IAN Blackford will today tell the SNP conference that independence is the only way for Scotland to “escape the constant crisis of Westminster control”.

In his online address, the party’s leader in the House of Commons, will point to the sleaze scandals that have hit Boris Johnson’s government in recent weeks which forced the Prime Minister to tell international journalists that the “UK is not a corrupt state”.

On the third day of conference, Blackford will warn that Scotland faces a growing threat from Tory austerity cuts, the soaring cost of Brexit and a Westminster government engulfed in cronyism and corruption and which is lurching from one crisis to another.

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The SNP Westminster leader will contrast the tenure of Johnson with “the opportunity” that independence will give to keep Scotland “safe” and to “build a fair, green and European future”.

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Addressing delegates virtually from the Isle of Skye, the SNP MP will say: “For years now, what we are experiencing is a United Kingdom in constant crisis.

“And it’s a crisis that comes with a real cost. The cost of Tory austerity cuts, the soaring cost of Brexit, the cost of a Westminster government engulfed in sleaze, cronyism and corruption. The cost of having a man like Boris Johnson as prime minister.”

Blackford is expected to add: “Those are now the crises of the United Kingdom – and they are the costs we pay for being part of this union.

“Independence is now the pathway to safety and stability – it offers an escape from the constant crisis of Westminster control.

“Built on the solid foundations of our own democratic decisions, independence offers the opportunity to build the post-pandemic future we all wish to see.

“The chance to build a new Scotland, that finally takes its natural place amongst the nations of the world.

“Friends, that is the future now in front of us. That is the opportunity now in front of us. A nation in waiting and a future that is fair, green and European. A new Scotland, an independent Scotland is within our grasp.”

Blackford’s address comes just days after he called for Johnson to stand down as prime minister over a series of crises, accusing him of “floundering in failure”.

Speaking during a heated exchange at Prime Minister’s Questions last week, Blackford called on the Tory leader to resign.

Johnson had been widely criticised for a rambling speech to the CBI two days prior in which he lost his place for around 20 seconds and talked to business leaders about a trip the previous day to Peppa Pig World.

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That led to a “senior Downing Street source” briefing against the Prime Minister, telling the BBC: “It’s just not working. Cabinet needs to wake up and demand serious changes otherwise it’ll keep getting worse. If they don’t insist, he just won’t do anything about it.”

The speech was, the source claimed, “shambolic”. That briefing infuriated allies of Johnson, leading to a Whitehall hunt for the so-called “chatty pig” who spoke to the broadcaster. The phrase is a modification of last year’s “chatty rat” scandal when someone leaked plans for a second lockdown.

Blackford told MPs: “The past few weeks have shown this Tory government at its very worst. A Tory sleaze and corruption scandal on a scale not seen since the 1990s. Tory cuts and tax rises that will leave millions of people worse off.

“A litany of broken promises from HS2 to carbon capture, social care, the triple lock on pensions, and who can possibly forget the £20 billion bridge from Ireland evaporating into thin air.

“At the centre of all this is one man, a prime minister who is floundering in failure.”