NICOLA Sturgeon made her highly-anticipated Spring Conference speech earlier today, pledging to fight the SNP's biggest-ever campaign on the economics of independence.
The FM's speech was dominated by independence campaign talk, as she told activists to "get your jackets on" and announced plans to deliver leaflets on the issue to the 2.4 million homes in Scotland.
Additionally, Sturgeon announced the party would create a social justice and fairness commission which would "set out how the proceeds of economic growth in an independent Scotland can be shared much more fairly".
She said this was because "independence will mean little if it does not ensure a safe, warm home for everyone to live in".
READ MORE: READ: Nicola Sturgeon's full speech from the SNP Spring Conference
Sturgeon insisted leaving the UK would finally bring an end to "shameful Westminster system which in 21st-century Scotland leaves people without enough money to feed their families at the end of the week".
Her address – which also included announcements of an £150 million scheme to provide loans to help first-time home buyers and proposals to regulate rental app Airbnb – came days after her statement setting out plans to hold indyref2 before the Parliament's end in 2021.
Sturgeon also used today's conference speech to declare a climate emergency.
She pledged Scotland would "live up to our responsibility" to tackle the problem of global warming, pledging tougher targets would be set by her government if experts on the UK Committee on Climate Change advise that this is possible.
READ MORE: Scots Health Secretary announces £70 million to cut waiting times
The Tories and Labour were critical of the First Minister's speech.
Conservative constitution spokesman Adam Tomkins said: "Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear this weekend that she is more interested in her party's narrow priorities, not those of the majority in Scotland. "
Similarly Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said: "Nicola Sturgeon is more interested in uniting her party than uniting our country.
"There was no attempt to justify the SNP's new policy to scrap the pound as soon as possible, a move which would ramp up austerity and force hundreds of thousands of families with mortgages to gamble their house, pensions and savings on an untested new currency.
"Instead of harnessing the powers of devolution to tackle poverty, she is intent on using her time in office to stir up support for a referendum that a majority of the country does not want."
Meanwhile, Scottish Green co-convener Patrick Harvie praised Sturgeon's climate statement, but was critical of the SNP's track record.
He said: "It's welcome to hear the First Minister declare a climate emergency, even though her MSPs all voted against our calls to tackle it and watered down our Green New Deal proposals in the past few weeks because they can't bring themselves to stop backing the airlines and the oil and gas industry."
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