SNP and Greens join independence march ahead of Holyrood election
PA MediaSNP leader John Swinney and the Scottish Green party's co-leaders joined thousands of independence marchers in Edinburgh, on the first weekend of Holyrood election campaigning.
The politicians were joined on the Royal Mile by Succession star Brian Cox, broadcaster Lesley Riddoch and human rights lawyer Aamer Anwar.
Independence campaigners from across Scotland took part in the event, which concluded with a rally on Calton Hill.
Opposition candidates have dismissed calls for a fresh referendum and criticised the SNP's record in government.
But Swinney told the rally that independence was the "prize before us" should the party win a majority on 7 May.
He said the UK establishment was broken and Scotland was "paying the price".
Swinney added: "In one of the most energy-rich countries in the world, people pay some of the highest energy bills in Europe.
"It does not add up. And yet it is the reality for people right across this country. Westminster has failed."
PA MediaLast October SNP members backed Swinney's plan to declare a mandate for a second independence referendum, if the party wins a majority of seats.
The previous vote in 2014 came after the SNP won an historic Holyrood majority in the 2011 election.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said that votes for her party would also "make the difference in terms of securing a pro-independence majority".
She said: "With Labour failing on all fronts and the prospect of Nigel Farage in Downing Street, it is more crucial than ever that we take our future into our own hands.
"We cannot continue allowing decisions to be made for us by far and remote governments who are all too happy to ignore Scotland."
PA MediaElsewhere on the campaign trail, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay was in Perthshire to highlight the plight of businesses .
He said the election should be about issues such the cost of living and public services.
Findlay said: "While John Swinney was up a hill rabble-rousing with nationalist diehards, I spent the day talking with ordinary Scots in the real world.
"By leading a nationalist rally on the first weekend of the election campaign, he confirmed how out of touch he is with the people of Scotland.
"Swinney's flag-waving antics confirmed that independence will always be his only priority."
Meanwhile, Reform candidate Thomas Kerr told BBC Scotland News that the party wanted to focus on priorities, such as creating jobs.
He said: "Reform UK does not want to leave the UK, we want to lead the UK.
"Our position is very clear. Scotland decided in 2014 to remain part of the United Kingdom.
"We want to focus the next 10 years on recovering."
PA MediaScottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar pledged to slash waiting times and end the 08:00 "scramble" for a GP appointments during his weekend campaigning.
If elected, he pledged to "get the basics right" with a plan that also included using new technology to speed up diagnosis and treatment.
Sarwar said: "After 20 years of the SNP, too many people feel Scotland is stuck, and nowhere is that clearer than in our NHS.
"Waiting lists are soaring, patients are being let down and the SNP has run out of road.
"I'm standing to fix the mess, get the basics right and build a better future for Scotland."
And the Scottish Liberal Democrats said they were "on the verge of winning against the SNP" in many constituencies.
Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton made the comment during a visit to a cafe in Linlithgow, West Lothian, where was setting out his party's plans for bringing down the cost of living.
He said these would include an emergency insulation programme to bring down hearting bills and a faster rollout of climate-friendly heating, such as solar panels.
Cole-Hamilton also pledged to rewrite community benefit rules so that local people get more of the money companies make from renewable energy generation in their area.
