THE SNP’s policy chief has announced a new summit on the economy of Scotland after leaving the UK, with the message that now is not the time to “dial down” on independence.

Toni Giugliano, the SNP’s policy development convener, said the party’s second independence seminar will be held in May to help give activists the “tools to be able to make the case for independence”.

The speakers will include Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp of campaign group Believe in Scotland, SNP shadow Treasury spokesperson and MP Alison Thewliss, and MSP Karen Adam, who is a member of the Rural Affairs Committee.

Giugliano said as well as providing vital campaign information, the seminar will “reassure supporters that a referendum remains a priority” as the only way to “build a fairer country and escape the damage and corruption of Westminster”.

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He said that should be the case even while the focus of the upcoming council elections is on local issues and while the war in Ukraine is ongoing.

Giugliano told the Sunday National: “It’s fair enough the council elections are focused on local issues, local candidates, on our communities.

“But with the cost of living crisis and with what is happening with Boris Johnson and our Chancellor and the corruption and the lawbreaking we are seeing, now is the time to be able to say we are going to not only escape this broken system, but actually build something more ethical and have a system of government that respects not only the law, but actually the values we want to carry forward as a nation.”

He said while the UK Government is “obsessed” with trying to make Brexit work, leaving the EU has “failed on every possible measure”.

And he warned now is not the time for Scotland to “take a back seat in Brexit Britain and hope for the best”.

“There is no Brexit dividend – what we were promised is actually the opposite of what is happening,” he said.

“I feel strongly now is not the time to dial down on independence – now is the time to talk up independence.

“There are others who are suggesting because there is a war in Europe, somehow democracy is shelved.

“It is the exact opposite which is true – if we are saying that is the case, we are giving into those who are trying to curtail democracy.”

He added: “It’s time to take responsibility and make our voice heard on the world stage – and we can best achieve that as an independent country within the EU.” 

A poll last month found 59% of Scottish voters felt discussions over indyref2 should stop due to the war in Ukraine, prompting calls for work on the issue to be halted.

The same survey found among SNP voters, 47% said work on indyref2 should continue while 43% said discussions on the timing of a referendum should stop.

In response, the SNP said suggesting that the invasion by Russia means the democratic process in the UK should be suspended “would be grist to the Kremlin’s mill”.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay said: “Vladimir Putin should not be handed an effective veto over democracy in Scotland or anywhere else.

“You don’t defend democracy by suspending it.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has also said the timetable for aiming for an independence referendum in 2023 had not changed in the wake of both the Ukraine war and the cost of living crisis.

The summit on the economy of an independent Scotland will take place on May 25 online and will be open to SNP members.

It will be the second in a programme of seminars on key issues relating to Scotland’s constitutional future which are taking place with a new prospectus for independence likely to be published by the party later this year.

The first, which was held in January and attended by around

250 people, examined the issue of the EU after independence and discussed topics such as holding a referendum on the terms of a membership deal negotiated between the new state and the EU.

Giugliani said the seminar being held in May would examine the “myths” around Scotland’s economy post-independence.

“For example, there is a whole argument you can’t get into the EU if your deficit is too high,” he said.

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“That is not the case, there is no such requirement, but if the opposition repeats that myth time and time again, it almost becomes fact.

“So that is the challenge we have – there is a lot of disinformation doing the rounds and we need to be able to counter that.”

But he added: “We also need to be able to set our own narrative and be really clear this time about our own agenda.

“The more we can empower our activists with the facts, the better we can respond and bust these myths on the doorsteps.”