THERE are now just four days to go until what has been described as the most important election in Scotland’s history.
This time next week, the results of the vote is expected to be known, with polls predicting there will be a majority of parties backing independence at Holyrood – a crucial stepping stone on the path for Scotland determining its own future.
It has been an election like no other, with Covid restrictions ruling out many traditional campaign activities.
READ IN FULL: Nicola Sturgeon: Why a new Project Fear is good for Scottish independence
Yet some tactics have not changed. Writing exclusively in the Sunday National today, Nicola Sturgeon highlights how the Project Fear scaremongering of 2014 has been resurrected by Unionists in the countdown to Thursday’s vote.
She warns there will be a risk of returning to “raw Thatcherism” if the future of the country is left in the hands of Boris Johnson and his “band of Brexiteers”.
The SNP leader presents her vision of how this instead could be a “watershed moment” to build a better Scotland, with the opportunity to look forward with “optimism and hope”.
She writes: “When Franklin Roosevelt said, in the depths of the Great Depression, that the American people had 'nothing to fear but fear itself', he spoke an essential truth.
“He was determined that fear should not, and would not, prevent recovery – and we should heed that lesson. Fear risks holding us back.”
In the last weekend of the campaign, Sturgeon has also issued an open letter which urges the people of Scotland to give both votes to the SNP.
In the letter, which will be published in newspapers and online today, she says: “Over the past year, I’ve done my best every day to steer Scotland through this difficult and heart-breaking time.
READ IN FULL: Nicola Sturgeon: Why a new Project Fear is good for Scottish independence
“I have asked a lot of you, and we’ve all asked a lot of each other, to keep the country as safe as possible. I can never thank you enough for the sacrifices you’ve made.
“By working together, lives have been saved and the NHS has been protected. We have made progress and there is now light at the end of the tunnel. Having come this far, it is vital that we stay the course.
“This Thursday, there is one more thing you can do to help keep the country on the right track.
“To continue our progress and keep Scotland in safe hands, I’m asking you to use both your votes for the SNP.
“The SNP is the only party with a clear plan to support the NHS, protect jobs, help our young people get on and build a better future for Scotland.”
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