottish Conservatives.

Swinney plans to put his stamp on the SNPpublished at 16:02 BST

16:02 BST

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

There is unlikely to be any movement towards Scottish independence unless the SNP retains power at Holyrood.

That looked to be in serious doubt a year ago when Labour swept to power at Westminster having comprehensively defeated the SNP in a national election for the first time in 14 years.

Since then, Swinney has stabilised the SNP, Labour's popularity has slumped and the rise of Reform UK appears to have widened the SNP's pathway to what would be an incredible fifth term in office.

Though they are not definitive, opinion polls suggest the SNP has a double-digit lead over Labour, with Reform UK nipping at their heels, having pushed the Conservatives into fourth place.

The SNP appears far less popular than it was five years ago and the rise of Reform UK seems to be fragmenting support for unionist parties.

That could mean the principal party of Scottish independence is still well placed to overcome divided opposition in constituencies across the country and finish as the largest party nationwide.

But seven months of campaigning could produce a different outcome.

Read more about how John Swinney plans to put his stamp on the SNP ahead of the next Holyrood election.

Image source, Getty Images

As he brought his speech to an end, Swinney mentioned Christina McKelvie, former Scottish government minister and wife of deputy leader Keith Brown, who died on Thursday.

He says she championed the "rights of the marginalised" but she also wrote poetry.

He then turns back to the independence, saying an independent Scotland has to be won by the people of Scotland.

He ends his speech by saying "together, let's win Scotland's independence" - which receives a round of applause.

He says the essentials of life, like food and energy, are becoming more and more expensive.

The deep-seated problems facing the UK are the culmination of "decades of failed Thatcherite economics", he tells delegates.

He says the Westminster political parties are "intensely relaxed" about some people becoming "filthy rich while everyone else struggles to get by".

Swinney argues it was "revulsion" at the policies of Margaret Thatcher that propelled Scotland towards the creation of a Scottish parliament.

"I believe it will be revulsion at Westminster's race to the right that will change Scotland's status again, from a so-called devolved nation to what we can be - a modern, outward looking, inclusive, compassionate country," he says.

"Not a devolved nation, but the world's newest independent nation."

We're continuing to bring you the key lines from the SNP leader's speech, which has just wrapped up.

Swinney says "Great British Energy is proving to be the great British rip-off". He adds it is time for a "new approach".

He then turns to the SNP's latest white paper on independence.

"The work has been done... but more than that we've set out the potential for Scotland to be a very different type of country."

John Swinney's speech at the SNP conference has just wrapped up,

He waves at the crowd in Aberdeen, who are all on their feet and applauding the first minister as he leaves the stage.

We'll continue to bring you the key lines from his speech in our next few posts - stay with us.

Drop-in GP clinics is a big announcementpublished at 15:43 BST

15:43 BST

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent, reporting from the conference

The health service is an area where the SNP knows improvement is needed.

Drop-in GP clinics is a big announcement that allows the party to argue they have a plan to address some of the problems the NHS is struggling with.

For a lot of people, this will sound like exactly the kind of seven-days-a-week GP service they want to see.

But how quickly will they be up and running? And will they really deliver the one million extra appointments promised?

Image source, Getty Images

Swinney says that the government will open up a network of walk-in GP services on high streets, close to schools and workplaces open from noon to 20:00.

He says you won't need to call for an appointment meaning more people can go after work "when it fits with their lives".

They will also be open seven days a week.

It will begin with 15 sites across Scotland and it will deliver one million additional GP and nurse appointments. The scheme will be up and running within a year, he says.

The announcement receives a standing ovation.

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent, reporting from the conference

Quite a personal section here from John Swinney, where he even talks about his love of the band The Jam.

There’s references to his wife, becoming a grandfather and his religion.

He’s not a politician who typically talks a lot about his background.

Labelling himself “a man shaped by all of Scotland”, he says he’s “just getting started” as first minister.

Since he became SNP leader, there have been questions about how long Swinney will do the job for.

It sounds like he doesn’t plan on giving it up any time soon - provided the electorate send him back to Bute House.

Swinney gives speech a personal touchpublished at 15:39 BST

15:39 BST

Lynsey Bews
Scotland political correspondent, reporting from the conference

There’s plenty of personal reflections in this speech.

John Swinney says people are entitled to know what has made him who he is today.

This is a chance for him to assert his own values and - after years in the shadows of the likes of former leaders Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon - put his own stamp on things.

Image source, Getty Images

Swinney says Scotland is being damaged by a morally wrong "race to the right".

He cites the number of nurses Scotland is able to recruit from overseas and the shutting down of a visa route for care home workers.

He is greeted with applause as he announces a new scheme in which his government will sponsor workers so they can continue working and pay taxes.

"Hundreds of dedicated workers able to start work immediately," he says.

David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent, reporting from the conference

The biggest round of applause so far - and the first standing ovation - comes when John Swinney reiterates that the SNP would get rid of nuclear weapons in an independent Scotland.

Swinney says the ceasefire deal in Gaza and Israel is a welcome sign that there is "hope for peace".

"The pictures of hostages being released, of families being reunited, of refugees returning to their homes, are deeply moving – deeply humbling," he says.

"They remind us even in the darkest of days hope can prevail."

Swinney takes a second swing at UK PM Keir Starmer, who he says had promised to be a left-wing Labour leader and then he became a "right-wing prime minister".

"Now he's dressing up as Nigel Farage," he says.

He accuses Starmer of not implementing the progressive policies people backed Labour for.

Lynsey Bews
Scotland political correspondent, reporting from the conference

John Swinney opens his speech with an immediate section on independence.

He promises to “break the logjam in Scottish politics” with his strategy for another referendum.

He reckons that’ll be achieved by winning a majority - and his party members are on board.

However the SNP is yet to answer questions about what they’ll do if they succeed at next year’s election since the UK government refuses to budge.

Image source, Getty Images

Swinney goes on to highlight the importance of offering Scotland a "fresh start" - which he says is independence.

"This is a moment of decision, we all face a choice," he says, adding that "this is the moment for us to realise the true potential we have as a nation".