A new poll has revealed the SNP is set to secure a majority in next month's Holyrood election, giving John Swinney a mandate to negotiate with Westminster on a second independence referendum.
The survey, carried out for The Telegraph, shows the SNP is forecast to win 67 seats, with Reform and Labour battling for second place while the Scottish Conservatives expected to lose 18 seats and finish fourth.
The newspaper calls the survey the most comprehensive multilevel regression and post-stratification (MRP) poll to date of the Holyrood vote.
First Minister John Swinney said an SNP majority in May would effectively serve as a democratic mandate to push for another vote on independence.
It comes days after UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting moved to slam the door shut on a second Scottish independence referendum.
Asked during an interview with LBC about the prospect of another IndyRef, Streeting replied: "We're not having one."
Swinney will today formally launch the SNP's election manifesto, vowing to ditch the Sturgeon era and put growth first.
The party will reportedly also pledge a £1million boost to efforts to regenerate Aberdeen's Union Street.