• The economic case for Scottish independence is "weaker than ever", says Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross
• SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says voting for her party will keep the NHS "safe" and "out of Boris Johnson's hands"
• Anas Sarwar says only a vote for the party he leads, Scottish Labour, will help protect Scotland's vital services
• The next Scottish government should have a minister dedicated to dealing with the country's coronavirus recovery, Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie says
• Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie condemns dawn raids in Glasgow whereby refugee families have been taken from their homes and placed in detention centres
• The Freedom Alliance group said the current system of government in Scotland is not "serving the needs of many people" and should be more robustly opposed

That's all from us for today. We'll be back with more coverage tomorrow.

Political parties in Scotland are continuing to campaign ahead of the Holyrood election on 6 May.

To help you decide who you might vote for, use this policy guide to compare where the parties stand on the key issues.

In recent years Scotland has seen a high level of political engagement among its citizens.

Almost 19 out of 20 people felt it was important to vote in Holyrood elections in 2019, an increase of 15% since 2004 - and according to Scottish government data, external, that surge is partly driven by young people.

Now with the pressures of the pandemic often disproportionately affecting younger age groups, it perhaps comes as no surprise that party manifestos have been littered with policies designed to restore education, improve mental health and create job opportunities for people age 16-24.

So what issues matter to young voters? The BBC spoke to five people under the age of 30 to hear what could influence their vote.

Read more via this link.

What's happening? On 6 May, people across Scotland will vote to elect 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The party that wins the most seats will form the government. Find out more here.

What powers do they have? MSPs pass laws on aspects of life in Scotland such as health, education and transport - and have some powers over tax and welfare benefits.

Who can vote? Anyone who lives in Scotland, is registered to vote and aged 16 or over on 6 May is eligible.

The leaders of Scotland's five larger parties have revealed which sort of business they would like to start in a life after politics.

Questioned in a series of video interviews, external conducted by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB):

• Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross said he’d like to supply baked goods like scones to the hospitality industry
• Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said he'd like to establish an international political campaign group

• SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said she would like to establish a bookshop
• Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie said he’d like to open a corner shop or environmental charity
• Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater said she already had a plan to set up an aerial training venue for circus arts.

Image source, PA Media

Anas Sarwar has insisted only a vote for Scottish Labour will help protect Scotland’s vital public services.

The Scottish Labour leader warned spending on libraries across Scotland has been cut by a third since 2010.

Mr Sarwar, who was campaigning in Grangemouth today, said it was "deeply cynical" of the SNP to "attempt to use the cover of the pandemic to sneak out a swathe of community closures across Glasgow".

Image source, PA/Andrew Milligan

Scottish Greens have condemned dawn raids in Glasgow whereby refugee families have been taken from their homes and placed in detention centres.

The party's co-leader Patrick Harvie visited Maryhill Integration Network today to discuss concerns about the Home Office's treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow.

Mr Harvie said: "It is very alarming that the Home Office carried out a dawn raid on a family in Glasgow last week.

"The act of forcing people out of their home and incarcerating them at a detention facility is bad enough, but to do so during the pandemic is utterly inexcusable."

As the campaign trail hots up, tonight people who live in the Glasgow area will get the chance to put their questions to representatives of Scotland's five major parties.

You can watch on the BBC Scotland channel or listen live from 10.30pm on Radio Scotland.

Image source, Getty Images

Voting for the SNP will keep the NHS "safe" and "out of Boris Johnson's hands", Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The first minister accused the Conservatives of stripping protection for the NHS from trade deals and seeking to have Westminster "muscle in" on devolved powers.

The Tories have said the SNP's proposed increase for NHS spending north of the border is lower than that of England.

Ms Sturgeon highlighted her government's 4% pay rise offer for NHS staff, against the 1% on offer from the UK government at Westminster.

She added that essential services would be kept "in public hands, not managed by private companies".

Image source, PA Media

Image source, bbc

The current system of government in Scotland is not "serving the needs of many people" and should be more robustly opposed, the leader of the Freedom Alliance, external group has said.

The anti-lockdown party is standing candidates across Scotland on 6 May.

It wants to scrap face covering rules and reinstate international travel without any "vaccine passports".

Interim leader Carol Dobson said the Freedom Alliance was made up of people who "care deeply about human rights".

Read more here

There are five other smaller parties competing for your vote in this election.

The list below includes those standing in at least one sixth of the total seats up for election in Scotland (ie 22 constituency seats) or fielding at least four candidates in all eight regional lists.

The five smaller parties are:

• Alba, external
• All For Unity, external
• Reform UK, external
• Scottish Family Party, external
• UKIP, external

A full list of parties standing at the election is available here.

Mark Simpson
BBC News NI

Image source, bbc

There is much which divides politicians in Northern Ireland but they share an interest in Scottish constitutional affairs.

So when the votes are being counted after the Scottish Parliament election on 6 May, there will be many Stormont politicians glued to TV sets and smartphones on the other side of the Irish Sea.

The results will not deliver a direct judgement on Scottish independence, but they may indicate the direction of travel.

One way or another, the outcome will send a political message to other parts of the United Kingdom.

If a chain is only as strong as the weakest link, this will be seen, by some, as a stress test for the union.

Read more here

Image source, PA

The next Scottish government should have a minister dedicated to dealing with the country's coronavirus recovery.

That's according to Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, who wants a "Recovery First Secretary" to be part of the next administration at Holyrood.

He said the post would replace that of deputy first minister, and would mean a senior politician would be tasked specifically with working on the recovery across all spheres of government.

Image source, Jane Barlow/PA

Image source, PA Media

The economic case for Scottish independence is "weaker than ever", the Scottish Conservatives have said.

Leader Douglas Ross made the claim after a report from the Institute for Government , externalsaid Scotland would face tough fiscal choices in the first years of independence due to high deficits.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said last week that the SNP has not done an economic analysis of the impact of independence on Scotland, adding that the estimates put forward ahead of the 2014 vote are now out of date.

Mr Ross, speaking on a visit to a glass engraving business in East Kilbride, claimed the SNP had not even undertaken a "fag packet calculation" of paying for the Covid-19 recovery.

The government's white paper on independence in 2014 "was based on fantasy oil figures" and Scotland would have faced "super-charged austerity" without a "No" vote in the referendum, he added.

Image source, PA Media

Andrew Kerr
Scottish political correspondent

The famous grin, the smart suit and the coffee mug – the appearance of Tony Blair on ITV News last night takes you back to 1997.

But the grey mane shows the years have passed. Looking like a senior Silicon Valley guru, the former PM is assessing his constitutional changes.

Current occupant of Downing Street, Boris Johnson, reportedly described devolution as Blair’s “biggest mistake” – precipitating a rise in nationalism. But Mr Blair says that’s ignoring the history of devolution – adding the union would be in “tatters” if he hadn’t set up a Scottish Parliament.

Although the architect of the constitutional structures we now live under, his commitment to devolution was never as passionate as Labour big guns John Smith and Donald Dewar.

Mr Blair admits to two errors in their collective approach. Firstly, they were wrong in thinking devolution would end the argument for independence and secondly they failed to build real cultural ties to bind the UK nations together.

But he insists devolution remains a substantial bulwark against independence - but it’s been a tougher fight than he anticipated.

The arguments about the borders, and between the peoples of these islands, have been debated for more than 1,000 years. It’s not an issue that will be quickly resolved – even as we look back to the years since 1997.

Image source, PA Media

Former prime minister Tony Blair has told ITV News, external he doubts the people of Scotland want another independence referendum - even if the SNP win a majority at next week's Holyrood election.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has argued a majority of pro-independence MSPs, including the Scottish Greens and - potentially - Alex Salmond's new Alba party, would provide a mandate for another referendum.

Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University and a polling expert, wrote on Tuesday that the SNP's prospects of winning an overall majority are on a knife-edge.

Mr Blair, who was PM when the Scottish parliament was created in 1999, said: "I'm not sure that even if the SNP win a majority in the Scottish Parliament that it necessarily means that people want to go through the disruption of an independence campaign, I would frankly doubt that.

"Of course it becomes more difficult over time that if opinion looks as if it's fixed, but let's see if that's actually the case."

The former Labour Party leader believes a "weakness" of his government's approach to devolution was "not to build real cultural ties" that emphasised what the different countries of the UK have in common.

His "best bet", he added, is that "in the end Scotland will vote ultimately to remain inside the UK".

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

One of the most telling moments in the Channel 4 debate, external was when the host, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, challenged the party leaders to put up their hand if they thought they'd be First Minister after this election. Only Nicola Sturgeon did.

Anas Sarwar and Douglas Ross agreed they'd love the job, but both have effectively admitted it's a step too far for this campaign.

The debate was a tetchy affair. Rarely did anyone get to complete a sentence before being talked over and patience appears to be wearing thin.

Perhaps surprisingly, given he's not a candidate in this election, it was the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose name dominated.

His alleged comments that he would rather see "bodies pile high" than approve a third lockdown were roundly condemned, though Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said he believed Mr Johnson when he said that he didn't say them.

Child poverty, education and climate change all got a mention, but independence and Brexit were the main issues.

It's unlikely that this debate, which generated more heat than light, will change anyone's mind on how to vote.

How does the voting process for the Scottish Parliament work?

The BBC’s Connor Gillies explains how the 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are elected through the Additional Member System.

People in Scotland have the chance to cast two votes – one for a constituency MSP, and another for a regional ballot.

Video by Morgan Spence and Louise Andrew

The leaders of the larger parties will all be out and about again across the country pushing their agendas.

SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon will be in Eastwood, where she is expected to highlight the Scottish government's 4% pay rise offer for NHS staff.

Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie is taking a tour of the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home as he outlines his party's commitment to put recovery first.

Anas Sarwar will be campaigning in Grangemouth to make the case for people using both their votes for Scottish Labour.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross is visiting a business in East Kilbride as he pushes for pro-UK voters to stop another independence referendum.

Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie is visit Maryhill Integration Network in Glasgow to highlight concerns about the treatment of asylum seekers.

Good morning and welcome to BBC Scotland's coverage of the Scottish Parliament election campaign on Wednesday, 28 April.

There are eight days left before Scotland's voters go to the polls next Thursday, 6 May, to decide who will represent them at Holyrood.

We will keep you up to date with the latest news, analysis and explanation from the election trail.