ONLY the “fresh start” of a fifth term of SNP administration at Holyrood and a second separation referendum can deliver Scotland from Britain’s “damage and decline,” according to the party’s Westminster leader.

Stephen Flynn’s comment come after the Resolution Foundation think tank projected living standards would rise by 2029, but growth would be the second worst of any parliamentary term on record.

“This UK Budget again exposes the depth of damage and decline that Westminster has inflicted on people’s lives for a generation,” he said.

“A generation of Scottish people have now lived through Brexit Britain — a place that is poorer and smaller, with a Farage future the only thing on the Westminster horizon.”

Arguing for a third decade of SNP administration at Holyrood, he added: “A new generation in Scotland desperately deserves a fresh start and a fresh choice.

“By winning a majority next May we can unite and break beyond the brokenness of Britain and give people the hope of a fresh start with independence.”

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland on Thursday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “I can be very clear there won’t be another referendum.”