THE SNP should make their manifesto for next year’s election a “manifesto for independence” and publish it as soon as possible, one of the party’s most prominent activists has said.

Writing in The National, Julie Hepburn, a former candidate for deputy leader, and a former member of the party’s governing NEC, says Nicola Sturgeon needs to take “a completely different approach” to the 2021 campaign, “in order to put independence front-and-centre next May”.

This new paper, she says, should explain what a Scottish Government “could deliver with the powers of independence”.

Hepburn says this would sit alongside the SNP’s programme for government, which, she adds, should “focus on rebuilding from the pandemic”.

She writes: “That’s an important document, and crucial endeavour, but I don’t believe that should be the basis of our party’s election manifesto and campaign, because we don’t limit our ambitions to what the current constitutional settlement allows us to deliver.

“Yes, we are a party of government, but the SNP has always been more than a political party. We are a movement for independence.”

READ MORE: The SNP only exists for independence – it must be the focus

Hepburn says in the upcoming campaign the party must make a “clear distinction” between “governing a devolved parliament, and the potential of independence to make life so much better”.

This manifesto would not be a “White Paper 2.0” but rather a highlighting of “the positive changes that independence would allow us to pursue”.

“Let’s not expend energy arguing over the finer points of policies that the future governments of an independent Scotland may or may not decide to pursue, and focus our arguments on the wider principles of self-government and the potential that gives us to transform our country for the better.

“Independence is the reason the SNP exists. It should be the focus of our election campaign. The election will be a de facto referendum on independence anyway, so let’s grasp that opportunity to make the positive case.”

Responding to Hepburn’s article, an SNP source told The National: “It is quite safe to assume that independence will feature prominently in the next year’s Scottish parliament

election manifesto.”

That echoed comments made last week by Nicola Sturgeon, when she said independence supporters could be “safely assured” of an explicit commitment to indyref2 in the next manifesto.

In an interview with BBC Scotland, Sturgeon described people questioning her commitment to independence as “bonkers”.

She said: “I’ve spent my entire adult life campaigning for Scottish independence, I believe in Scottish independence with every fibre of my being, I also believe that Scotland is going to be independent sooner rather than later and I’m also the SNP leader that now presides over support for Scottish independence.

“Let’s just say I’m pretty comfortable in my own commitment to independence and other people can question it if they want, but I think it’s bonkers.

“The SNP is in a position of strength that parties the world over would love to be in, and we’ve got as a party to recognise that we don’t exist in some kind of bubble, we are the governing party of Scotland.

“Right now the majority of the people in the country we serve are worried about their health, they’re worried about their jobs, they’re worried about their ability to pay their bills.”

A string of opinion polls has recently shown majority support for independence. A YouGov poll this week, put Yes on 53%, up two points from January and the highest level of support for independence recorded by the polling firm.