The SNP leader said Scotland’s energy was its ‘superpower’ as he urged voters to back him with less than a week to go before polling day.
Next week’s election is an opportunity for Scots to have a “fresh start” with independence, John Swinney has said, as he claimed leaving the union could lower energy bills.
The First Minister said Scotland’s energy was its “superpower” but that people still faced high energy prices due to Westminster.
The SNP leader is aiming to secure a majority at the election on May 7 – something he has said would be a mandate for another independence referendum.
Throughout the campaign, he has said Scotland could have lower energy bills if it were independent.
With six days to go, the First Minister urged voters to back his party.
He said: “Scotland is an energy superpower and yet we do not feel the benefit of our vast energy resources.
“In one of the most energy-rich countries in the world, we pay some of the highest energy bills in Europe, and the cost of petrol at the pump is through the roof.
“We want to bring down people’s bills with the fresh start of independence and other parties want to stop us.
“And we want to give people the choice over their future and the other parties want to stand in Scotland’s way.
“They want people to vote for an opposition to stop things happening, I am asking people to vote for an SNP Government to get things done.”
Mr Swinney urged Scots to return an SNP majority on May 7 as he pledged to provide support for the cost of living and “lock out Nigel Farage” and his Reform UK Party.
He also pledged to deliver “the fresh start of independence that will bring down bills”.
He added: “But we have to make it happen – that opportunity is in Scotland’s hands.
“So on May 7, I am asking people to vote SNP for a government on Scotland’s side and for reliable, trusted leadership that will put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat MP and Holyrood campaign chairwoman Wendy Chamberlain said: “Every vote for the SNP will be taken as permission to obsess over independence for the next five years.
“After nearly 20 years of failure, no one will believe any election promise they make.
“Scottish Liberal Democrats believe Scotland deserves better than this.
“That’s why we are focused on helping you with the cost of living, insulating cold homes and using Scottish renewable energy to drive down household bills.”
The Scottish Green candidate for Edinburgh Central, Lorna Slater, said: “It is vital that we secure the largest possible pro-independence majority if we are to lock out Reform and to take our future into our own hands.
“Independence is bigger than any one party, and the polls show that the best way to get there is by electing a record number of Green MSPs.
“With the powers of a normal country we could do so much more to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and protect our planet.
“Scotland deserves much better than an outdated Westminster system and a Labour government that has armed Israel’s assault on Gaza and continued to implement some of the worst Tory policies.
“Every vote for the Scottish Greens is a vote for a fairer, greener and independent Scotland.”
