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Tag: 2011 SNP Conference

  • Kenny MacAskill – 2011 Speech to SNP Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Kenny MacAskill, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Parliament, to the SNP conference in October 2011.

    Ladies and gentlemen, fellow delegates.

    What a difference a year makes. Well, in some respects. You may remember last year, whilst expressing how privileged I was to serve as Justice Secretary I lamented that whilst Cabinet colleagues went to India and South East Asia I went to Belfast – and was very pleased to do so.

    So much so that while my colleagues have been or are going back to China, India and America, I went back to Belfast once again.

    This time highlights included visiting the Police Board Headquarters, followed by a visit to the Police Service of Northern Ireland  HQ and a visit to PSNI station in loyalist East Belfast.

    I know what you are thinking – why should I have all the fun? True. That’s why Roseanna is getting to go too!

    There are considerable upsides to my privileged position. When I came back last week from visiting my son abroad, before I had even got through passport control I had been identified and acknowledged by the visible police presence. It wasn’t just the rest of the passengers, but me that began to wonder what I had done!

    Delegates, last year I stood before you and stated the record upon which we sought re-election – 1,000 additional police officers into our communities and they in turn delivered a 33-year low in recorded crime. But it wasn’t just the outcome of the election that got better.  Because ladies and gentlemen this year we have 1,100 additional officers and a 35-year low in recorded crime. We were returned as a majority Government because we are making Scotland stronger and safer.  We are moving Scotland forward.

    But it’s not just on recorded crime that we are moving forward.  Violent crime is down by just under a fifth since we came to office and the possession of knives and other offensive weapons is down by almost 40% since we took office. But for those who transgress, there is no hiding place, because sentences are up for the fifth consecutive year.

    We are not just  making Scotland safer, but making Scottish communities feel safer. People are more positive about the crime rate in their local area than at any time in the last ten years and the risk of becoming a victim of crime continues to fall and is lower than south of the border.  It’s a record upon which we were re-elected and it’s a record that we can be proud of.

    But we are not complacent. We do know that there’s still far too many tragedies caused by knives in our country. We are taking action on the booze and blade culture that causes so much mayhem and too much misery in too many parts. The No Knives Better Lives scheme is making progress. In Inverclyde knife crime down by 35%.  In Renfrewshire down by 29%.

    We have extended it into Edinburgh, Glasgow and Clackmannan and, later this month, I will be announcing it’s extension still further. There’s a long way to go, but we are moving forward.

    However, we recognise as a Government that it’s not just about dealing with the consequences of crime, but stopping crime occurring.  That’s why since we came to office, over £44 million has been spent on the Cashback for Communities Scheme – providing opportunities for over 600,000 young people.  Football, basketball, rugby, have all benefitted as well as arts, drama and other outlets for young folk’s energy. Earlier this week, I announced £360,000 to be invested into boxing in Scotland.  It’s not my sport – I’m a football man – but I tell you this – because the police tell me it – it works for the some of the hard to handle kids as well as many others. Some may go on to be a Ken Buchanan or a Jim Watt, but for many others it simply keeps them out of trouble, on the straight and narrow, and fit and healthy.

    But we do face challenges. None perhaps more so than the severe financial challenges wrecked upon us by Westminster. The cuts are deep and severe. Notwithstanding that, John Swinney has done a fantastic job in ensuring that we protect as much as possible the police budget. But, ladies and gentlemen, I can’t ask officers to do more with the same or even less.  It is for that reason that there requires to be police and fire reform.

    We will ensure the maintenance of the outstanding police service to Scotland’s communities through a single police service. The status quo is not an option. The alternative is what’s happening south of the border.  According to their Inspector of Constabulary, up to 30,000 officers could be lost and in Greater Manchester alone between 2,000 and 4,000 are to go.  We will not countenance. Nor will we countenance tearing up the terms and conditions of the police officers who do such a fantastic job for us, as is happening down south as a result of the Winsor review – not now, not ever.

    Let me challenge some of the hypocrisy from those who opposed a single service.  The Liberal Democrats criticised reform that was taken to protect the outstanding forensic science service we have in Scotland. We have consolidated, but protected it. Ensuring not just that there will be state of the art premises in Dundee and Gartcosh, but a continuing service in Edinburgh and Aberdeen.  But what have the Liberal Democrats been doing in the coalition south of the border?  They are privatising the service lock, stock and laboratory.  Their claims on the police service were equally hypocritical and they got the election result that they deserved.

    There have been some legitimate concerns raised but they are being addressed. We will ensure that there’s neither centralisation, lack of accountability or interference in governance.   It has been suggested that a single service will see a reduction in officer numbers in our communities.  Let’s look at the historic facts.  In 1975, when we last saw police reform here in the north there was once 3 police services. After reform, there was just one. There were 2 Chief Constables less, but equally 300 additional officers more.  As the First Minister said, bobbies before boundaries.

    Our police force and prosecution service will continue to serve us both at home and abroad. The events in Libya in the last 24 hours may have brought one issue to a conclusion.  But, as we have always made clear, the Lockerbie investigation remains a live inquiry.  Our police and prosecutors – as they have done diligently for the 23 years since the atrocity – will take whatever action is necessary and follow any lines of inquiry in the interests of justice.

    That will be one of the major pieces of legislation and it will lay the groundwork for a safer and stronger Scotland.  But there’s much more work to do. As the First Minister has correctly said, not just Scotland’s national game, but parts of Scotland are tarnished by sectarianism.

    My colleague Roseanna Cunningham is taking through what is a short, but very important Bill through parliament.  And I can assure you ladies and gentlemen that neither Roseanna, the First Minister, nor myself will shirk from taking the necessary action.

    When I was in Belfast at the Strandtown PSNI station, I saw footage from the riots that occurred in the summer in East Belfast, violent and hate-filled.

    Back in Glasgow, a few weeks back, the First Minister and I attended the national police memorial day. We met Nuala Kerr, the mother of PC Ronan Kerr murdered by a terrorist bomb.  A young man 4 months into his police service killed for being a Catholic in the PSNI.

    When people say it’s just a bit of banter, it’s just a song that doesn’t hurt anyone.

    These are songs of hate and there is no place for them in a modern Scotland.

    When people say it’s just a political chant – tell that to Ronan Kerr’s mother.

    It is for that reason that Roseanna will lead this Bill through Parliament. It’s not about the Boyne in 1690 or Dublin in Easter 1916 it’s about dragging a small minority of folk in our country into the 21st century.

    There are other challenges we face.  We need to protect the integrity of the High Court in Scotland.  It is for that reason we welcome the report from Lord McCluskey and other eminent lawyers.  Scotland has long cherished it’s distinctive criminal justice system and we will protect it.

    Equally, until such time as there is further constitutional change, we have always recognised that civil matters are different. It’s for that reason that I am delighted that the UK Supreme Court vindicated the actions of our SNP Government and validated the Court of Appeal in Scotland by upholding justice for the victims of pleural plaques.

    We have to embark upon legal reform, whether driven by Europe or by financial challenges.  For that reason we will take action to make whatever changes are necessary once Lord Carloway returns with his report on criminal procedure.  We will take action to protect the integrity of our legal aid system in a time of austerity.  We will ensure protection for those who need it most. However, the days of  the victim of domestic violence having  to contribute to the cost of getting protective orders whilst the perpetrator  got criminal legal aid with no contribution have to change. It can’t be afforded, but it’s also not right. Those who can afford to contribute to criminal legal aid must do so.

    However, when we talk about Courts and procedures, lawyers and judges, we must never forget the victims of crime.  For too long it seemed it was so. Thankfully the former Lord Advocate, now Dame Elish Angiolini, made considerable strides to address that.  That good work is being continued by her successor as Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland, and Roseanna and I will deliver it in Parliament through a Victims Rights Bill.

    So, ladies and gentlemen – a record upon which we sought re-election, a record that saw us re-elected, and a record that we can be proud of.  It hasn’t been simple to date, and the journey ahead won’t be easy. There will be turbulence and there will be challenges.  But we are making a Scotland a safer and stronger place. We can be proud of our record as a minority Government. Proud of the actions we are now taking as a majority Government.  We are moving Scotland forward.

  • Nicola Sturgeon – 2011 Speech at SNP Party Conference

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    Below is the text of the speech made by Nicola Sturgeon, the then Scottish Deputy First Minister, to the SNP Party conference on 21st October 2011.

    Let me start today with just two words.

    They are sincere and heartfelt.

    Thank you. Make no mistake: it is your hard work – and that of the generations of nationalists in whose footsteps you follow – that make it possible for me to stand here before you today as a member of an SNP majority government.

    I know I speak on behalf of all my colleagues in the Scottish government and every member of the Scottish parliamentary group when I say that, as party activists go, you are quite simply the best.

    And what an achievement. An SNP majority government.

    Be honest, how many of you thought that was even possible? I know I didn’t. And, whatever he might try to tell you now, neither did Alex.

    Our opponents certainly didn’t think it could be done. They thought they had come up with the perfect voting system – one that would stop the SNP ever winning a majority.

    It turns out they couldn’t even get that right. What an incompetent bunch they are.

    Delegates, on May 5 we didn’t just win. We broke the mould of Scottish politics.

    69 seats. 53 first past the post victories.

    And indulge me just for a moment – 5 constituency victories in the city of Glasgow.

    I tell you, it will take something special to match the atmosphere in the Glasgow Exhibition Centre in the early hours of May 6.

    First we won my own constituency – Labour’s top target seat in Scotland – with a majority more than double that of the biggest Labour majority in the city.

    And then Glasgow Kelvin, Cathcart, Shettleston and Anniesland all joined the SNP fold.

    Delegates,

    It was such a great feeling that I am determined to do it all over again in 2012.

    I intend to be in the Glasgow Exhibition Centre next May when the SNP removes the dead hand of Labour control from Glasgow City Council.

    And, delegates, let us resolve today to win next year’s council elections in every part of Scotland.

    Our victory in May was seismic. We re-drew the map and changed the face of Scotland forever.

    But, impressive though it was, it’s not the scale of our victory that matters most.

    What matters most are the reasons for it. We won because we kept our promises to the people of Scotland.

    We demonstrated competence in government, not just in good times but in tough times.

    We were honest when we couldn’t make the progress we wanted. And we showed humility when we got things wrong.

    We demonstrated that we were on the side of individuals, families and communities right across our country.

    We knew how much pressure household budgets are under, so we froze the council tax.

    And, delegates, we will continue to freeze the council tax for all of this parliament.

    We understand the aspirations of working class men and women to see their kids go to university, so we abolished tuition fees.

    And, be in no doubt, education will stay free with the SNP.

    We believe that the corner shop, the family business and the local entrepreneur, are the engines of economic growth, so we removed the rates burden from tens of thousands of small businesses.

    Delegates,

    We were a minority in Parliament but we built a coalition with the Scottish people.

    And, of course, we had something else that none of the other parties even came close to.

    In Alex Salmond, we had a candidate for First Minister who was head and shoulders above the rest.

    Alex led from the front. He gave the people of Scotland a message of hope and a vision for the future.

    And, when the going got tough, he didn’t run away and hide.

    Alex – we thank you for your leadership of our campaign, our party and, above all, for your outstanding leadership of our country.

    Delegates, We won because we are in touch with the country we serve.

    We are part of the families, the communities, the towns, cities and villages that we represent.

    We are not run by remote control from London. We don’t take our orders from elsewhere. Our decisions are rooted here in Scotland, in the lives and experiences of the people we ask to vote for us.

    We are Scotland’s party. And that is why we won.

    Delegates, Everyone accepts that lessons need to be learned from election defeats. But the same is true of election victories.

    The lesson for us is that people liked the substance of our government. And they also liked its style.

    Our majority gives us a mandate to govern decisively and we will. As Bruce Crawford will testify, it’s great not having to worry about knife edge votes in parliament.

    But we are not in politics to do things just because we can. We are in politics to do the things we should.

    We are in politics to do right for Scotland. To make our country fairer. To make our country independent.

    We are the progressive force in Scottish politics. That means standing up and being counted for what we believe in.

    But it also means persuading and building consensus. Our coalition with the people matters just as much now as it did when we were a minority.

    So let us be clear. We will continue to govern with conviction and purpose, but also with humility and a willingness to listen.

    We will work hard to translate our majority into real and solid achievements for Scotland. But we wont’t govern just by the weight of our numbers.

    Delegates, The real worth of our government is that we have the confidence, the conviction and the ability, to govern by the power and the strength of our argument and that is what we will do.

    Of course, in the last parliament, as a minority, we occasionally won the argument but still lost the vote.

    That’s what happened on alcohol minimum pricing. Labour’s decision to vote down minimum pricing haunts them to this day.

    That vote said they cared more about petty party politics than about the public health of the nation.

    And no party that gets its priorities that wrong is fit to govern our country.

    Delegates, I can tell you today that our minimum pricing bill will be reintroduced to parliament within the next month.

    When that Bill is passed, Scotland will become the first country to introduce a minimum price per unit of alcohol. The world is watching us.

    Being first with a policy means that it comes with no absolute certainties.

    I know that. But I also know that the evidence, the real life experiences of doctors, nurses, the police, and sheer common sense tell us it can work to reduce the dreadful damage that alcohol misuse does to our communities.

    So it may not be the politically easy thing to do, but I believe in my heart that it is the right thing to do.

    And I am very proud to be part of a government that has the courage to do what is right.

    Last year, dozens of clinicians signed a newspaper advert backing us on minimum pricing.

    Last week, 60 leading clinicians in England – speaking on behalf of tens of thousands more – wrote to the newspapers pleading with the UK government to abandon their plans to privatise the NHS.

    Those pleas fell on deaf ears. It now seems inevitable that the Tories, aided and abetted by their Liberal partners, will break up the NHS in England.

    Delegates, Our country may not yet be independent.

    But, thankfully, our NHS is independent. And let me make this clear. The NHS in Scotland will remain a public service, paid for by the public and accountable to the public.

    There will be no privatisation of the National Health Service in Scotland. I say that not out of blind ideology – though I have always thought that the ideology of a health service, in public hands and free at the point of need, is a rather fine one.

    I say it because I believe – I have no doubt – that our NHS can and will outperform the privatised experiment south of the border.

    It is well known that we already have waiting times lower than at any time in the history of the NHS in Scotland. What is less well known is that we are now the only part of the UK where hospital waiting times continue to fall.

    Delegates, that is an achievement to be proud of.

    And it hasn’t been achieved by NHS staff competing against each other. It has been achieved by NHS staff working together in the interests of patients.

    So we will continue to build on these achievements. We will make good on our pledge to protect spending in the NHS.

    Over the next four years, an extra £1 billion will be invested in our health service.

    And I guarantee this: that money won’t be wasted on senseless reorganisations. Every single penny will support frontline patient care.

    Delegates, We do face tough times. I know that the health service and it’s staff are not immune from these challenges. But I believe that if we work together for the public good, Scotland ’ s NHS will get through these difficult times and emerge stronger.

    And I will do everything in my power to make that happen. It was Nye Bevan – the founding father of our health service – who said that the NHS would last as long as there were enough folk left with the faith to fight for it.

    Well let us leave no doubt. We have faith and we will always fight for Scotland ’ s National Health Service.

    Delegates, The NHS delivers excellent standards of care but it needs to do more to keep people well and out of hospital.

    One of the biggest challenges in the health service today is the rising incidence of diabetes.

    Nearly 10% of hospital spending now goes on treating diabetes and the complications it causes.

    And the health consequences for patients of not managing the condition properly can be devastating.

    It is now widely accepted that insulin pumps can make a real difference to the ability of people with Type 1 diabetes to manage their condition and prevent complications.

    They don’t work for everyone but clinical guidelines say that far more people in Scotland should have access to them than is currently the case. Right now, only about 2.5% of patients have them.

    So I make this commitment today. By 2013, 25% of all type 1 diabetes sufferers under the age of 18 will have access to insulin pumps.

    And over the next three years we will triple the total number available to sufferers of all ages to more than 2,000 – improving the quality of life for patients right across Scotland.

    Delegates, Shortly after the election, I said that improving care for our elderly people is my personal priority.

    As part of that commitment, let me make this clear – our government will always support what is one of the Scottish Parliament’s proudest achievements.

    Free personal care for the elderly is safe in our hands. But we know there are big challenges ahead in providing care for the elderly.

    The answer to that challenge lies in improving how we care for our older people. What most people want more than anything as they grow older is to stay in their own homes. To live independently for as long as possible.

    And, delegates, we have an obligation to our older people to make that happen. But too many older people end up in hospital when they shouldn’t and too many stay there much longer than they need to.

    We have made big progress in reducing delayed discharges in hospitals.

    The current target is that no-one should be in hospital more than 6 weeks after being deemed fit for discharge. Labour never came close to meeting that target.

    We have made progress. But it doesn’t go far enough. There are still far too many patients who are stuck in hospital for up to six weeks just because the right care is not available for them in the community. That is far too long.

    Delayed discharges waste NHS resources. 200,000 bed days are lost every year.

    That’s equivalent to a large acute hospital being occupied all year by people who don’t need to be there. And it costs £ 50m.

    But worse, much worse, is that delayed discharges rob older people of their quality of life. We must do more to tackle these unnecessary waits. And, delegates, I am determined that we will.

    We will cut the maximum time that it is acceptable for any older person to be delayed in hospital. The target will initially reduce from six weeks to four weeks.

    And I can announce today that by the start of 2015, under this SNP government, no older person will be unnecessarily delayed in hospital for any longer than two weeks.

    Delegates,

    I am proud of Scotland’s National Health Service. And I am extremely proud of the people who work in it. Let us thank them for all that they do.

    Theirs is a difficult job in the best of times. But these are tough times.

    The economic climate – and our commitment to no compulsory redundancies – means that a pay freeze for all but the lowest paid has been unavoidable.

    But what is avoidable is the increase in pension contributions planned by the UK government.

    Make no mistake, these increases are not about making pensions sustainable.

    They are a Westminster cash grab for the purposes of deficit reduction.

    So, let me say this very directly to the UK government. As Scottish Health Secretary, I object – at a time when wages are frozen – to you reducing the deficit at the expense of Scotland’s NHS workers.

    They should not be paying for the mistakes of the bankers and Westminster politicians who wrecked our economy.

    Delegates, It would make more sense for pensions policy to be decided here in Scotland.

    And that is what will happen when Scotland is independent.

    We are closer to that now than ever before. Our victory means that there will be an independence referendum.

    To paraphrase the late Donald Dewar – I like the sound of that.

    The panic engulfing our opponents shows that they know we are winning the independence argument.

    But we must take nothing for granted. The decision on Scotland’s future rests with the Scottish people.

    Our responsibility is to persuade them that independence offers a better future for our country.

    We know that the campaign against independence will be relentlessly negative.

    We are told that legions of UK ministers will come north to tell the Scottish people what to do.

    But, don’t worry, Jim Murphy says he won’t share a platform with David Cameron.

    Just ponder that for a moment. He won’t share a platform with a Tory Prime Minister. But he’s quite happy to let the same Tory Prime Minister keep the power to cut Scotland’s budget.

    What a disgrace.

    Delegates, For the UK parties, the independence debate is not about the best interests of Scotland.

    They just want to keep control of Scotland’s resources.

    David Cameron gave the game away when he came north last week to lay claim to the next generation of north sea oil.

    Well, hear this, David Cameron. It always was Scotland’s oil. It still is Scotland’s oil.

    And it is time the people of Scotland got the benefit of it. The other parties say they want us to spell out what independence means.

    So let me spell it out.

    Independence means no longer having to watch our national wealth being squandered by Westminster governments.

    Independence means having an economic policy suited to our needs, with increased capital investment supporting and creating jobs.

    Independence means having a welfare system that can tackle the scourge of child poverty. It means not having to put up with Tory policies that will consign tens of thousands of our children to a life of deprivation.

    Independence means deciding for ourselves whether to send our young men and women into conflict. And it means knowing that we need never, ever, again be dragged into an illegal war.

    Independence means getting to decide our own priorities.

    And, delegates, independence will mean no longer having to put up with the obscenity of Trident nuclear missiles on the river Clyde.

    Delegates, Our case for independence will be based on the simple but powerful belief that, as a country, we are better placed than anyone else to take the right decisions for our future.

    That with the talents and skills of our people, and control over our own resources, we can build a more successful, prosperous and socially just country.

    It’s a message of empowerment and responsibility. A message of hope and possibility.

    And I believe, with every fibre of my being, that it will prevail.

    Delegates, I believe that we will win the independence referendum.

    Fellow nationalists, We now have the opportunity that so many have worked so hard for over so many years.

    The once in a generation opportunity to win independence. It’s down to us to make sure we grasp that opportunity.

    Edwin Morgan, the late Scottish Makar said: ‘Don’t let your work and hope be other than great’.

    Well, friends, our cause is great. Let us make sure that our hope and our work live up to it.

    Let the words of Edwin Morgan ring in our ears as we seek to win the independence of our nation.

  • Richard Lochhead – 2011 Speech to SNP Party Conference

    Below is the text of the speech made by Richard Lochhead to the 2011 SNP Party conference in October 2011.

    Delegates,

    It is great to be back in my favourite Conference location.

    I only say that of course because it’s the closest to beautiful Moray, an area that I am hugely honoured to represent in Parliament.

    And oh boy! Parliament looks different today!

    Conference, when I have trouble sleeping, I used to count sheep

    I can assure you, we have a lot.

    But I have a new game since May – I count SNP constituencies!

    Though sometimes this has the wrong effect, and I have to ask my wife if I’m already dreaming.

    Our stunning success is of course perfectly real.

    And I see faces in this hall who have been fighting our cause for much longer than I.

    On your hard work, and that of others before you, we can now build something great.

    We are here, not because of individuals, but because we are a team and we have a positive vision for our nation’s future.

    Delegates, I was immensely proud of our election campaign.

    The other parties talked about what Scotland’s can’t do, about what our people can’t achieve.

    In contrast, we talked of a future rich in possibilities.

    And now Labour’s post-election debate is all about how to beat the SNP and return to office.

    They think the solution is to modernise their internal structures and regulations.

    CONFERENCE, PERHAPS THEY SHOULD START BY MODERNISING THEIR ATTITUDE TO SCOTLAND.

    Our debates at this Conference are, and always will be, not about our own future but about our nation’s future.

    CONFERENCE, THIS PARTY’S OBJECTIVE IS TO SERVE SCOTLAND, NOT TO BE SELF-SERVING.

    That’s why we won such a resounding mandate in May.

    Whether it was the streets of Glasgow or the crofting townships of the Western Isles, we fought for every acre, and earned every vote.

    And rural Scotland is now a sea of yellow.

    And we thank our rural communities for placing their trust in the SNP – and we will not let them down.

    In Government, we are continuing to build a better society and working for all of Scotland.

    Because that’s our vision.

    I cannot even begin to describe my pride and honour for being a member of the Referendum Cabinet.

    Not because of one day in our lives, sometime in the near future.

    But because of all the days that will follow, and the future we will bequeath our children

    Our nation is blessed with an abundance of natural resources and a talented people.

    And that combination can deliver a bright future for future generations.

    But to secure a better future, we need to act today.

    Yet, today, I can see a Parliament and Government in Scotland that takes decisions that are good for Scotland and has the support of the people.

    But I see a Parliament and a Government in London that is holding us back and has no popular mandate.

    And Conference, that has become clearer than ever before to communities here in the north of Scotland who want to protect our seas.

    Because the Tory Government is dismantling our maritime rescue services.

    And there are doing this with the backing of their Scottish henchmen – known in these parts as the Liberal Democrats!

    So now our emergency tugs are being removed from Scottish waters.

    It does not stop there – the same UK Government are also downgrading our coastguard.

    We are a maritime nation being governed by metropolitan penny-pinchers.

    The UK takes many billions from our oil resources but will not spare the few millions to make our seas safe.

    Conference, a Scottish Government would never undermine the services that protect life at sea and precious marine environment.

    Our emergency tugs should stay – our coastguard stations should be saved – our waters should remain safe!

    Responsibility for maritime safety should lie with the Scottish Parliament.

    Have the Lib Dems already forgotten about the heavy price they paid at the elections for betraying Scotland’s trust.

    And Conference, their betrayal on the Crown Estate is unforgivable.

    It has been an article of faith that the Liberal party in Scotland wished to put control of the Crown Estate in the hands of the people.

    That body belongs to a by-gone age and should now be made accountable to Scotland and our communities.

    So Michael Moore, stop doing the Tory Party’s dirty working north of the border –

    SUPPORT OUR CALL FOR THE SCOTLAND BILL TO GIVE CONTROL OVER THE CROWN ESTATE TO OUR PARLIAMENT.

    Conference, we face serious issues, which require serious politicians who can help us prepare for the big challenges of the 21 st century.

    You know yesterday I joined local MSP Dave Thomson is visiting the Scottish Ploughing Championships taking place in the Black Isle.

    Watching so many of our farmers using the skills passed down by their forefathers, which they in turn will teach their sons, reminded me of the vital role played by our food producers.

    Be they the men and women who plough, sow and harvest our land,

    Or who grow, or catch, the seafood for our plates.

    The growing world population brings billions more mouths to feed, at a time when climate change means there is less productive land available.

    But in Scotland, we are blessed with an abundance of natural resources that allows us to produce some of the world’s best food.

    So our challenge is to safeguard our natural resources but make the most of our advantages.

    And we need to support the industries that can help us to do that.

    I’ve just returned from EU talks in Luxembourg where negotiations got underway on Europe’s new farming policy.

    UK Ministers tell us we need them to deliver a good deal for Scotland.

    Yet, successive Tory and Labour UK Governments left Scotland stuck at the bottom of Europe’s league for rural development funding.

    And with the fourth lowest level of farming payments in the whole of the EU!

    Conference, that’s the real cost of letting London speak for Scotland.

    But now the EU is proposing to help countries that have received poor financial deals in the past close the gap in the future.

    Delegates, do you know that if Scotland were an independent member state that could mean over 1 billion pounds extra for our farmers over the course of the next few years?

    Now that’s what I call a substantial independence dividend for Scotland!

    THAT’S WHAT I CALL A GOOD REASON FOR SCOTLAND HAVING OUR OWN PLACE AT THE TOP TABLE IN EUROPE!

    And as the referendum approaches, our opponents tell us that we are better off being part of a large member state.

    WELL, WE SAY, WE’LL BE MUCH BETTER OFF BEING A MEMBER STATE IN OUR OWN RIGHT, PROMOTING SCOTLAND’S INTERESTS IN EUROPE ON THE GLOBAL STAGE,

    RATHER THAN BEING PART OF A LARGER MEMBER STATE THAT ACTS AGAINST SCOTLAND’S INTERESTS.

    When Scotland is a member state, we can negotiate in our own right, influence the agenda, pursue our priorities, and work with European colleagues to the big issues of the day.

    You know this is now my fifth year of attending EU meetings to represent Scotland.

    And I can tell you there is much warmth and affection for Scotland.

    Delegates, Europe will welcome with open arms an independent Scotland to the top table.

    BUT MICHAEL MOORE IS IN THE NEWS TODAY CLAIMING THAT INDEPENDENCE WOULD DIMINISH OUR PRESENCE ON THE GLOBAL STAGE.

    WHAT A JOKE!

    IN FOUR YEARS, OUR FIRST MINISTER ALEX SALMOND HAS DONE MORE TO ENHANCE SCOTLAND’S INTERNATIONAL PROFILE THAT THE COMBINED EFFORTS OF EVERY UK MINISTER IN THE LAST FOUR DECADES!

    And we need that international voice to represent our fishermen as well as our farmers.

    Our fishermen, who have been beaten up, but not unbowed, by the despised Common Fisheries Policy.

    A new fishing policy is at long last being renegotiated in the coming months.

    But despite having the bulk of the UK fishing fleet, we are not allowed to speak for these men and their families in Europe

    Let me tell you that last week I requested to speak at the Fisheries Council where the topics under discussion had far more relevance to Scotland than any other part of the UK.

    And guess what, once again, the UK Government said no!

    It’s a silly policy defended by a silly coalition that puts pettiness before principle.

    So, we say to David Cameron, enough of your rhetoric and empty promises, drop the paranoia, and give Scotland our rightful place in these vital negotiations that lie ahead. But we will continue to devote all our energies to persuade Europe to rip up the worst aspects of its fishing policy.

    A policy that:

    – has wrecked livelihoods and decimated communities

    – forces fishermen to discard valuable fish stocks in the name of conservation.

    – delivers micro-management in Brussels when we need local management in Scotland.

    CONFERENCE, WE WILL STRAIN EVERY SINEW TO RETURN FISHING POLICY TO SCOTLAND – WHERE IT BELONGS.

    Conference, our food producers need our support and we need them to put food on our tables.

    Scotland’s larder is in great demand at home and abroad and is outperforming the rest of the UK.

    Sales of our produce across these islands are up by a third since we took office.

    Food exports have exceeded £1bn for the first time, up by 50% since 2007.

    Scotch Whisky exports are rocketing and now sit at £3.5bn.

    That’s success supported by SNP policies.

    And to keep up the momentum, we not only protected our food and drink budget against a background of Westminster cuts, we more than doubled it to over £14m.

    Because we need to encourage success.

    There is not one model, but a thousand.

    Like stars in the sky, our land should be dotted with points of light.

    Places where individuals and communities have forged their own success.

    And we can build success on the natural resources our planet has gifted to Scotland.

    Our land, water, wind and waves.

    We need to safeguard them.

    That’s one reason why we need to tackle climate change.

    And can I say that I am delighted to work alongside Stewart Stevenson , our Minister for the Environment and Climate Change.

    We are already two thirds of the way to our 2020 target of reducing emissions by 42% and Stewart is the right man to drive forward our ambitious agenda.

    And one way we are doing this is through our successful Climate Challenge Fund which we are funding to the tune of over £31m in the next there years.

    345 communities have now received support.

    So empowering our communities to take control of their own destinies is what we want to achieve in Government.

    Conference, we have to consider how we will harness our resources for our children and grandchildren

    I am proud of the progress Holyrood has made – from the Land Reform Bill of 2001 to the boom in renewables in 2011

    But we are far from finished.

    We need to seize this day, this moment in history, and ensure we are masters of our fate.

    Not passer-bys as one of the richest environments in the world is exploited by others.

    So we are going to take steps to ensure that the people of Scotland enjoy the benefits of the wealth of natural resources on their own doorstep.

    At the heart of our rural development policy will be measures to help communities own more of these resources and benefit directly from their use.

    We want to build resilient and self-sufficient communities.

    And ensure our communities lead our efforts to tackle some of the big challenges that lie ahead:

    Energy, water, and food security, biodiversity and climate change.

    Land and water are more than just resources – if you have access to neither, you are denied your fundamental rights

    SO I LET ME ASSURE YOU TODAY THAT WE WILL OPEN THE NEXT CHAPTER IN LAND REFORM – THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF SCOTLAND.

    We will do what it takes to release land for communities for economic development.

    And that’s we took the decision to establish a New Land Fund to help communities take ownership of their own land.

    And we will do much more.

    Our people deserve to gain more from every turn of the turbine blade and the hum of the power cable and we will bring forward proposals to achieve that as well.

    CONFERENCE, NATURE HAS BEEN GOOD TO SCOTLAND BUT WE MUST SECURE THE BENEFITS FOR THE PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND.

    Delegates, we are building a new Scotland, fit for the future.

    Where Scotland is thriving.

    With a growing rural economy, people of all ages living and working in the countryside, creating low carbon businesses.

    There’ll be a boom in remote-working, taking advantage of new investment in broadband.

    Communities will be more self-sufficient, getting clear benefits from their local assets, whether land, people, skills or energy.

    A Scotland where we grow and eat more of our own food, where we breathe clean air, enjoy our spectacular environment, are surrounded by pristine, rich seas contributing to our good health and happiness.

    The message from this Conference is that independence makes economic sense, democratic sense and common sense.

    We have worked hard to get to where we are today but now we have to redouble our efforts in the run up to the referendum.

    Delegates, all of you, our Party and all our supporters today and those of the future:

    We are all history makers.

    Conference, let’s work to make our dreams reality.