THE Scottish National Party is targeting the immigrant Polish community to boost its performance at next year’s Scottish election.

Party chiefs hope a manifesto translated into Polish, along with registration cards sent out to migrants in their native tongue, will help attract Scotland’s newest residents to the SNP — or Szkocha Partia Narodowa.

About 50,000 immigrants have arrived in Scotland since Poland entered the European Union (EU), all of whom are now entitled to vote in next year’s Holyrood poll.

The party is concentrating on four marginal seats — Glasgow Govan, Glasgow Kelvin, Inverness and Linlithgow — and it believes it can appeal to Poles’ sense of nationalism to vote for a separate Scotland.

“They are benefiting from independence from the Soviet state and joining the EU,” said Peter Murrell, the SNP’s chief executive.

“Obviously they are therefore more open to the message that Scotland is an ancient, independent nation.”

Marcin Klessa, manager of the Sikorski Polish club in Glasgow, said he had been influenced by the campaigning literature.

“I like the idea of seeing Scotland become a sovereign nation,” he said. “That could attract me to vote SNP.”

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