JOHN Swinney said the SNP must "awaken" a sense of "hope and optimism" in the people of Scotland.

He said he will lead the SNP by putting the arguments for independence at the centre of campaigning.

Coming out of an election where the SNP lost 39 MPs and was left with just nine, he said he wanted to “rekindle the imagination” of Scotland.

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The First Minister, in his first party conference speech as leader, recalled the 2014 independence referendum.

He said the promises made then have been broken.

Swinney said: “If ever you wanted to remind yourself what hope, optimism and a sense of possibility feel like, cast your mind back a decade.
 
“2014 was an incredible year – where real change was truly in the air.”

He recalled the equal marriage vote in Holyrood, Scotland hosting the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup.

He said: “And it was a year when Scotland was energised as we debated our future as a country.
 
“A debate rich with imagination and excitement. It was contagious – and it was empowering.

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He contrasted 2014 with 2024.
 
Swinney said: “Ten years on we live in a UK that took away our European citizenship.
 
“A UK reeling from the premierships of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.
 
“And while a Labour Prime Minister once arrived in Downing Street to the tune of Things can only get Better, the current Labour Prime Minister tells us quite openly that things can only get worse.
 
“This is not the future that was promised in 2014.”
 
He added: “So it falls on us – the national party of Scotland – to awaken that sense of optimism and hope amongst our fellow Scots.

“To rekindle the imagination of our nation. To show them that a better future is possible. 
To unite our country to win our independence. That is what we have to do.”
Next week Swinney will reveal his first Programme for Government as First Minister.

He said child poverty will be at the heart of his plans.

Swinney said: “Through the Scottish Child Payment we’re putting £26.70 a week directly into the hands of low-income families for each eligible child.”
 
In comparison, he said: “The Labour Government is pushing tens of thousands of children in Scotland into poverty by keeping the Tory – now the Labour - two-child cap.
 
“By sticking to Tory debt rules – and by extension, forcing the whole of the UK to do the same - Labour appear to want us to abandon low-income families; to abandon children in poverty.
 
“So next week, I will set out how we can tailor support better to families ensuring they get the help they need, when they need it, to lift those families out of poverty.
“This support – this whole-family support - will not have the immediate impact of ending the two-child cap.
“But it is an example of the sustained, smarter policy making we are delivering in government.”

The First Minister restated his and the SNP call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

He said: “The suffering on all sides has gone on for far too long.
 “So a ceasefire is essential. “The sending of UK arms to Israel must stop.
 “All hostages must be returned. Israelis and Palestinians must be able to live in peace.
 “And that peace must be based on a two-state solution and a viable, sovereign Palestinian state.”

He said: “Let the message from this conference be heard loud and clear: the killing of innocent men, women and children must end - and it must end now.
 
“Sadly, and perhaps even more dangerously, the conflict is now spreading to the West Bank.
 
“The suffering on all sides has gone on for far too long.”