SNP Conference: Ian Blackford says Scottish voters 'won't forgive' Labour

Labour's refusal to work with the SNP is an "insult" to voters, Ian Blackford has said.

Speaking at the SNP conference in Aberdeen, Blackford said of Labour's "Make Brexit Work" slogan that "never before have so few words made so little sense".

And he went on: "The complete conversion of the Labour Party to the Tory hard Brexit party is a betrayal of working people in Scotland and across the UK."

At the Labour party conference, Keir Starmer said his party "can't work with" the SNP, adding: "No deal under any circumstances."

Countering, Blackford said Labour had been "hungry" to do deals with the Conservatives, telling delegates: "Labour’s position is not just an insult to all of us, it is an insult to the many Scottish Labour voters who also believe in independence.

"Labour are now a Brexit-backing, democracy-denying, Tory-enabling party.

"As Keir Starmer himself said at his conference, 'don’t forget, don’t forgive'.

"Well Keir, I'm very confident the Scottish people never will."

The speech also included tributes to the late KC Ian Hamilton and the people of Ukraine, with Blackford stating that "the international community must not rest until the war criminal Putin is put in front of the Hague, where he belongs".

Hitting out at Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng, Blackford said "the chaos of the last few weeks is now no exception; it has become the new normal of British politics".

He told party members his purpose is to "lead our SNP MPs out the doors of Westminster for the very last time and come home to our own independent nation", going on: "Let's finish the job, finish the journey and finally put a finish to Westminster control for good."