A LEADING SNP MP has admitted Scottish MPs are powerless to make change in Westminster and argue the country must become independent now.

Mhairi Black, SNP MP for Paisley, was speaking during the third reading of the Government's controversial UK Internal Market Bill today.

She explained that while Scotland has 59 MPs, London alone has more than 70, and argued that Scottish MPs who try to make a difference are voted down.

She said: "For those who say that we are represented here, and that we can change things... We have tried. And we are outvoted at every turn.

"This gets to the crux of why independence is the only option left for Scotland.

"For context, Scotland has 59 MPs.The city of London has 73 MPs.

"This is a union that England dominates. The only reason there isn't an English parliament is because the people in Westminster view this place as the English Parliament."

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Ms Black said the Conservatives "regularly brag" about Westminster being "the most powerful devolved parliament in the world", adding: "But I've got a new thing for them to brag about."

She went on: "The UK is in the Guinness book of records as the country from which most countries have gained independence.

"Since 1939, 62 countries have gained independence from Westminster, and not a single one has asked to come back.

"Only one country has decided to stay, and look where we are. In 2014 the idea of Boris Johnson as prime minister was a warning, now its a reality."

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She warned that the internal trade bill was going to destroy devoltuion, finishing her speech by saying: "This bill provides a framework to Westminster to bypass the Scottish Parliament in the hope we don't notice, but we are noticing.

"It took us 300 years to get our Scottish Parliament and 20 years for this place to put a bulldozer right through it."