BBC News Published image copyrightPA Media image captionDouglas Ross criticised the case for independence as he highlighted his party's plans for economic recovery The Scottish Conservatives have said the case for independence is "weaker than ever" while on the campaign trail. The think tank also said it was not clear what the country's fiscal position would be in that scenario. The SNP's Kate Forbes, the finance secretary, said independence would give Scotland more control over its economy. According to the IfG report, the budget deficit of an independent Scotland would probably be larger than the 7.7% of GDP figure reported in 2018-19 due to the Covid pandemic.