DECISION TIME: VOTERS GO TO THE POLLS

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon believes there is “every possibility” this will be the final Holyrood election before Scotland achieves independence.

Speaking on the party’s election battlebus in the final stages of the campaign, the SNP leader said it had never been more important to have an experienced politician in charge.

She travelled to the north-east to continue campaigning before the polls open today.

Our latest poll from Survation suggests a second independence referendum would end with a 52-48 victory in favour of staying in the UK.

Asked if she believes this will be the final Scottish Parliament election before independence, Ms Sturgeon said: “I hope so. I think there is every possibility of that, but it’s not up to me; it’s up to a majority of people in Scotland.

“And I believe very strongly that my first duty, my overriding duty, is to get us through the pandemic, and only put the question of independence once we’re through the pandemic.”

The case for a second independence referendum could be strengthened if the SNP secures a majority at Holyrood.

“The outcome of any election is in the hands of the voters.

“Getting a majority is a very hard thing to do in this electoral system, and I don’t think anybody should be under any illusions about that,” she said.

“The only thing that has kept me awake at night over the last year, and I don’t say this lightly, has been dealing with Covid and trying to wrestle with the decisions that that has involved.”

She added: “My message to voters in every part of Scotland is that we live in really serious times, and they demand serious and responsible leadership, and experienced leadership.

“Literally, a week today, whoever is first minister has to take the decisions about our next steps out of lockdown, so the stakes couldn’t really be higher and the outcome matters.”

Ms Sturgeon has vowed to protect the north-east’s post-oil future from the kind of “devastation” which was caused by deindustrialisation when she was growing up.

The first minister said her memories of the demise of the coal and steel industries in the 1970s and 1980s made her “determined” to avoid repeating the same mistakes with the North Sea.

She warned young climate activists that it was their generation which would pay the price if the transition away from fossil fuels was too fast.

Ms Sturgeon’s refusal to back an end to offshore exploration and extraction puts her at odds with the Scottish Greens, who have been touted as potential coalition partners for the SNP if it fails to win a majority at today’s election.