• Nicola Sturgeon unveils what she says is a "refreshed" case for independence
• The first paper - called Independence in the Modern World. Wealthier, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland, external - makes comparisons between Scotland and other European countries - all of which Ms Sturgeon says are independent, wealthier and fairer than the UK
• Scotland's first minister says her government has an "indisputable mandate" for a second independence referendum
• Downing Street responds by saying now is not the time for another independence referendum
• And opposition parties accuse the Scottish government of being obsessed with independence

• The first minister says it is now time to set out "a different and better vision" for Scotland

• Ms Sturgeon insists she won last May's election with a "clear commitment to give the people of Scotland the choice of becoming an independent country"
• Holyrood had a "decisive majority" of MSPs in favour of independence
• Any referendum "must be lawful", and only parties opposed to independence would benefit from questioning the process
• The FM says: "If we are to uphold democracy here in Scotland, we must forge a way forward if necessary without a Section 30 order"
• Ms Sturgeon was joined at the press conference by Patrick Harvie, the co-leader of the Scottish Green Party and a member of the Scottish cabinet

Read more here.

That's all from our live page team today. Have a lovely afternoon.

Image source, bbc

Professor Sir John Curtice tells BBC Scotland's Lunchtime Live programme: "If you take the last half dozen polls, they on average point to Yes 48, No 52."

The political scientist says the polls have pointed to 50:50 with "Yes" or "No" slightly ahead since the Spring of 2019.

Things seem narrower now than in 2014, he says.

He explains that those in favour of independence want a referendum before 2026 although not all would move as fast as as that.

Having released the first of six papers on the new independence push - "Wealthier, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland?", external - Ms Sturgeon says there is no schedule for when the other papers will be published

"We haven't determined or decided yet the precise order and sequencing and dates for the subsequent papers," she says.

The papers will be released "fairly steadily" over the months in the latter part of this year, Ms Sturgeon adds.

The other papers are expected to look at a number of areas including:

• currency
• tax and spend
• defence
• social security and pensions
• and EU membership and trade

Image source, Getty Images

In response to a question about where oil will feature in the campaign Ms Sturgeon points out the importance of a just transition from oil and gas.

Ms Sturgeon explains the joint position of herself and Patrick Harvie which is "we have to accelerate the move away from fossil fuels".

"There are massive economic advantages in that transition," she adds.

Patrick Harvie says the position of the Scottish government has changed since 2014.

The reality of how fast the transition must be undertaken has become clear, he adds.

"We can make that change in a fair as well as a fast way."

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister tells the press conference that the campaign for independence will be a broad church and "that is one of it's strengths" because independence is about democracy.

Asked if she would share a platform with former first minister Alex Salmond, she said: "That probably qualifies as one of the least important questions of the entire independence debate.

"It's not about me, it's not about Alex Salmond. With the greatest of respect, it is not even about Patrick Harvie - it's about the future of Scotland."

Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond together led the last independence campaign in 2014 but they fell out after sexual misconduct allegations were made against the former first minister. Mr Salmond strongly denied the allegations and was cleared of 13 charges in court.

• Salmond and Sturgeon: What is the controversy all about?

Conclusion

The Scottish government's paper concludes with an acknowledgement that an independent Scotland could not be transformed to match the success of the comparator countries overnight.

But it says the comparator country models - especially the Nordic countries - illustrate the range of choices that would be available to an independent Scotland able to pursue different policies from those adopted by Westminster over many years.

Independence by itself will not guarantee improved performance, it says.

It adds that it welcomes a national debate about how an independent country can create a wealthier, happier and fairer Scotland.

Read it in full, external

UK model

The Scottish government paper goes on to say that commentators have attributed the UK's relatively weak productivity and relatively high income inequality to the short-termism resulting from the UK's distinct approach to ownership and governance, the failure to develop effective institutions and lack of commitment to industrial strategy.

• The paper says the UK has a very distinct approach to ownership and corporate governance.
• The UK is much more open to foreign buyouts, has a low prevalence of public ownership and a particularly active market for corporate control.
• The UK has more fragmented shareholding and a low prevalence of large family-owned firms.
• It says that financial market pressure for short-term returns to shareholders had been an obstacle to investment
• Deregulation - The UK's labour and product markets are among the most deregulated in the advanced world. The paper says it has been argued that this encourages firms to adopt "low road" approaches to competitiveness through cost minimisation and work intensification rather than "high road" approaches based on patient investment and greater focus on skills.

Different models

The second section of the Scottish government paper seeks to highlight some of the factors that help explain the better performance of the comparator countries relative to the UK.

• Benefits - It says a key aspect of the comparator countries is the relative generosity of out-of-work benefits
• Tax and public spending -The structure of taxation across countries varies significantly. Ireland and Switzerland, where tax and spending are relatively low, have chosen developmental paths quite distinct from the higher spending, higher tax Nordic nations. Evidence suggests that higher confidence in government is correlated with higher levels of willingness to comply with taxes.
• Labour market policies - The paper says Denmark's "flexicurity" labour market has often been held up as a model for Scotland. It has a very high spend on labour market policies, government programmes that intervene in the labour market to help the unemployed find work. All the other comparator nations spend significantly more than the UK where spend is exceptionally low.

Image source, PA Media

Asked by the Financial Times whether losing an independence referendum would write off any prospect of a split in the union forever, Ms Sturgeon laughs and says the moral of the story is that "we don't lose it, and we don't intend to".

"I am as certain as it is possible to be that at the next time of asking people in Scotland will not miss the opportunity to vote for independence," the first minister says.

She adds that polls showing a 50/50 split in support were a "very, very good starting point" for the campaign.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has launched the first in a series of papers which she says will set out and debate the case for Scotland's independence.

The first paper is entitled: "Independence in the Modern World. Wealthier, Happier, Fairer: Why Not Scotland?", external

It looks at 10 comparator countries - Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands - and compares the UK's performance across a range of economic and social indicators.

Ms Sturgeon said these independent countries were a similar size to Scotland but were wealthier, fairer and more productive than the UK.

Comparisons to the UK

• The paper says all the comparator countries are wealthier than the UK, as measured by GDP per head of the population, and the gap has been maintained over the long term.
• Income inequality is lower in the comparator countries and poverty rates are lower.
• Most of the comparator countries have a smaller gender pay gap and all have more social mobility.
• They also have higher productivity and most spend more on research and development.
• It says the comparator countries have achieved lower debt and deficits but notes the global financial crisis had a more severe impact in some countries than others.
• Ireland and Iceland faced massive fiscal challenges in the wake of the global financial crisis, but recovered more rapidly than was widely predicted.

Asked by a reporter from Sky News why voters should believe there would be any better outcomes for people in an independent Scotland, the first minister said Scotland was "seeing real progress, coupled with real challenge, across a range of the responsibilities we have under our control right now".

People have to decide whether they trust a democratically elected government in Scotland, of whatever party, over a UK government to make decisions for them, Ms Sturgeon says.

"Scrutiny is not something that has not been something that has been in short supply in Scotland," she adds. "I've been first minister for less than eight years, I've fought eight elections in that time and my party has won all of them.

"The trust in the party that leads the Scottish government has been demonstrated."

Image source, PA Media

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says the Nicola Sturgeon's speech was a "disappointing return to the politics of the past - the politics of strife and division".

“Thousands of Scots are being forced to choose between heating and eating and even more are facing sharp bill rises; our NHS is in disarray with lives being lost as a result and our transport infrastructure is falling apart before our eyes," he said.

“For Nicola Sturgeon to turn her back on the issues facing the people of Scotland and decide at this point to focus on her own obsession is a sad example of how out of touch this government are.

“Nicola Sturgeon has no answer to the vital economic questions posed by independence, no plan to deliver a referendum and no intention to listen to the majority of Scots who are opposed to independence.

“Instead, the first minister wants to feed off Boris Johnson and his Tory government to fuel her own political ambitions.

“You cannot play politics while people’s lives and livelihoods are in the balance."

Why is this renewed push for independence happening?published at 12:32 British Summer Time 14 June 2022

12:32 BST 14 June 2022

James Cook
Scotland Editor, BBC News

Why is this renewed push for independence happening? The answer is simple. The people of Scotland voted for it.

Of course there is plenty of opposition to, and concern about, a second independence referendum but it remains an inescapable fact that in last year's elections to the Scottish Parliament voters returned a majority of MSPs, both SNP and Green, who had pledged to hold one.

When this happened in 2011, there was a referendum. If that was the accepted trigger then, why is it not the trigger now? That is primarily a question for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The SNP’s argument is that if his Conservative party previously regarded a majority at Holyrood as a mandate for a poll, why is he thwarting the will of Scotland’s voters now?

Having said that, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon must operate in the world as she finds it not as she wants it to be and at today’s news conference the SNP leader simply did not or could not detail the alternative path she intends to follow if Mr Johnson persists in his refusal.

There are also difficult questions for both Ms Sturgeon and Mr Johnson about the "why" as well as the "how" of independence.

Among those for supporters of independence, is it sensible to ditch nuclear weapons with a belligerent Russia at large? Can green energy really replace oil as the engine of the Scottish economy? If leaving the European Union has damaged the UK, why wouldn’t leaving an even older and more entrenched union be much worse for Scotland?

For supporters of the union, aren’t the comparisons with other small European nations set out in today‘s paper an indictment of British failure? Why has the UK, and Scotland within it, performed so poorly on GDP, income inequality, poverty, productivity and other indicators set out in the 71-page document?

In 2014 the prospectus for an independent Scotland was subject to rigorous and detailed scrutiny. Ms Sturgeon’s aim with these papers is to ensure the same scrutiny is applied to the UK.

In response to the launch of the new independence campaign, Downing Street has again rejected the case for another referendum.

The prime minister's official spokesman told Press Association: "The UK government's position is that now is not the time to be talking about another referendum.

""We are confident that the people of Scotland want and expect their governments to be working together to focus on issues like the global cost-of-living challenges, like war in Europe and the issues that matter to their families and their communities."

Ciaran Jenkins, the Scotland correspondent for Channel 4 News, says the first minister wants to be in the EU.

He asks if Ms Sturgeon agrees with every reputable expert who says there will be checks on goods going from England and Wales to Scotland and there will be a trade border between England and Scotland.

The first minister says if Scotland is in the single market there will be issues, there will be regulatory and customs requirements.

She says these challenges can be managed in a way that does not affect our businesses and the benefits outweigh them.

The first minister is asked about the "inevitable" hard border between Scotland and England, should an independent Scotland join the EU.

She says she will "confront the implications of Brexit" in another of the six papers they are releasing.

"The UK government is in a deep mess over the Northern Ireland protocol," she add.

Scotland would remain within the common travel area but would have to work out how to operate within the market in a way that isn't damaging to the south of Scotland or businesses, she adds.

The first minister says they want to avoid replicating the UK's difficulties caused by a "lack of being honest" and lack of planning.

Answering a question about moving ahead without a section 30 order, Ms Sturgeon says she cannot discuss it yet.

"We are dealing with a prime minster that doesn't respect democracy, the law or any of the norms that underpin democracies in most other countries," she says.

"I believe we can navigate a path forward", she says, adding that she wants to do it properly.

The BBC's James Cook says none of the comparator countries Ms Sturgeon referred to have been embedded in a 300 year old trading and political union with their closest neighbour.

Mr Cook asks if leaving the EU has been as disastrous for Scotland why wouldn't leaving this "far more deeply embedded union be much worse".

Ms Sturgeon says there was no planning or "basic honesty" with Brexit and she says today's document has more "thought, there is more evidence and planning for the way ahead than there was for the entirety of the Brexit campaign".

The first minister adds: "If all of these countries can be as successful, relative to the UK as they are, then with hard work, with commitment and good planning then why not Scotland?"

"It will be the people of Scotland that make that choice."

Image source, Reuters

STV's Colin Mackay asks if the first minister has contacted the PM in writing today.

Ms Sturgeon ponders whether Boris Johnson will be watching and just in case says to him: "I stand ready to negotiate a Section 30 order if you now decide you are a democrat."

A Section 30 order would allow a temporary transfer of power to the Scottish Parliament which would allow a referendum to happen.

Mr Mackay asks what's going to change in relation to this issue, with two prime ministers having rejected it already.

Ms Sturgeon says: "What's going to change is I will set out a lawful way forward without a Section 30 if that is what is required."

"We have a UK government that does not respect democracy and does not respect the rule of law."

• Scottish independence: What is a section 30 order?