Inclusion and independence: Nicola Sturgeon’s conference speech – BBC News
Read Full Report: >> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-37661327
Inclusion and independence: Nicola Sturgeon's conference speech – BBC News https://t.co/P9xF2yHQib
— ScottishPoliticsNews (@ScoPoliticsNews) 16 October 2016
Sturgeon: Indyref2 now ‘highly likely’ before 2020
IT IS “highly likely” Scotland will be asked to vote on independence before 2020, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Speaking on ITV’s Peston show, the First Minister challenged Theresa May to stop the breakup of the UK by listening to the Scottish Government’s demands to remain in the European single market.
During last week’s SNP conference Sturgeon said she would soon publish a package of proposals for new powers on immigration and international deals for Holyrood, which would be the base for Holyrood-Westminster negotiations on Brexit.
If those discussions break down then a second independence referendum would seem inevitable.
…Read More – ARTICLE SOURCE: >> http://www.thenational.scot/news/sturgeon-indyref2-now-highly-likely-before-2020.23655
Is #indyref2 just on the horizon?https://t.co/v6BNYZkEUn
— The National (@ScotNational) 17 October 2016
Nicola Sturgeon’s #SNP16 speech: the key points by Liam Furby
ARTICLE SOURCE: >> http://www.snp.org/nicola_sturgeon_snp16_speech_key_points
Nicola Sturgeon delivered her closing speech at SNP National Conference, and set out our vision for Scotland: a welcoming, progressive, open, outward-looking and inclusive nation.
The speech was packed with new announcements – from increased childcare flexibility to new measures to boost our economy. Here’s what you need to know.
We will implement a four-point plan to boost trade and exports, ensuring that our European friends know that Scotland is open for business.
We will establish a new Board of Trade in the Scottish Government, drawing on the best business expertise.
We will set up a new trade envoy scheme. It will ask prominent and successful Scots to help us boost our national export effort.
We will create permanent trade representation in Berlin – adding to our investment hubs in Dublin, London and Brussels.
We will double the number of Scottish Development International staff working across Europe to support investment and trade opportunities for Scotland.
We have today launched a consultation on radical new approaches to childcare that prioritise choice and flexibility.
We will propose that parents can choose a nursery or childminder that best suits their needs and – so long as the provider meets agreed standards – ask the local authority to fund it.
As suggested by Children in Scotland’s Childcare Commission, we will also propose that parents can opt to receive the funding their child is entitled to in a childcare account and then use that money to purchase a suitable place directly.
We will invest an extra half a billion pounds into primary care, including GP services and health centres.
Over this parliament, we will increase health spending by almost £2 billion. And we will increase spending on primary care services to 11 per cent of the frontline NHS budget, bringing treatment closer to home.
We will launch an independent review of the system that supports children in care.
Real progress is being made in improving the life chances of looked after children but we can’t ignore the reality for too many children in care. Care experienced young people are less likely to go to university, more likely to experience homelessness and to have lower life expectancy.
That’s why we will launch a new review of the care system, driven by those who have experience of care, to look at the underpinning laws, practices, culture and ethos.
From next summer, all newborn babies across the country will receive a baby box full of clothes, nappies, bedding, books, and toiletries.
The first newborn babies will receive a baby box in pilot areas from New Year. And next month we’ll launch a competition – in partnership with the V&A in Dundee – for the design of the box.
Below is the address given by SNP Leader and First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon to SNP conference 2016.
We meet here in the city of Glasgow, five months on from the Scottish Parliament election.
When we gathered back in March, we were preparing to seek election as Scotland’s government for a third consecutive term.
Thanks to your hard-work and your campaigning brilliance, we did just that.
We won the election.
From the bottom of my heart, let me say this to the people of our country –
Thank you for putting your trust in me as your First Minister.
Thank you for choosing us to be your government.
The SECC – where we meet today – was first opened back in 1985.
It has witnessed quite a few changes in the 30 years since.
The biggest change of all has been in the politics of our country and of this city.
In 1985, a Scottish Parliament seemed like a pipe dream.
Today, it is the beating heart of our democracy.
We no longer question if we should have a parliament of our own.
Instead, we ask if our parliament should be independent.
We say yes.
In 1985 every constituency in this city, bar one, was held by Labour.
Today, the political landscape is very different.
Last year, every Westminster constituency in this city was won by the SNP.
This year, every Holyrood constituency voted SNP as well.
And just last week, in a council by-election, a massive 19% swing to the SNP secured victory for our brilliant candidate, Chris Cunningham.
Friends,
Next year, we have the chance to complete this political transformation.
Glasgow was once described as the second city of the Empire.
In the council elections next May, let’s work as hard as we ever have to bring the SNP to power.
And then let’s build this city as one of the very best in Europe.
Glasgow is a vivid illustration of the success of our party.
But it also stands as a lesson.
Labour lost because they took the voters for granted.
They became arrogant on power. They thought they were invincible.
And they rightly paid the price.
So our promise – to Glasgow and to all the people of Scotland – is this:
We will never take you for granted.
We will work each and every day to earn and re-earn your trust.
Conference,
It’s not just attitude which distinguishes the SNP from Labour.
It’s policy and principle too.
When Labour held its conference in Liverpool recently its defence spokesman wanted to announce support for the renewal of Trident.
He was enraged at not being allowed to go as far as he wanted in supporting weapons of mass destruction.
Well, we’re pretty angry too.
We’re angry that with so many children still living in poverty, we have a Tory government determined to waste tens of billions of pounds on a new generation of nuclear weapons.
And we’re angry at Labour for meekly falling into line behind the Tories.
Friends, I promise you this –
No-one will ever have to slip a note to politicians in this party reminding us to oppose Trident.
Now and always with the SNP: it is no to Trident.
Not in our name.
Conference,
In the conflicts facing the world today, nuclear weapons are not the answer.
In Syria, up to 400,000 men, women and children have been killed since the conflict started.
Over a million have been wounded.
No-one can fail to be profoundly moved, and deeply angered, by the appalling scenes we are witnessing in Aleppo.
Innocent children are being killed and wounded with impunity.
The barbarism of the Assad regime and the actions of Russia are sickening.
We condemn them unreservedly.
We agree with the UN that all countries must stand up for the millions of Syrians who desperately need help.
And although at times we can feel powerless, we should remember that communities across Scotland are making a difference to families fleeing the conflict.
Last month the 1,000th Syrian refugee was welcomed to Scotland.
And they are welcome.
But we can and we must do more – especially for children, alone without their parents.
So, I say to the UK Government today – stop treating this as a migration issue.
It is a humanitarian crisis.
We must rise to the challenge.
And Scotland is ready and willing to play our part.
Friends,
It may just be five months since we won the Holyrood election, but in many ways it feels like a political lifetime.
We are in a completely new era –
– A new political era and a new battle of ideas
– A new era for our Parliament, with new powers and responsibilities
– And a new era for our relationship with Europe and the wider world.
There are challenges aplenty.
As we face up to them, we must make sure of this –
That Scotland always remains the progressive, internationalist, communitarian country that the majority of us living here want it be.
Make no mistake – today, we face a choice of two futures.
After last week in Birmingham, there can be no doubt – that choice has never been so stark.
The primary contest of ideas in our country is now between the SNP and the hard right Tories.
The Cameroons have fallen to the Faragistas – and let’s face it, the Cameroons were never very appealing in the first place.
Conference,
The SNP’s vision for Scotland is welcoming, progressive, open, outward looking, and inclusive.
The Tory vision?
Xenophobic, closed, inward looking, discriminatory.
Let’s be frank, the Tories are no longer the Conservative and Unionist Party.
After last week, we should call them what they are:
The Conservative and Separatist Party.
Or UKIP for short.
Today’s Tories display an ingrained hostility to immigration and offer a stony heart to refugees.
They treat those with disabilities with suspicion.
People seeking support to get back into employment are humiliated and harassed.
A mother unable to find the bus fare to get to a job centre appointment is more likely to face a benefit sanction than she is to be offered a helping hand.
And those from other European countries who have chosen to make their homes here – human beings with lives, jobs and families – they are treated as no more than bargaining chips.
Conference,
The Prime Minister’s position on EU nationals shames her and it will be a stain on her government each and every day that it is allowed to continue.
The fact is, with almost every action the Tories take, somebody is excluded. Somebody loses out. Somebody is left behind.
So let us make it clear.
That is not our way.
It is not who we are.
And it is not who we aspire to be.
And what of Labour?
Well, so lost have they become that they prefer the prospect of years of continuous Tory government at Westminster to self-government for Scotland.
It is inexplicable, I know – but I guess branch offices just don’t have all that much in the way of ambition.
Friends,
Labour may have thrown in the towel.
But let me make this pledge today.
The SNP will never stand by while a right wing and intolerant Tory government undermines the very fabric of our society.
At Westminster, we will continue to provide the strong opposition that Labour is failing to deliver.
In recent months, it hasn’t been Labour asking the hard questions about our place in the single market and the jobs that depend on it – it’s been our Westminster leader, our new deputy leader, Angus Robertson.
Just as it’s been Alison Thewliss making the case against the immorality of denying tax credits to women unless they can prove they’ve been raped.
And Ian Blackford, standing against the deportation of the Brain family.
Or Mhairi Black standing up for women denied the pension entitlements they saved for all their working lives.
The SNP isn’t just the real opposition to the Tories at Westminster.
The SNP is the only effective opposition to the Tories at Westminster.
Our job at Westminster is to provide the strong opposition that is so desperately needed, not just in Scotland, but right across the UK.
And our job at Holyrood is to use our powers to build the better Scotland we all want to see.
Conference,
If you remember just one word from my speech today, I want it to be this one.
It begins with an ‘I’.
No, not that one! Not yet.
The word I want you to remember is this – inclusion.
Inclusion is the guiding principle for everything we do.
It encapsulates what we stand for as a party and it describes the kind of country we want Scotland to be.
An inclusive country.
A country where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to a better future and to share in the benefits of that better future.
A country which works for those who value the security they currently have and for those who yearn for change.
A country where we value people for the contribution they make.
Not one where we will ever judge them on their country of birth or the colour of their passport.
That is the inclusive Scotland we are working to build.
And I’m proud of the progress we’ve made.
Earlier, this week a major European research study reached this conclusion.
On health, on education, on tolerance and on the environment – out of all of the four nations in the UK, Scotland is top.
Of course, I know there is still much to do.
Much to do in the next phase of Scotland’s home rule journey.
Westminster is still responsible for the majority of funding for our public services.
But more than ever before, the new Scotland Act means the growth of Scotland’s budget depends on the growth of Scotland’s economy.
Creating jobs, expanding the economy and growing tax revenues – these priorities must be at the centre of everything we do.
And they always will be.
This time last year, workers at the Tata Steel plants at Dalzell and Clydebridge faced huge uncertainty.
I stood up at our conference and promised we would leave no stone unturned in our efforts to find and secure a viable future.
We worked with the company, with trade unions, with local government and the local community.
Two weeks ago, I returned to Dalzell with this message for the workforce.
We kept our promise – the plant is open for business and Scotland is rolling steel once more.
When I think of the many times in years gone by when Westminster governments have stood by and allowed Scottish industry to wither and die, I think about what might have been.
What might have been if there had been a Scottish Parliament – and a Scottish government – there to fight for them.
What might have been if the people of Scotland had been able to steward the immense natural resources of these lands for present and future generations.
Just like independent Norway did.
So let us make this resolution today –
Never again will we be content to look back helplessly at the damage the Tories have done to Scottish industry and wonder what might have been.
We must win the power to always shape our own future.
Conference,
We will not just intervene to save jobs. We will also provide help and support for businesses to thrive.
I can confirm today that our small business bonus will be extended.
From April 1 next year, 100,000 business premises across Scotland will pay no business rates at all.
Absolutely none.
Our new half billion pound Growth Scheme will offer guarantees and loans to companies seeking to export, expand and create new jobs.
And we’ll make sure that the benefits of growth are shared more widely.
Central to that is our work to extend payment of the living wage.
There are currently over 600 accredited living wage employers in Scotland.
By this time next year, that number will rise to at least 1000.
That’s what inclusion means in practice.
We will also redouble our efforts to make sure our economy is internationally competitive.
That’s even more important now in the wake of the Brexit vote.
Make no mistake, the threat to our economy is not just the prospect of losing our place in the single market – disastrous though that would be.
It is also the deeply damaging – and utterly shameful – message that the Tories’ rhetoric about foreign workers is sending to the world.
More than ever we need to tell our European friends that Scotland is open for business.
And let me be crystal clear about this – we cannot trust the likes of Boris Johnson and Liam Fox to do that for us.
So, today I can announce a four-point plan to boost trade and exports, by taking Scotland’s message, directly and in our own voice, to the very heart of Europe.
Firstly, we will establish a new Board of Trade in the Scottish Government.
Secondly, we will set up a new trade envoy scheme. It will ask prominent Scots to help us boost our export effort.
Thirdly, we will establish permanent trade representation in Berlin – adding to our Investment hubs in Dublin, London and Brussels.
And, fourthly, we will more than double the number of Scottish Development International staff working across Europe –
Men and women whose job it will be to market Scotland as an open economy and welcoming society.
Friends,
The difference between the Scottish and Westminster governments is this:
They are retreating to the fringes of Europe: we intend to stay at its very heart – where Scotland belongs.
Conference,
Inclusive economic growth underpins our entire economic strategy.
The Queensferry Crossing – our new bridge across the Forth – has been our country’s most important infrastructure project in a generation.
In fact, this week, it entered the Guinness Book of Records.
The central tower of the bridge is the biggest freestanding structure of its kind anywhere in the world.
What an amazing feat of engineering.
But the most important infrastructure investment of the next few years will be different. It will be childcare.
Over this parliament, we will double the amount of state funded early years education and childcare for all 3 and 4 year olds and for the most disadvantaged 2 year olds.
Not a bridge over a river.
But a bridge to a better future for our children.
And today I can announce a new phase in this childcare revolution.
Just now it is local authorities who decide what childcare places are offered to parents.
Councils work hard to be flexible – but often the places offered to parents are not where and when they need them.
So today we are launching a national parent consultation on how to do things differently.
It proposes radical new approaches prioritising choice and flexibility.
First, we will propose that parents can choose a nursery or childminder that best suits their needs and – as long as the provider meets agreed standards – ask the local authority to fund it.
In other words, the funding will follow the child – not the other way round.
Second, as suggested by Children in Scotland’s Childcare Commission we will propose that parents can opt to receive funding in a childcare account and then use it to purchase a suitable place directly.
Quality, choice, flexibility – these will be the watchwords of a policy to transform the working lives of families and the life chances of our children.
And I’m proud that it’s an SNP government that will deliver it.
Conference,
There’s another policy for our youngest children that I will be proud to deliver.
In the election, we promised a Baby Box of essential items for all newborns. It’s a policy borrowed from Finland – where it has contributed to one of the lowest levels of child mortality in the world.
So, I am delighted to give you an update on our plans to introduce it here.
Next month, we’ll launch a competition – in partnership with the V&A in Dundee – for the design of the box.
The first boxes will be delivered to babies born in pilot areas on New Year’s Day.
Now, I don’t know about you, but as a first foot offering, I think that beats a lump of coal!
And, then next summer, every new born baby across the country will receive a baby box full of clothes, nappies, bedding, books and toiletries.
Friends,
The baby box is a powerful symbol of our belief that all children should start life on a level playing field.
That’s what inclusion means in practice.
In our schools, raising the bar for all and closing the attainment gap – opening up opportunity for every child – is the number one priority of my government.
It is my personal defining mission.
That’s why we are directing more funding to areas of greatest need.
It’s why we’ve announced our intention to reform school governance – to put parents, head-teachers and classroom teachers at the centre of decisions about children’s learning.
It’s why are working with teachers to reduce workload.
And it’s why we are bringing greater transparency to school performance – so that we can measure the attainment gap accurately and set clear targets to close it.
But if we are to live up to our ambition we have a very particular duty to those most in need.
We have to get it right for every child.
Recently, I’ve been spending some time with young people who have grown up in care.
Some of them are here today.
We welcome them to our conference.
Their stories have moved me deeply.
These young people have challenged me to accept Who Cares? Scotland’s pledge to listen to 1000 care experienced young people over the next two years.
And then to use what they tell me to help make their lives better.
I’ve accepted that challenge.
Don’t get me wrong. Many young people who grow up in care go on to do great things.
And the staff and foster carers who work with looked-after kids do an amazing job.
Let us thank them, publicly, today.
Real progress is being made. School exclusions are down. The number of children living in permanent rather than temporary placements is up.
But we can’t ignore the reality for too many children in care.
Only six per cent go to university.
Nearly half will suffer mental health issues.
Half of the adult prison population are people who lived in care when they were growing up.
And worst of all – and this breaks my heart – a young person who has been in care is twenty times – twenty times – more likely to be dead by the time they are 25 than a young person who hasn’t.
Conference,
This simply has to change.
And I am determined that it will change.
So, I am going to do what these young people have asked me to do.
I am announcing today that we will launch an independent, root and branch review of the care system.
It will look at the underpinning legislation, practices, culture and ethos.
And it will be driven by those who have experience of care.
Conference,
This is not something that any other country has ever done before.
We will do it here in Scotland first.
You know, the young people who speak to me make a simple but powerful point.
They say the system feels like it is designed only to stop things happening.
And, of course, it must have safeguards and protections.
But children don’t need a system that just stops things happening to them – they need one that makes things happen for them.
A system that supports them to become the people they can be. One that gives them a sense of family. Of belonging. Of love.
My view is simple: every young person deserves to be loved.
So let’s come together and make this commitment: to love our most vulnerable children and give them the childhood they deserve.
That’s what inclusion means in practice.
Conference,
If there is one institution in our country that embodies the values of inclusion and compassion more than any other it is our precious national health service.
Today, there are more staff working in the health service than ever before.
Our doctors, nurses, auxiliaries and all of our other health professionals are helping to deliver some of the lowest waiting times – and some of the highest satisfaction levels – ever recorded in Scotland.
So I will never tire of saying this.
Our NHS staff, our heroes – each and every one of them, no matter where they were born – deserve our deepest gratitude for the work that they do.
Over this parliament, we will increase health spending by almost £2 billion.
That’s a necessary commitment but it is not sufficient.
To make our NHS fit for the future we must reform as well as invest.
That will involve tough decisions – but the challenge of an ageing population demands it.
It’s why our government has integrated health and social care – a challenge ducked by every single administration before us.
And it’s why we are expanding standalone elective capacity through five new treatment centres.
But we must go further.
The NHS of the future must be built on a real shift from acute care to primary and community care.
So the commitment I am announcing today is a landmark one.
By the end of this parliament, we will increase spending on primary care services to 11% of the frontline NHS budget.
That’s what doctors have said is needed.
And it is what we will deliver.
And let me be clear what that means. By 2021, an extra half billion pounds will be invested in our GP practices and health centres.
And it means, for the first time ever, that half of the health budget will be spent, not in acute hospitals, but in the community – delivering primary, community and social care.
Building an NHS that delivers today and for generations to come – that is what our government is determined to do.
Friends,
Today I have set out our determination to build an inclusive Scotland.
I’ve talked about our ambitions for our NHS, our economy, our education system and our children in care.
I’ve talked about our hopes for the next generation and for the generations that come after that.
Hopes and ambitions that are shared by men and women the length and breadth of Scotland.
So as we prepare to take the next steps in our nation’s journey – whatever they might be – let us always remember this.
There is more – much more – that unites us as a country than will ever divide us.
Yes voters and No voters. Remainers and Leavers.
All of us care deeply and passionately about the future of this nation.
So whatever our disagreements, let us always treat each other with respect.
And let’s work harder to understand each other’s point of view.
You know, in a strange sort of way, the events of the last few months might help us do just that.
I know how upset I was on the morning of 24 June as I came to terms with the result of the EU referendum. I felt as if part of my identity was being taken away.
And I don’t mind admitting that it gave me a new insight into how those who voted No might have felt if 2014 had gone the other way.
Likewise, there are many No voters now looking at the Brexit vote with real dismay and wondering if independence might be the best option for Scotland after all.
Let’s build on that common ground.
Let’s decide that whatever decisions we face in the years ahead, we will take them together – respecting each other every step of the way.
And let us in the SNP lead by example.
Friends,
This year marks 30 years since I first joined this party of ours.
I know what you’re thinking – how is that even possible when she’s still only 25?
Or maybe that’s just what I’d like you to be thinking.
In all those 30 years, I have never doubted that Scotland will one day become an independent country.
And I believe it today more strongly than I ever have before.
But I’ve always known that it will happen only when a majority of our fellow citizens believe that becoming independent is the best way to build a better future, together.
So we need to understand why, in 2014, that wasn’t the case.
Some who voted No believed that staying in the UK offered greater economic security, a stronger voice in the world and a guaranteed place in the EU.
Back then it even seemed possible that there might be a Westminster Labour government at some point in the next 20 years!
But the future looks very different today.
And make no mistake – it is the opponents of independence, those on the right of the Tory party, intent on a hard Brexit, who have caused the insecurity and uncertainty.
So it falls to us, the advocates of independence, to offer solutions to the problems they have created.
Of course independence would bring its own challenges – that is true for every independent nation on earth.
But with independence, the solutions will lie in our own hands.
It will be up to us to chart our own course and be the country we want to be – not the country that an increasingly right wing Tory government wants us to be.
I promised at the start of our conference that we will seek to protect Scotland’s interests in every way that we can.
And we will.
We will work with others across the political divide to try to save the UK as a whole from the fate of a hard Brexit.
We will propose new powers to help keep Scotland in the single market even if the UK leaves.
But if the Tory government rejects these efforts –
If it insists on taking Scotland down a path that hurts our economy, costs jobs, lowers our living standards and damages our reputation as an open, welcoming, diverse country –
Then be in no doubt.
Scotland must have the ability to choose a better future.
And I will make sure that Scotland gets that chance.
And let us be clear about this too.
If that moment does arise, it will not be because the 2014 result hasn’t been respected.
It will be because the promises made to Scotland in 2014 have been broken.
Above all, it will be because our country decides, together, that being independent is the best way to build a better, stronger, fairer future.
Friends,
We know what kind of country we want Scotland to be.
And I believe it’s a vision that unites us.
An inclusive, prosperous, socially-just, open, welcoming and outward-looking country.
The question now, in this new era, is how best to secure it.
Let’s resolve as a nation to answer that question together.
We have already come so far.
Our home rule journey has given us new confidence.
New self-belief.
A determination not to be taken backwards, but to finish building tomorrow’s Scotland.
Friends,
The time is coming to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands.
Let’s get on with making that case.
Let’s get on with building the country we know Scotland can be.
ARTICLE SOURCE: >> http://www.snp.org/nicola_sturgeon_address_to_snp16
Below is the address given by Deputy First Minister John Swinney, John Swinney MSP.
Conference,
In May of this year, a remarkable thing happened.
Nine years after we were first elected to government, we went to the polls to seek an historic third consecutive term in office.
Led by Nicola Sturgeon – a Leader with a close and direct relationship with our people – we asked the electorate for a new mandate.
We set out our record, we promoted our team, we explained our vision of a fair and prosperous nation.
And the voters gave us a thumping great victory for the SNP and for Scotland.
Friends,
The doors you knocked, the leaflets you delivered, the voters you canvassed and the neighbours you convinced; that’s what made our victory possible.
It was a victory founded on hard work. It was built on doorsteps the length and breadth of Scotland.
It is the greatest strength of this party.
Now, don’t get me wrong, some would say our First Minister is our greatest strength – and far be it for me to disagree – I wouldn’t dream of it.
Others will tell you our greatest strength is our vision for the nation. And they are not wrong either.
But for me our greatest strength is born of our roots. We are not a branch office of a UK party, we are not apologists for a Westminster Government. We draw our strength from every community, every town and village, every creed and colour in this great nation.
Friends, our greatest strength is that we are rooted in all the communities of Scotland.
And last weekend, we saw the stark contrast between this country, this party, and those who have a different vision for this nation.
Last weekend, while the Tories took to their conference platform to spout forth xenophobic bile, here in Scotland an amazing thing happened.
As the week went on and as the bile poured forth, here people started to tweet about what they loved.
They tweeted about their origins, they tweeted about their families, they tweeted about their friends, here and abroad.
They stood up to the xenophobes in the best way possible, by celebrating the diversity that makes Scotland.
They met hate with love.
And they made every one of us very proud that we live in Scotland.
Conference,
The late, dearly missed, Bashir Ahmad said it best. He summed up our ethos with this simple statement: “It doesn’t matter where you come from, what’s important is where we are going together as a nation”.
In the face of the right-wing demagoguery of the Tory-Brexit Government, it has never been more important that we celebrate that spirit and hold fast to that truth.
It’s who we are.
Whether born here or abroad.
Whatever your creed, whatever your colour.
A Scot by birth or a Scot by choice.
All of us – every single one of us – are part of our nation.
All of us who choose to live here – We are Scotland.
Conference,
Our vision is of an inclusive nation.
At the election we took a positive and vibrant vision of what Scotland can become.
In Nicola Sturgeon we have a First Minister pledged to serve all of Scotland.
And we have a government committed to building a fair, equal and prosperous nation with opportunity for us all to grow and thrive.
Friends,
Our manifesto set out a plan for reform and transformation. It is a prospectus to fulfil Scotland’s massive potential.
For Scotland’s children it means a better start in life. And for parents it means more jobs, better-paid jobs and greater security.
For our health and social care services, it means fresh ideas, giving the vulnerable in our society an improved quality of life.
For our economy, it means supporting helping all businesses to innovate and grow, and making sure everyone gets a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.
For our country as a whole, it means using new powers over tax and social security to expand our economy and lift more people out of poverty.
But above all else, it means always trusting the people of Scotland to make the big decisions about the future of our country.
That was our prospectus. Now it is our programme for this Parliament.
This is the route to create a fair and prosperous Scotland for all.
Since 2007 we have transformed education, bolstered our health service, reformed policing, taken employment levels to record highs and built thousands of affordable homes.
Our investment has delivered modern schools, colleges and universities, as well as some of the biggest transport improvements the country has ever seen.
Our aim has always been to build a country where strong public services are underpinned by a successful economy.
Yes, we are proud of our record, but we know there is still much more to do.
That is our task now.
To build a better future for Scotland and for everybody who lives and works here.
Friends, you have just heard from our team. The Cabinet Secretaries leading change in their portfolios.
Shona Robison, delivering record levels of health care to more patients in Scotland.
Angela Constance creating a Scottish Social Security system based on dignity and respect.
Michael Matheson, delivering a 42 year low in crime
Roseanna Cunningham, delivering on our world leading climate change targets, six years ahead of schedule.
Keith Brown, growing the economy despite the headwinds of the Tory-Brexit.
Fiona Hyslop has just arrived from Brussels where she has been fighting for Scotland’s place in Europe. She will be here on stage later this afternoon.
And Fergus Ewing is away fighting for Scotland’s rural economy, promoting our fantastic produce to the retailers that can make Scottish food and drink a success.
Not for them party before country.
They are SNP ministers and for us, country comes first. Always.
And friends, before you think I am forgetting someone, I want to say a word about Derek Mackay, our new Finance Secretary.
I have, of course, done that job. It’s not easy. It gets tougher as the times get tougher. But I know, Derek will do a fantastic job as Finance Secretary.
But I do have a word of warning for him.
I too was once a young looking Finance Minister, with a full head of hair.
So be warned. This is your future.
Conference,
On stage and off it, this is the team that leads our nation.
And at the head of that team is our First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Acknowledged by friend and foe alike, she has given this party and this country the leadership it needs in some very uncertain times.
No one could have been more struck by this than on the morning of 24 June.
In the wake of the EU referendum result, it was Nicola Sturgeon who stepped up.
It was Nicola Sturgeon who laid out a path for Scotland to follow.
While Boris and Gove panicked, Cameron resigned and Corbyn went missing, it was Nicola Sturgeon who rejected the xenophobia of Farage, reassured our EU friends here in Scotland and defended our relationship with Europe.
In that moment, there was a crisis of leadership in London. Here in Scotland, leadership had its finest hour.
And that crisis rolls on in Westminster.
Barely a day goes by that the three Brexiteers of Boris, Davies and Fox, do not embarrass the whole UK.
Theresa May is in office but it is already obvious that she is not in power.
A Remain voter – apparently – she is being driven by the Tory hard-right to a hard-Brexit just as David Cameron was driven to a referendum by those self-same hard-right Brexiteers in the first place.
The consequences can barely be contemplated.
One consequence I will deal with directly today.
We have already confirmed tuition fee funding to support EU students studying here, or preparing to start this year.
Now, we will extend that guarantee to those starting next year in 2017/18.
And, unlike Labour and the Tories, that’s tuition-free education we are guaranteeing – not the massive fees they impose on students wherever they come from.
But let me go further.
We will guarantee their funding. But what I demand is that the Tory-Brexit government guarantee their right to stay here during the studies and work here after their studies.
They are not “cards” to be played.
They are human beings.
To use them as negotiating chips is obscene and we will have no part of it.
Conference,
The Tory-Brexit government’s threat to people’s right to stay here is just another part of the hard-right agenda now running rampant at Westminster.
And, in the face of this ugly Tory-Brexit agenda, where stands Labour?
Nowhere.
When Jeremy Hunt put foreign born doctors on notice of deportation;
When Amber Rudd announced her sinister list of foreign workers,
Labour didn’t stand up in defiance.
Instead their press office said the Tories had not gone far enough.
Shame. Shame. Shame on the pathetic Labour Party.
Now, there will be a few in Labour as horrified as we are at their collective moral failure.
Kezia Dugdale tweeted “not in my name”.
But let’s be clear.
For as long as Kezia Dugdale insists on powers over immigration, Europe and all the rest remaining in London, Kezia shares the blame.
I sat on the Smith commission.
I watched as Labour vetoed proposal after proposal from Linda Fabiani and from me to devolve power after power to Scotland.
So, Kezia Dugdale, you may say it is not in your name, but I say it is at your hand.
And the people of Scotland will never forget that Labour were prepared to allow the Tories to rule Scotland to stop our country deciding her own future.
Friends,
Make no mistake, we are the national party and we will always put the national interest first.
We believe in our nation’s ability to govern itself and we believe in our communities’ ability to take power into their own hands.
We want to re-invigorate local government by reconnecting it with communities. The principle of local control, not on behalf of a community, but by a community is key.
That is at the heart of our programme.
We have already launched the review of how school education is governed, setting ourselves the task of making parents and teachers the key decision makers in the life of our schools.
Over the coming Parliament we will go further.
We will review the roles and responsibilities of local authorities. And, we will look again at the relationships between local authorities and health boards.
We aim to achieve nothing less than to transform our democratic landscape, protect and renew public services and refresh the relationship between citizens, communities and councils.
We do this not because it is radical – and it is – but because we believe it is right.
We do it not because it is easy –it’s not – but because it is in the national interest.
We believe that national interest lies in placing power in the people of this country’s hands. It is why I believe in Independence.
Just as we believe the best people to decide the future of our country, are those who live here, so we believe the best people to decide the future of our communities are the people who live in those communities.
We will trust the people to make the big decisions about their future.
That is our creed.
And that is the truly radical path of this party.
I am deeply privileged to have been asked to be Education Secretary.
The task the First Minister has given me is simple: To raise the bar for all and close the attainment gap for our poorest pupils.
And our ambition is equally straightforward: we will make significant progress in closing the gap within the next parliament and substantially eliminate it within a decade.
It may be a simple objective. It may be a straightforward aim. But it will not be easy.
We do not underestimate the scale of our ambition.
We do not underestimate also the destructive force of poverty. We know the damage it does to the life chances of our youngest, poorest children.
I believe the single best route out of poverty is education.
I believe the single most powerful weapon we have to fight poverty is education.
We will bring the whole education system together behind our purpose. The expansion of childcare to 30 hours per week. The focus of school education unreservedly on learning and teaching. The widening of access to university. The strengthening of apprenticeships. The linking of college to the world of work. All comes together in the same National Mission. To free every single child from the burden of poverty.
I will give it my relentless focus. I will not rest until we have delivered the best possible future for every young person in Scotland.
Friends,
Nine years ago, we set out on a journey.
We have come a long way.
The people of our country have asked us to go further.
To make Scotland Stronger.
That is our task.
That is our pledge.
Our promise to Scotland is this: we will build a fair, equal and prosperous country.
ARTICLE SOURCE: http://www.snp.org/john_swinney_address_to_snp16
Below is the address given by SNP Depute Leader and Leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson MP.
It is a huge honour to be able to report on the work of the SNP at Westminster – the strong, united and effective opposition to the Tories in the House of Commons.
Make no doubt that with Labour in disarray, it is only the SNP that will stand up for Scotland against this right-wing Tory UK Government.
As we sought the votes of the people of Scotland in last year’s General Election, we promised then that we would be stronger for Scotland. And that is exactly what we have done.
If you hadn’t already noticed, it is SNP MPs who are leading from the front when it comes to the campaigns and causes that really matter.
Ian Blackford took up the cause of the Brain Family – Gregg, Kathryn and son Lachlan – who moved to Dingwall in 2011 on Kathryn Brain’s student visa, who wanted to stay and contribute to Scotland’s economy – but were told by the UK Government that they were not welcome here.
Ian was a formidable opponent to this patent nonsense from the Home Office, and working with our Scottish Government and our First Minister – Ian was successful in his campaign to win the right for the Brains to stay.
I am proud that we have MPs like Ian fighting for the people of Scotland
And I am proud that Gregg, Kathryn and Lachlan are here with us at SNP Conference today.
Let us show the Brain family a warm Conference welcome.
World conflict has led to an unprecedented displacement of people that is now a huge global challenge. And SNP MPs Joanna Cherry and Stuart McDonald have been at the forefront of efforts to pressure the UK Government to do more to help alleviate this humanitarian crisis.
There are almost 90,000 refugee children in Europe alone, without their families. But the UK Government would not commit to putting a number on how many children they would give a home in the UK.
Joanna and Stuart have visited the camp at Calais and seen the faces affected by this crisis. They have been relentless in their efforts to secure protection for these children and I know that they will continue their hard work to ensure that the UK Government takes a more human approach to this crisis.
Just last week, SNP MPs delivered petitions to the House of Commons supporting thousands of women in Scotland who will be affected by the UK Government’s unfair pension changes.
When Mhairi Black took up the cause of the WASPI women, she delivered one of the most impassioned speeches in the House of Commons. She rightly accused this Tory Government of the wrong priorities – of choosing to find billions of pounds for new nuclear weapons, instead of choosing to provide some security and dignity to women in their retirement.
It is Mhairi Black and the SNP that have put fair solutions on the table and the UK Government must act. Conference, we will never stop fighting for a fairer deal for the WASPI women.
And Conference, let us contrast the hard work of SNP MPs with the shambles of the Labour Party.
As David Cameron sought approval for a bombing campaign in Syria, it was the SNP that secured and led cross-party opposition to the plans whilst Labour fought with itself.
As Labour let the Tories away with writing a blank cheque for the renewal of Trident, it was the SNP that have been the principled opposition in Parliament.
When Labour had the opportunity to vote down the Tory’s austerity charter, they were found wanting. Only the SNP are clear and consistent in their opposition to Tory austerity.
And as we approach next month’s Autumn Statement – the SNP will continue to argue for an end to austerity that is damaging economic growth and public services, meaningful fiscal stimulus to mitigate against the impact of leaving the EU, and tangible support for our oil and gas industry. This is the Brexit recovery plan that the UK Government must deliver.
Indeed, an effective opposition to the Tories is more important now than ever before.
Conference, we are in a bleak Brexit Britain. And we are in the eye of the storm with the worst still to come.
In contrast to the work taken by our First Minister and the Scottish Government to reassure EU nationals living in Scotland, the UK government has referred to them as cards to be bargained with.
Their plan to “name and shame” firms by making them reveal what proportion of their workforce is foreign is deplorable and xenophobic. As the First Minister says, the fact that they now want to keep this information in secret lists will be of no consolation to anybody. And as much as Theresa May wants to run and hide from her record, how can we forget her infamous “Go Home” foreigners vans?
It is a disgrace that race and religious hate crime has increased in some parts of the UK by over 40 per cent. And Conference, let us be clear – those politicians that fuel a climate of xenophobia with their damaging policies and reckless words must accept their share of responsibility for this.
The SNP will always stand up against prejudice and hatred, and stand by those EU nationals that do us the honour of making Scotland their home and make such a valued contribution to our society.
And so conference that is why today I can confirm the SNP will be using our opposition day debate in the House of Commons next week to demand the UK government end this unacceptable situation right now and give EU nationals a cast iron guarantee that their status will be protected.
I am proud to say that Scotland is a welcoming, outward looking country. There are thousands of EU nationals who study at Scottish universities and they make up around 5% of the NHS workforce in Scotland. EU citizens who come to live and work in Scotland are also critical to key sectors of our economy. In Scotland, where employment is high, we require more people to come and work in Scotland and help our economy prosper. Over 12% of the people who work in our agricultural sector and 11% of people who work in our of our food, fish and meat processing sector are EU citizens.
Conference, those who come to live and work in Scotland contribute to our economy, and they make us richer and more diverse. Scotland is their home, and they are welcome here.
On the issues that matter to Scotland – the Tories aren’t listening. When they sought the votes of the people of Scotland to take us out of the EU, they made all kinds of promises that more powers – currently held by the EU – would come to Scotland. But yesterday in Westminster, the Tory Environment Minister told us “these policies are devolved now…but the general consensus is that there needs to be a UK wide framework”.
Conference, this is not just failing to meet their promise – the Tories are now talking about reverse devolution, about taking powers away from Scotland as part of their Brexit powergrab. And in her Conference speech, Theresa May said there will be “no opt-out from Brexit”. She said the UK Government would negotiate its departure from the EU “as one United Kingdom and we will leave the European Union as one United Kingdom.”
And Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, reiterated that Scotland has “no veto” over the UK leaving the EU. This is despite being told in 2014 that we were an equal partner in this United Kingdom – it is time for Theresa May to prove it.
Scotland’s membership of the Single Market of 500 million people is vital to Scotland’s interest. With a significant rural economy, retaining access to CAP payments matters. With a reputation for punching above our weight in research, ensuring access to competitive research funding and the global collaborations that flow from it, matters.
For a country that needs to grow its population to help address skills gaps and deal with an ageing population, free movement of people, matters. All of that is now at risk – and it will be people who pay the price of this in real life if jobs, investment and living standards suffer as a result.
Take our financial services sector. Scotland has a distinguished history in banking that dates back over 300 years. We are one of Europe’s leading financial centres and the second financial hub in the UK outside of London. Over 150,000 people in Scotland are employed in financial services. The success of this industry which brings big jobs and big revenue to Scotland relies upon our membership of the Single Market. We cannot allow that to be threatened by the reckless behaviour of Theresa May and her right-wing Tory Government.
The alternative, Conference, is economic vandalism. The report by the Fraser of Allander Institute published last week made for spine-chilling reading – the real impact of leaving the EU is between 30,000 and 80,000 Scottish jobs lost, and our GDP 5% lower. It is clear that the Tories represent a clear and present danger to Scotland’s interests.
Theresa May says that options for keeping Scotland in the EU are ‘impractical’, that we’ve ‘had our referendum’ and that there will be a ‘UK approach’ to Brexit. She refuses to accept that for Scotland, remain means remain.
My message to the Prime Minister is this: If you continue to ignore the expressed will of the people of Scotland, if you refuse to even consider how we might protect Scotland’s place in the EU then be in no doubt – your days as Prime Minister of a UNITED Kingdom are numbered.
So Conference, let our message to the people of Scotland be this – whether you voted yes or you voted no in 2014, and whether you voted remain or you voted leave in 2016 – we know that you just want what is best for you, for your community, for Scotland. The SNP – at Holyrood and at Westminster – will stand up for Scotland’s interests first.
ARTICLE SOURCE: http://www.snp.org/angus_robertson_address_to_snp16
Below is the opening address given by Nicola Sturgeon to SNP Conference 2016.
Conference.
Welcome to the Dear Green Place.
Welcome to the great city of Glasgow.
A city that said Yes in 2014.
A city where every citizen is now represented in the Scottish Parliament by an SNP constituency MSP.
Let me begin today by warmly congratulating our new Depute Leader, Angus Robertson.
We had four first class candidates to choose from.
Indeed, we had more quality in our race for depute than Labour managed in its election for leader.
Friends,
Let me, on your behalf, thank Tommy, Alyn and Chris for bringing their talents, energy and ideas to the contest.
Each of you has a massive contribution to make to the future of our party.
And Angus – you will be an outstanding deputy leader. I am delighted to have you by my side and I look forward to working with you as we lead our party and our country to even greater success.
Conference,
Over the next three days, we will talk in detail about our work to build a better, fairer Scotland.
On Saturday, my conference address will focus on our plans to help business and create jobs.
On our work to expand childcare and close the attainment gap in our schools.
On our absolute, undiminished commitment to invest in and reform our precious NHS.
At the heart of every single one of our plans is the ambition to build an inclusive Scotland.
A country where everyone has the opportunity to contribute to – and the right to benefit from – the better Scotland we are building together.
A country where we cherish diversity and value people for the contribution they make – not one where we judge them on the country of their birth or the colour of their passport.
The contrast with the Westminster government couldn’t be more stark.
Last week, in Birmingham, we heard an intolerance towards those from other countries that has no place in a modern, multicultural, civilised society.
You know, on the day of the Prime Minister’s speech to the Tory conference, the new leader of UKIP resigned.
Perhaps she realized that her job and her party are now redundant.
Last week, we saw the Tories adopt UKIP policy and Farage-style rhetoric – lock, stock and beer-barrel.
It was a disgrace. It shames the Tory party and all who speak for it.
But make no mistake – the right wing of the Tory party is now in the ascendancy and it is seeking to hijack the referendum result.
Brexit has become Tory Brexit.
The rampant right wing of the party are using it as license for the xenophobia that has long lain under the surface – but which is now in full, unlovely view.
They are using the result as cover for a hard Brexit for which they have no mandate – but which they are determined to impose, regardless of the ruinous consequences.
Worse still, they intend to do all of this with no parliamentary authority. Virtually no scrutiny whatsoever.
And to do it with complete disregard for Scotland’s democratic voice.
That is simply not acceptable.
Last week, the Prime Minister told us that how important it was to respect the democratic mandate of the people.
I agree.
Which is why I say this to her today – it’s high time you showed some respect for the 62% of people across Scotland who voted to Remain.
Of course, I know that one million of our fellow citizens voted to Leave. They did so for a range of legitimate reasons and as First Minister, I have a duty to listen to, to understand and to respond to these reasons.
But I suspect that many of those who voted to Leave, look now at the actions and rhetoric of the Tories and think ‘that’s not what I voted for’.
They may have voted to take back control.
But I can’t imagine many of them voted to hand control to the unholy trinity of Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox.
Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox – three men in a Brexit boat who haven’t got a paddle between them.
No, I don’t believe people voted for that.
They didn’t vote to throw economic rationality out of the window.
They didn’t vote to lower their own living standards or to sacrifice jobs and investment.
They didn’t vote for our businesses to face tariffs or for holiday-makers to need visas.
They didn’t vote for the scapegoating of foreigners.
And they didn’t vote for the voice of Scotland’s people and our parliament to be ignored.
Yet all of these are clear and present dangers: all of that will happen unless we fight against it.
And we will.
Friends,
Our single most important job is to protect Scotland’s interests.
Our democratic interests.
Our economic interests.
Our interests in social protection and solidarity.
And our interest in influencing the world we live in.
There is no doubt that Brexit is a defining issue of our time – for Scotland and for the U.K.
It looms over everything. How could it not, given the implications for our economy, our society, our security and our place in the world?
So today I want to concentrate on what we will do in the months ahead to protect the interests of Scotland and – in so far as we can – of the UK as a whole.
Firstly, we will make our case in the House of Commons and in the Scottish Parliament.
I can confirm today that SNP MPs will vote against the Brexit Bill when it come before the House of Commons next year.
That Bill will repeal the legislation that enacted our EU membership. Scotland didn’t vote for that and so neither will our MPs.
But we will also work to persuade others – Labour, Liberals and moderate Tories – to join us in a coalition against a hard Brexit: not just for Scotland, but for the whole UK.
We know that Brexit will damage our economy.
Hard Brexit – removal, not just from the EU, but from the single market as well – will be disastrous.
The Treasury estimates that the cost to the UK economy could be £66 billion.
Here in Scotland 80,000 jobs could be lost. Wages would be hit by up to £2000 and growth in the economy would slow.
There is no rational case for taking the UK out of the single market.
And there is no authority for it either.
How many times did we hear prominent Leave campaigners assure us during the referendum campaign that leaving the EU did not mean leaving the single market?
And the Conservative Party manifesto, on which Theresa May and every other Tory MP was elected, couldn’t have been clearer. It said this: “We say yes to the Single Market.”
But now we face a hard Brexit imposed by the hard right of the Tory party.
Well, let me say this. The Prime Minister may have a mandate to take England and Wales out of the EU but she has no mandate whatsoever to remove any part of the UK from the Single Market.
And if the majority in the House of Commons stand up for what they know to be right, she will not get away with doing it.
Friends,
We will also assert the right of the Scottish Parliament to have its say.
After the No vote in 2014 we were told the Sewel Convention – which means the UK Parliament can’t make law in devolved areas without the consent of the Scottish Parliament – would be sacrosanct.
Every party signed up to this.
Now it seems the Tories are reneging.
They want to rip-up the Smith report.
Well, they need to understand this – Scotland’s Parliament is the democratic heartbeat of our nation.
To deny it the right to give or withhold its consent on an issue of such magnitude would be an act of constitutional vandalism. It is not on.
Conference,
As well as Parliamentary action, over the next few weeks we will table specific proposals to protect Scotland’s interests in Europe and keep us in the single market – even if the rest of the UK decides to leave.
It’s clear that beyond hard-line rhetoric the UK Government has no detailed plan.
So the Scottish Government will set out a plan for Scotland.|
We will seek to make this plan a key element of the UK’s Article 50 negotiation.
It will require substantial additional powers for the Scottish Parliament.
All the powers in our areas of responsibility that currently lie with the EU – and significant new powers too.
Powers to strike international deals.
And greater powers over immigration. Powers not just to protect our economy, but also our values.
UK ministers might believe it acceptable to order businesses to create lists of foreign workers.
We do not.
Our ambition is to build a prosperous, inclusive and outward looking country.
Conference,
The morning after the referendum, I said I would seek to find a way to allow Scotland’s voice to be heard and our interests to be protected.
And I said I would explore if that could happen within the UK.
The plan we table will honour that commitment.
But let me be clear – its chance of success will depend, not on us, but on the attitude of the UK government.
Recent signs have not been promising.
Last week, we heard from the Prime Minister a disregard for Scotland’s democratic voice that was reminiscent of Margaret Thatcher.
An assertion of Westminster constitutional supremacy that belongs in another century.
High-handed pronouncements that dismiss Scottish opinion might delight the Tory Party conference – but they are no longer acceptable to mainstream Scotland.
So my message to the Prime Minister is this.
Scotland didn’t choose to be in this situation – your party put us here.
In 2014, you told us Scotland was an equal partner in the UK.
Well, the moment has come to prove it.
If you value the UK – as you say you do – it’s up to you to prove it can work for Scotland.
The ball is in your court.
But hear this – if you think for one single second that I’m not serious about doing what it takes to protect Scotland’s interests, then think again.
If you can’t – or won’t – allow us to protect our interests within the UK, then Scotland will have the right to decide, afresh, if it wants to take a different path.
A hard Brexit will change the UK fundamentally.
A UK out of the single market – isolated, inward looking, haemorrhaging jobs, investment and opportunities – will not be the same country that Scotland voted to stay part of in 2014.
If that’s the insecure, unstable prospect we face as part of the UK, then no one will have the right to deny Scotland the chance to choose a better future.
Friends,
On the morning after the referendum, I said I would protect Scotland’s ability to make that choice.
In our Programme for Government, I committed to publishing a draft referendum bill.
I am determined that Scotland will have the ability to reconsider the question of independence – and to do so before the UK leaves the EU – if that is necessary to protect our country’s interests.
So I can confirm today that the Independence Referendum Bill will be published for consultation next week.
You know, there’s not a day that passes just now without someone advising me to hurry up with a referendum.
And there’s not a day that passes without someone advising me to slow down.
Welcome to my world.
But the responsibility of leadership is to act in the best interests of our country as a whole.
The morning after the EU referendum, I said that I’d be guided at all times by a simple, clear test.
What is best for the people of Scotland?
That’s the principle that I will continue to be guided by – and I know I can on your support every step of the way.
Friends,
There is one final point I want to make. And it’s an important one.
When Scotland does come to take this decision again – whenever that might be – we must not take for granted how anyone will vote.
It will be a new debate – not a rerun of 2014.
We must not assume that people’s views – yes or no – are the same today as they were two years ago.
Instead we must engage the arguments with a fresh eye and an open mind.
The case for independence will have to be made and won.
But let’s never lose sight of this –
We are one of the wealthiest nations on earth.
We are rich in natural resources.
We are world-leaders in life sciences, technology and renewables.
We are at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing.
In tourism, and in food and drink we are unrivaled.
Our foundations are strong.
So if the choice we face is an inward looking, insular, Brexit Britain, governed by a right wing Tory party, obsessed with borders and blue passports at the expense of economic strength and stability –
Or a progressive, outward looking, internationalist Scotland, able to chart our own course and build our own security and prosperity, then know this –
– that is a case we will win.
Friends,
We stand for a fairer, wealthier, outward looking, progressive Scotland.
Let’s make it happen.
