Jim Fairlie is SNP candidate for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire

Ian Blackford, the SNP Westminster leader, made a plea for party unity and patience against internal calls to rush into a referendum without the legal backing of the UK government.

free school meals for all primary school pupils. The party also heard from SNP depute leader Keith Brown.

John Swinney on the first day of the party's virtual conference. It signals the start of what promises to be a long and hard fought election campaign before voters go to the polls in May 2021.

referendum. Before the first speeches, Sturgeon said she has "never been so certain" Scotland will achieve independence.

indyref2 should take place in 2021 if it is “safe” and claimed Boris Johnson would not block another vote.However, in an interview with the Daily Record, he declined to be drawn on the broken relationship between Sturgeon and Alex Salmond.He also refused to say whether he would campaign alongside the former SNP leader if there was a referendum.The SNP’s virtual conference starts today amid calls by senior party figures for another vote on Scotland’s constitutional future.Indyref2 will be central

Perthshire town fell through. PKC had pledged £383,000 from its £2 million Town Centre Fund to develop an improved civic space for events and markets at Pitlochry’s Memorial Garden.

Kate Forbes, the Scottish Finance Secretary, has accused Rishi Sunak of cutting the Scottish government’s capital spending budget while increasing overall spending across the UK.

lockdown rules. The Westminster group leader demanded Ollie Taylor explain himself after posting a picture taken in Caithness, as Blackford believed the man was from the South of England.

pandemic, says Boris Johnson.The Prime Minister sent a message to the SNP on 'rebuilding' the UK 'from its ravages' in the wake of the pandemic that's killed over 50,000 Brits this year so far.Johnson insisted that this was no time for Scots to contemplate 'division or distraction about our national constitution'.The PM also slammed Nicola Sturgeon for her 'focus on separation' and vented that it 'had to stop'.His address was during a Scottish Conservative virtual conference.It comes days after

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.The leader of South Lanarkshire Council says it’s disappointing but necessary that the area is moving into Tier 4 of Covid restrictions.John Ross reacted to the news of the local authority area going into the strictest lockdown rules from today.Mr Ross said: “I know that everyone will share my disappointment that it has been necessary to place Lanarkshire and other parts of Scotland in Level 4 of the Covid

ITV show watched as newlywed Sarah Barlow went into a epic meltdown over her estranged husband Adam. The Underworld factory manager ranted at Adam for trying it on with neighbour Alina Pop in a bid to make her jealous after they broke it off shortly after getting hitched.

Scottish independence is "highly sophisticated", the SNP's economics guru has insisted. Andrew Wilson, who wrote a controversial report on the costs of splitting from the UK, said Scotland could no longer afford to remain in the UK.

Black Watch, the SNP has urged.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.The Conservative party has chosen a candidate to contest Derek Mackay's seat in next year's Scottish Parliament election.Julie Pirone - who stood at last year's general election in Paisley and Renfrewshire North - will look to turn the Renfrewshire North and West seat blue when voters go to the polls next May.Since 2011, the seat has been held by former finance minister Mr Mackay, who was suspended by the

Richard Leonard has suffered a blow over his plans for guaranteeing women the top candidate slots for Holyrood. The party’s governing body yesterday supported legal advice which warned the proposals would be unlawful.Leonard’s party has been split over the best way to ensure the next round of Labour MSPs reflects the diversity of society.Labour has a track record of using positive action to boost female representation and Leonard wanted to go further for this election.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard's plan for selecting more women and key workers as top Holyrood candidates has fallen foul of legal advice by the party.A leaked paper states that the proposals would be “unlawful” and pose a “risk of indirect discrimination”.An alternative has been produced for male MSPs to voluntarily give up their top slots on the regional Lists for a female colleague.A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: "We don't comment on internal information that has been

reindeer traffic jam' in Aviemore. Becca Rankine felt like 'Christmas had come early' after spotting 25 of the creatures wandering around on the road in the Highlands.

Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter.A battle between two councillors to become the SNP's parliamentary candidate for Renfrewshire North and West next year is set to go on for another two weeks after the initial vote ended in an historic tie.In what is understood to be a first in the party's history, an equal number of members got behind Michelle Campbell and Natalie Don as they fought for the right to represent the nationalists in the Holyrood