ALEX SALMOND SPEECH
SAT 23rd
MARCH
A week is indeed
a long time in politics.
On Thursday we announced
the date of the independence referendum – Scotland’s date with destiny.
My advisers told
me that within a few minutes of making the announcement, I was “trending” in
Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Delegates, I was
so disappointed – at first I thought they said I was “trendy” in Edinburgh and
Glasgow!
Well friends.
Meet cool Eck fae Buchan.
On
18 September 2014 we will have the opportunity to ensure that decisions about
Scotland are taken by the people who care most about Scotland – the people who
live and work here.
Few nations and very few generations
are fortunate enough to make such an important decision – we are in every sense
the lucky ones.
It’s a vote for the people
of Scotland – every citizen aged 16 up – and rightly so. But do not underestimate the positive lesson to
the wider world of a nation deciding its future by debate and democracy.
It was former President of
Ireland, Mary McAleese, who last October described Scotland’s referendum as a
“remarkable and wonderful phenomenon”.
Whether you are Yes, No – or
like many at this stage a Dinnae Ken – we can all be proud that our nation is embarked
on such an exciting journey in an impeccably democratic way.
The 18th
September 2014 is the day when every one of us will be asked to take the future
of our country into our hands.
And for years to come people
will be asked to say by friends, neighbours, children and grandchildren to say
how they voted on that day.
And when that question
comes, as come it will, let us make sure that each one of us can proudly say
YES.
I
was one of those who voted by majority for a new future for Scotland.
Friends, this party has
never wavered from our commitment to trust the people to decide the issue of independence.
While the Westminster
parties ganged up to block a referendum in the last parliament – when the SNP
were a minority – we held fast to Scotland’s democratic rights.
THE
SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SCOTTISH PEOPLE IS IN OUR DNA.
This moment – Scotland’s
moment – was the life-work of dedicated servants of Scotland such as the
much-missed Jimmy Halliday. When Jimmy
led our party in the 1950s, a referendum to achieve an independent Scotland was
just a dream – but one he never wavered
from.
And the work of Jimmy and
countless thousands others has made their dream our reality – we thank them now, and will thank
them best by achieving that Yes vote in the referendum.
And
because we have always trusted the people, I believe they will put their trust
in the Yes campaign on the 18th of September next year – and vote with
those of us who want to build a prosperous economy and a just society.
Next year will be a huge
year for Scotland not just for politics but for a range of events which will
focus the attention of the planet on our country – the Commonwealth Games, the
Ryder Cup, the second Homecoming Year.
We will make sure that each
of these events is a success for Scotland, but we also wish to see them as a
catalyst for positive change.
Exactly a year ago I announced the establishment of a £10
million fund to help local communities bring sports facilities across Scotland
into the 21st century.
This year we are going
further adding another £7 million to this initiative, meaning that over 80
projects across Scotland will be completed in good time for the Commonwealth
Games.
So whether its snowsports in
Midlothian (for which there is plenty of raw material), Olympic swimming pools
in Dundee and Aberdeen, 3G pitches in Dumfries and Galloway, or the outdoor
community facility in Aviemore these facilities will provide real benefits.
OUR
AIM IS TO INSPIRE SCOTS YOUNG AND OLD TO SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY PRESENTED BY THE
COMMONWEALTH GAMES TO BECOME A BETTER NATION.
Friends – it is said that to
govern is to choose but even more fundamental than that is to choose how you
are governed.
That choice – THE REAL
CHOICE – becomes clearer by the day – the opportunity to use our vast resources
and talent to build a better country, or to continue with a Westminster system
that simply isn’t working for Scotland – a system which has not worked in the
past, is not working now and will not work in the future..
Take the big issues debated in
the Scottish Parliament last week – they illustrate exactly why an independent Scotland
is the right choice.
It is ten years since the Scottish Parliament first debated the Iraq war
– when a catalogue of deception by a Labour Prime Minister – a Labour Prime
Minister – led the UK into an illegal conflict that came at enormous human
cost.
Almost 5,000 allied soldiers – 179 from the UK – and well over 100,000
Iraqi civilians lost their lives as a result of a foreign policy disaster which
made Suez look like a picnic in the sun.
Now when our brave service men and women are sent into
danger, we have a duty to give them our full support – and we have an equal duty
to discuss the reasons why. The people
who elected us to public office expect nothing less.
However, the No campaign
parties in the Scottish Parliament actually tried to gag us from debating Iraq
– Labour even claimed it was not a real issue.
Try telling the families who
have lost a loved one to the war in Iraq that this is not a ‘real issue’. Try telling them it should be airbrushed
away.
The reality of the situation
is that our opponents want to avoid confronting their demons, because they know
they backed an illegal war based on a lie – the myth of weapons of mass destruction.
In the Scottish Parliament,
there are still 8 of the Tory MSPs and 15 Labour MSPs who voted for the Iraq
war – including their leader.
11 of the Scottish Labour
MPs who voted for the war are still in the House of Commons – including No
campaigner in chief, Alistair Darling.
Another 10 have even been
‘elevated’ – if that is the right word – to the House of Lords.
Labour and the Tories,
Tories and Labour – they were wrong together about the Iraq war 10 years ago.
And they should apologise
together now.
Friends, the imposition of
the Poll Tax by Margaret Thatcher persuaded the majority of people that we
needed a parliament with the powers to stop such divisive social experiments
being visited upon Scotland.
Instead of being just a good
idea, a parliament became necessary if we were to protect Scotland’s social
fabric, and ensure that domestic policy reflected the will of the people.
Tony Blair’s legacy is to demonstrate
why Scotland needs to go further. The catastrophe
of Iraq shows why our parliament needs to have the powers of independence – so
that never again can Scotland be dragged into an illegal war on false pretences.
I’m certain that the lie that
led to Iraq would not have been perpetrated by the government
of an independent Scotland, of any political persuasion. But we have to be
absolutely certain.
Other countries
– including Denmark, the Netherlands and Ireland – have constitutional
guarantees that they will not go to war without a proper process of parliamentary
approval, and a similar such undertaking could be written into the constitution
of an independent Scotland.
Friends, I believe it should be – indeed it has to be to demonstrate
that our new Scotland is something worth voting for.
That is part of the WHY of independence.
The US/UK
invasion of Iraq was about non-existent weapons of mass destruction.
But delegates, there are real weapons of mass
destruction. Weapons Inspectors would
have had no problem finding them in Scotland.
Just one hundred and fifty
miles from here the Trident missile system is based on the Clyde Estuary, just
along the road from our most populous city, with an estimated cost for its renewal
of up to one hundred billion pounds.
Trident was conceived by the
Tories, presided over by Labour just as Polaris before it was conceived by
Labour and presided over by the Tories.
The process of its renewal
for another 50 years – another half century - is happening under a Tory/Lib Dem
coalition supported by Labour.
Trident is Westminster’s ultimate
vanity obscenity but now is entirely dependent on next year’s vote.
Because,
delegates, it’s now clear that the only way, the only way, we can finally
remove these weapons of mass destruction is with a Yes vote for independence.
THAT IS ALSO PART OF THE WHY OF INDEPENDENCE.
Friends, I’m proud to lead a Government that has made the Scottish
Parliament work for our people. That’s
why the Scottish Social Attitudes survey showed that 71 per cent of people
trust Holyrood to act in Scotland’s best interests – four-times more than trust
Westminster.
In the face of appalling financial pressures, we have have chosen a
different path from Westminster – a path that reflects Scotland’s social
democratic consensus, our shared progressive values, our priorities as a
society.
On all the key domestic issues Scotland
trumps Westminster.
Down south, the UK Government’s own figures
reveal that England will see a 16,000 reduction in the number of police
officers. And to compound this, the
starting wage of new officers has been reduced.
South of the Border the thin blue line has
just got a lot thinner.
In contrast, the SNP government has delivered and protected 1,000
extra police officers on our streets. A great
achievement – and one that Labour said would take us 13 years!
Just next week, Scotland’s new national police force comes into place, along
with Scotland’s new national fire and rescue service.
Friends this Government will always value the work of our emergency
services – the people who have been mobilised all of last night helping our
fellow citizens.
It is our approach to front line policing which has delivered not only a
37-year low in recorded crime but also a fall in the fear of crime that causes such
misery.
That’s why
Scotland’s Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill gets cheered to the rafters at the
Police Federation conference. And why his
Tory counterpart at Westminster gets booed off the stage.
On health, Scotland continues to protect
frontline health spending, despite the Westminster cuts and the huge pressures
on our budget.
Prescription charges – the tax on the sick –
have been abolished in Scotland, even as they rise to £7.85 in England.
We have record patient satisfaction with our
health service, the job our health professionals do, often in difficult
circumstances.
We
have maintained a genuine National Health Service in Scotland – free at the
point of need – even as the NHS is being fragmented and privatised south of the
Border, first under Labour and then by the Tories.
Professor
Don Berwick is a world-renowned expert on patient safety, David Cameron’s new
‘health tsar’, and a former adviser to President Obama. This is what he says about the strength of
the Scottish system:
“The Scottish Patient
Safety Programme marks Scotland as a leader, second to no nation on earth, in
its commitment to reducing harm to patients, dramatically and continually.”
That
must always be our goal, in every aspect of our health service and national
life – ‘second to no nation on earth’.
FOUR
YEARS AGO AT OUR CONFERENCE WE ANNOUNCED THAT WE WOULD DRIVE OUT THE
PRIVATISATION OF CLEANING SERVICES IN THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE.
Since
then healthcare acquired infections have dropped by 80 per cent.
IS THERE ANY MORE VINDICATION NEEDED OF ALEX NEIL’S
DETERMINATION TO HAVE A PUBLICLY RUN NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE FREE AT THE POINT
OF NEED.
The Scottish Parliament does not control the key economic levers but we
do have economic powers. We have used them to deliver the best help for the
small business sector – the backbone of our economy – available anywhere in
these islands.
We have used them to win more jobs from inward investment compared to
any other part of these islands – including London.
And we now have lower unemployment - including youth unemployment – than
the UK as a whole.
One year ago youth unemployment was almost 25 per cent as young people
bore the brunt of the Labour/Tory recession.
Then we appointed Scotland’s first Minister for Youth Employment, gathered
together our stakeholders from the STUC and from business, almost doubled the
number of apprenticeships, focussed college courses on full time preparation
for employment, introduced the youth guarantee for 16-19 year olds.
What has been the result?
In one year youth unemployment has gone down by one third, from 103,000
to 68,000. Still far too high, but a
dramatic difference to the lives of thousands of youngsters.
ON THIS WEEK’S FIGURES ALL OF THE UK FALL OF
34,000 OVER THE YEAR IN YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT TOOK PLACE IN SCOTLAND.
FRIENDS WHAT A DEMONSTRATION OF THE WORK OF ANGELA
CONSTANCE AS SCOTLAND’S MINISTER FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT.
We cannot allow these successes to be blown away in an eternal economic
winter of Westminster austerity.
This week’s Westminster Budget is following a familiar pattern, fizz on
the day, a hangover the day after.
Even the fizz only lasted until we found they had swiped another £50 million
from the Scottish Budget for this coming year, without so much as a by your
leave.
But there is much more bad news in this Budget. Analysis by the
Institute of Fiscal Studies shows that from 2016 the Westminster Budget means
either £500 tax rises for every family or further cuts in public services which
they describe as “eye watering”.
That is the grim future for Scottish families under Westminster rule.
And would there be a different prospectus from Labour? – not a chance.
At Westminster they dance to the Tory tune. In Scotland they are
preparing to rip up the social gains of devolution.
This week was one of Labour abstention in votes in Holyrood and
Westminster.
They abstained on the war, they abstained on Trident, they abstained on
bus passes, they even abstained on workfare at Westminster.
LABOUR – THE GREAT ABSTAINERS ON EVERYTHING - EXCEPT MINIMUM PRICING FOR
ALCOHOL WHICH THEY OPPOSED!
The SNP offer a different future.
At Holyrood we will defend the social gains - policies such as free
personal care and bus passes for our older folk – who have paid their taxes,
powered our economy, raised the children, and deserve something back from
society. That is what it means to be a
society.
AND THE ROCKS WILL MELT WITH THE SUN BEFORE WE ALLOW TORY OR LABOUR TO
TAKE AWAY THE RIGHT TO FREE EDUCATION IN SCOTLAND.
Delegates, the Yes campaign is predicated on the compelling truth that
decisions about Scotland are best made by the people who live and work here.
That was once a theory, but is now an indisputable fact.
Since the restoration of our parliament in 1999, we have demonstrated that
in law & order, health, education, business support, and the great social
services of Scotland – our parliament delivers the policies that are right for
Scotland, and reflect the views and votes of the people.
That is the very prize and purpose of
self-government.
And if it is true in these devolved areas, it is equally true in all
areas of public life.
That is the prize and purpose of an
independent Scotland.
With each passing day it becomes clearer
that the Westminster system is not fit for any purpose – it is further away than
ever from Scotland’s values, and past its time.
The iniquitous Bedroom Tax is the latest example
– in a House of Commons debate led by the SNP and Plaid Cymru, over 90 per cent
of Scottish MPs voted against it.
We know from Scottish Government research
that the extra costs the Bedroom Tax impose on the Scottish economy will
outweigh any savings the UK Government makes – even before we factor in the
wider social costs and the distress and disruption it will cause.
But still it is
imposed on Scotland. And to add insult
to injury, the architect of this
shambles – Iain Duncan Smith – has to be dragged kicking and screaming
to deign to defend his policy to a committee of the Scottish Parliament.
Friends this is
an iniquitous, unfair, anti-family imposition conceived because of runaway rent
levels in the south.
WHY SHOULD PEOPLE WHO WOULD IMPOSE SUCH INIQUITY HAVE ANY POWER AND
AUTHORITY OVER THE SCOTTISH PEOPLE.
Friends we have acted to mitigate the worst impacts of welfare changes.
Acting with COSLA we have sheltered hundreds of thousands of families from
council tax rises, we have established loan funds, increased support for advice
centres.
And today I can announce that all SNP-led local authorities will follow
the lead of Dundee in halting the threat of evictions from this disgraceful tax
for those struggling to pay.
However what Scotland needs is not mitigation but power, not just a
defence against Westminster but a removal of Westminster authority over
Scotland.
Delegates last
year I made a speech pointing out the opportunities to grow the Scottish
economy with control over our taxation policy. No-one in this world owes
Scotland a living, every policy we articulate needs to focus on our competitiveness
as a country.
That is part of the WHY of Independence.
Today I want to
illustrate why social change can also release the untapped potential of
Scotland and make us not just a prosperous economy but a just society and why
these concepts go hand in hand – a prosperous economy and a just society.
Last week the
unemployment figures showed Scots unemployment below the UK average. However
look behind these figures and see a glaring inequality which holds the nation
back.
66% of women are
in employment compared to 76% of men.
Now that is not
down to lack of talent. Women now make up 55 per cent of entrants into higher
education and the number of Modern Apprenticeship starts for women has
increased from 27 per cent to 43 per cent.
But in terms of
lower numbers of women in employment it really doesn’t have to be like that.
Elsewhere in Europe the gender gap is much much less.
If we closed the
opportunity gap we would add to our national wealth and to our taxation base by
mobilising the skills of women into our workforce.
But there would
be another change – a fundamental opportunity to improve the life chances of
many of our children.
We have long cherished the ambition to
increase pre-school education. In our
first term, we moved it from 412 to 475 free nursery hours per annum,
benefiting 100,000 children a year.
And last year I announced a step further - a
statutory guarantee of over 600 hours of free nursery education for every 3 and
4 year old, and for every looked after 2 year old in our land.
This is a statement of faith and commitment
to the future and it is being carried forward without the fears of lower
standards now prevalent in the south of the border.
Flexible in its delivery, using the wisdom of
the Early Years Taskforce to help us, but definite in our intent.
For every young mum and dad juggling work and
parenthood, this SNP Government is here for you and your family.
This is what we can achieve with a devolved
Parliament. But devolution can only take
Scotland so far. We don’t have the
financial freedom to give us the biggest bang for our buck – to invest in areas
where Scotland could make huge social and economic strides.
So let us consider what more we could achieve
in an independent Scotland.
I HAVE ASKED THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS
TO PRODUCE AN ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT ON SCOTLAND MOVING TO
THE LEVELS OF SUPPORT FOR CHILDCARE COMMONPLACE ACROSS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES.
Our ambitions for childcare are the hallmark
of our approach to social and economic policy – we promote the measures we do
because they advance both our economy and our society.
Some argue there is a contradiction between
the two, but the reality is that a progressive social policy boosts the
economy, and a dynamic economy enables us to build the fairer society we want. Each is the handmaiden of the other.
It will not be done in a day, or a year, or
even completed in the first term of an independent parliament.
But I believe a
transformational shift towards childcare should be one of the first tasks of an
independent Scotland.
That too is part
of the why of independence
Friends ours is a noble cause because we are
arguing for the rights and responsibilities, not of ourselves, but of our country.
We are arguing for something bigger than any
individual, any party, any campaign –the benefits of which will endure for generations
to come.
The biggest advantage of the Yes campaign is
that we put no limits on the abilities of this nation to build prosperity and
wellbeing for all the people.
The biggest problem for the No campaign is
their fear and scorn of a Scotland aspiring to equality of status among the
nations of the world.
Our opponents in the No campaign will say and
do anything to keep Scotland where they think it should be.
In terms of GDP per head, right now an
independent Scotland would be the 8th wealthiest country in the league
table of the world’s most developed nations.
If the No campaign believe Scotland doesn’t
have what it takes to be an independent country, they must think that only the
7 countries above Scotland can be independent – and the UK wouldn’t be one of
them, because it trails at number 17 overtaken this year once again by Iceland!
Delegates, our opponents often say we cannot
afford to be independent. I say Scotland
can’t afford NOT to be independent.
To listen to the No campaign, they’d have you
believe that a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons on the Clyde was a
fantastic asset – and having generations of oil and gas revenues to come was a big
problem!
That is the looking glass fantasy they want
Scotland to believe.
But the people
aren’t daft – they know that Scottiish energy resources are the asset, Trident
is the problem, and Westminster the liability.
Combining the natural and human resources of
Scotland is the way to fairness and prosperity.
Our call for the 18th of September next year is one to
optimism and progress.
There was a referendum once when Scotland was cheated out of our right
to self-government.
Listen to just this one example – among the tirade of scare stories – used
to frighten people into voting No to self-government in 1979. It was a Daily Express editorial 10 days
before the referendum:
"How much of Scotland's
economy will be left intact if a Scottish Assembly gets the go-ahead on March
1? Will our coal mines go gaily on? Will Ravenscraig or Linwood thrive? Will Bathgate flourish and Dounreay prosper?”
No assembly came in 1979 – and every plant and facility listed by the
Express closed under Westminster-rule – all gone, every one.
We will not be conned again.
We achieved a Parliament in 1997 – overcoming a welter of scaremongering
in a referendum. And we have never
looked back. The latest survey shows
that only 6% of Scots want to turn the clock back to having no parliament.
It will be exactly the same with independence.
All of the things they say about independence now were said about
devolution then. And we know they were
wrong, because as a nation we have proved them wrong together these past 14
years.
We can now look back and say that thanks to having a parliament,
Scotland has a National Health Service worthy of the name, free education for
young Scots, and personal care for our older citizens.
None of these things exist south of the Border, and none would exist in
Scotland today without self-government.
I believe in ten years time we
will look back and say that thanks to independence we will have a thriving
economy, a welfare state worthy of the name, the best childcare system anywhere
in these islands, and the obscenity of Trident nuclear weapons on the Clyde
will be but a distant memory.
Friends, the referendum for an independent Scotland is a precious
opportunity – one given to no previous generation. We do not know if we will pass this way
again.
I believe Scotland will vote Yes next September – and give a renewed
purpose to this old nation.
A ‘new sang’ to sound a better Scotland.
