Tag: John Swinney

The speech made by John Swinney, the Scottish First Minister, on 7 May 2024.

Presiding Officer

When I stood down as Deputy First Minister in March last year, I believed that would be the last senior office I would hold in politics. Having served then as a senior Minister for 16 years, I felt I had – to coin a phrase – done my bit. To find myself accepting office as First Minister of Scotland today is therefore – to utter a classic understatement – something of a surprise. It is however an extraordinary privilege and it is my honour to accept the office of First Minister, committing myself to do the best I can for Scotland.

As I navigated my way through the media pack in the corridors of this Parliament last week, prior to announcing my candidacy for the SNP Leadership, I tried to explain that I was taking my time to decide whether to stand because I had to be certain it was a decision that was right for my family. For me, that was not a stalling tactic or an evasive answer from an experienced politician. For me, it was the truth.

Members will know that my wife Elizabeth has multiple sclerosis. She is indefatigable in trying to make sure that MS does not get in the way of her living life to the full. But much to her frustration, she does often have to rely on her husband for support and assistance. I could not just commit myself to become First Minister without properly working out how we will be able to manage as a family. We have talked that through and we will manage. But I cannot let this moment pass without making clear to Elizabeth my profound gratitude for the sacrifices she is prepared to make to enable her husband to serve our Country as First Minister.

I am so pleased that my Father, my wife and children, members of my family and our dearest friends, are able to be here today to see this moment. My only regret is that my beloved Mother did not live long enough to see this day. As her Parish Minister wrote to me yesterday “Your Mum would have been (quietly) proud”. My Mother’s love of literature and poetry – which rubbed off on her two sons – would have prompted her to find some words that would sum up this moment.

Yesterday, I was asked what would be the single most important policy objective for my Government. I made clear it would be the eradication of child poverty.

So, in searching for some words to sum up this occasion, perhaps my Mother would have chosen these words from one of Scotland’s greatest poets, Hamish Henderson, who was born in Blairgowrie, in the very heart of my Perthshire North constituency. In his epic anthem, Freedom Come All Ye, which I heard Henderson sing from an open top bus in the Meadows of our great Capital City during a rally that demanded the establishment of a Scottish Parliament in the early 1990s, the poet wrote :

“So come all ye at hame wi Freedom,

Never heed whit the hoodies croak for doom.

In your hoose a’ the bairns o’ Adam,

Can find breid, barley-bree and painted room.”

If there was ever an anthem that railed against child poverty, those words from Hamish Henderson echo through the straths and streets of our diverse country as a call for us to act.

So I will be unapologetic about bringing to this Parliament the measures we can take to eradicate child poverty and I look forward to seeking the support of others to achieve that aim.

Because I recognise, that is how it is going to have to work. I am leading a minority Government. I will need to reach out to others to make things happen. To pass legislation. To agree a Budget.

To pass legislation. To agree a Budget. These sound like dry technical parliamentary terms. But what they mean in reality is if we want to fund our schools and our hospitals, if we want to give our businesses a competitive edge, if we want to take climate action, if we want to eradicate child poverty, if we want to change people’s lives for the better, we have to work together to do so.

This Parliament is intensely polarised at this time. I accept my part in creating that environment – whether that is by shouted put downs from the front bench or heckling from a sedentary position. I do promise Presiding Officer that will all stop – I have changed.

This is not the collaborative place it has been in the past, a collaborative place that has done much good to improve the lives of people in Scotland. As the Parliament marks its 25 year anniversary, and as one of the now relatively small group who have been here from the start, I reflect on the major developments that have taken place by collaborative work and agreement over that time. Major developments taken forward by the Labour and Liberal Executive such as the ban on smoking in public places, or Minimum Unit Pricing by the SNP Government, or the introduction of free bus travel for under 22s by the SNP-Green partnership.

I commit my Government to working to create that agreement across the Chamber. I hope there is the space and the willingness for that to happen in the interests of the people who sent us here.

It is hardly a surprise to anyone in this Chamber that I believe that this country could do more if we had the powers of a normal independent nation. Others in this Chamber take the opposite view. That is the essence of democracy – people free to hold and express and pursue different opinions. The question we face in this Parliament today however is a more practical one.

Does our disagreement on the Constitution prevent us from working collaboratively to eradicate child poverty, build the economy, support jobs, address the cost of living crisis, improve the health service and tackle the climate crisis?

I will give all of my energy, and my willingness to engage and listen, to ensure that is not the case. I invite others to do the same.

When I pitched up at Forrester High School in this City in 1979, at the age of 15 wearing my SNP badge, and my friends and teachers wondered why I had become involved in this fringe party, I could scarcely have imagined that my journey would involve becoming the First Minister of Scotland. It is an extraordinary privilege to hold this office and I thank Parliament warmly for the honour that has been given to me.

To the people of Scotland I would simply say this.

I offer myself to be the First Minister for everyone in Scotland. I am here to serve you. I will give everything I have to build the best future for our Country.

The speech made by John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister, on 9 October 2022.

What a great pleasure it is to be back together, in person, at an SNP conference.

Seeing old friends, making new ones, debating the issues of the day and making the policies that will help shape tomorrow.

Creating the space for this Party – together – to take the next decisive steps to deliver Scotland’s Independence.

While technology allowed us to continue to meet during the pandemic, a virtual conference cannot compare to the hustle and bustle of being together again.

And, while it is a little further for me to travel, I can tell you that – thankfully – it is a lot warmer here on stage than it is addressing you by video filmed in my back garden in the depths of winter!

In all my years in this party, I have given many a speech to SNP Conference.

But today marks a first for me.

This is the first time that I have addressed Conference while providing maternity cover for a ministerial colleague.

In the summer, Kate Forbes, our fantastic Finance and Economy Secretary, and her husband Ali, welcomed Naomi into the world, making Kate the first serving Cabinet Secretary in the Scottish Government to take maternity leave.

Naomi’s safe arrival is wonderful news and from this Conference we all send our love and good wishes to Kate, Ali and their family for much happiness in the years ahead.

And we meet at this Conference, after much electoral water has gone under the bridge.

Just after our last in person Conference in 2019, we won 48 seats in the Westminster election, gaining seats from Labour and the Tories to dominate the electoral map of Scotland.

In 2021, we won 64 seats in the Scottish Parliament elections, winning the highest number of votes of any Party under devolution.

In 2022, we won the Council elections and increased our share of the vote.

After 15 years in power, the Scottish National Party remains the largest Party in Scotland, the winning Party in Scotland, the Governing Party in Scotland – we are the Party of ALL of Scotland.

Conference, it is also great to be back here in Aberdeen – a city at the forefront of our strength in energy and at the heart of our nation’s transition to Net Zero.

Scotland’s economy has many strengths, but when it comes to energy, we are truly a global power house.

With our plentiful resources of renewable energy, with our expertise in oil and gas, and the potential to be a world leader in emerging technologies like hydrogen and Carbon Capture, Scotland is well placed to provide much of Europe with access to clean energy.

The transition to a Net Zero future is a tremendous opportunity for Scotland, but it is also a considerable challenge.

No more so than here in Aberdeen.

This city faces an economic challenge on the scale faced by towns and cities across Scotland in the de-industrialisation of the 1980s. Many of those communities still bear the scars of poorly planned structural changes to our economy.

But there is one crucial difference to the challenge the North East faces today and that faced by communities in the 1980s.

Although there is an uncaring Tory Government at Westminster just like there was in the 1980s, today however, there is an SNP Government, on Scotland’s side, who will do everything in our power to support the North East.

Aberdeen’s economy, like Scotland’s, must transition from its reliance on oil and gas.

But it has to be a just transition.

One that takes our people, communities and businesses with us.

That’s why we are supporting that transition with an investment in this region of £500 million over the next decade.

Securing jobs and investment and ensuring Aberdeen’s place as a centre of green energy expertise.

Conference, since oil was discovered off Scotland’s shores in the 1970s, the Treasury has raked in more than £300 billion in tax revenues.

Next year is set to see the highest oil revenues on record.

So it stands to reason, that the UK should also be joining us in supporting Aberdeen.

Not least, that in their time of need, the UK Government turned to the North Sea for a windfall tax.

But at every step along the way they have refused to match our just transition funding, just like they have refused so far to back Scotland’s Carbon Capture cluster.

Conference, the UK Government are only interested in Scotland when there is money to be made, not when there are jobs to be saved.

Scotland is a nation rich in energy resources.

We have a plentiful supply of clean, green, affordable renewable energy.

The equivalent of almost 100% of our electricity demand is from renewable sources.

Not only is Scotland self-sufficient in natural gas – we are a huge exporter.

Scotland is secure in energy. So we need no lectures from Liz Truss about security of energy supply. It is the UK that has failed to achieve energy security, with the National Grid warning of possible power cuts this winter. And let me make this clear, Scotland is not going to put up with a new round of nuclear power stations to make up for the failure of energy policy in the United Kingdom.

Despite our huge strength in energy, 150,000 more people in Scotland will be forced into extreme fuel poverty as a result of the UK Government’s increase to the energy price cap in September.

We are an energy rich nation, but 35% of our citizens live in fuel poverty.

Why is that?

Because while Scotland has the Energy, Westminster has the power.

And how Westminster chooses to use its reserved power has consistently, and deliberately, disadvantaged Scotland.

Our energy producers face the highest transmission charges in Europe.

Standing charges for consumers are 50% higher in Scotland than they are in London.

Our renewable future has been held back by erratic and irresponsible UK policies.

And, our energy bills are amongst the highest in Europe.

Conference, let’s be clear, the reason why global energy prices have risen so sharply is because of Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

But the reason why the energy crisis has been felt so badly in Scotland, worse than in many other neighbouring countries, is because of bad decision after bad decision by the UK Government.

Conference, when Liz Truss became Prime Minister, a little over a month ago, she inherited from Boris Johnson the worst cost crisis in decades. At a moment of huge difficulty for people struggling with the cost of living, what did the Tories decide to do?

The Tories decided this was the moment to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses and give tax cuts that benefit the rich. How foolish could they be?

A quarter of the cash gains go to the top 5%.

If the UK Government sticks to its plan for a real terms cut to benefits, the poorest 20% in society will see their incomes fall next year.

Meanwhile the richest 5% will see their incomes boosted by more than £9000.

During a cost of living crisis, they are taking from the poor and giving to the rich.

They did so with no independent reports on the costings and no idea how they would pay for the tax giveaways.

And what happened.

The Pound fell to its lowest level against the dollar in its history.

Mortgage providers withdrew hundreds of products from the market overnight – increasing the cost of home ownership and threatening a collapse in house prices.

The Bank of England took emergency action to avoid a collapse of British Pension funds.

Within weeks the new Tory Prime Minister decided to transform a punishing cost crisis in to a full blown economic and financial crisis.

In an act of fiscal recklessness, the Tories have threatened the financial security of millions of our people, jeopardised the homes of many through higher mortgages and shredded in one fell swoop the fiscal credibility of the United Kingdom. That is just the latest disaster the Tories have delivered.

And what will this recklessness bring for us – it will bring a new age of austerity.

A new age of austerity that will cripple public services and create misery for those on fixed incomes.

I came to my first SNP Conference when Margaret Thatcher was savaging our public services and our industrial base in the 1980s.

I was Finance Secretary a decade ago, when David Cameron and George Osborne, unleashed the last round of UK austerity.

The damage of that programme is still being felt in communities across Scotland

It put our public finances under tremendous strain.

While the challenges of protecting Scotland’s people and public services were great then, they pale into insignificance with the scale of the challenge we face today.

As a result of inflation, the Scottish budget is now worth £1.7 billion less than when we set it in December.

We have already had to announce £500 million of savings to ensure we comply with our legal duty to balance the books, and fund fair pay deals for public sector workers

And that is before we take into account the £18 billion of spending cuts the Tories are planning to pay for their tax cuts.

This will impact every corner of Scotland.

Our public services, already under the strain of recovering from the pandemic, risk being starved of cash, all so that those with the broadest shoulders can pay less tax.

There is no denying that the task is great. And, our room for manoeuvre is limited.

But conference, I am clear the job of an SNP finance secretary isn’t to cut public services.

It is to fund public services. And despite the harsh fiscal constraints of devolution, supporting our public services is what we intend to do.

Conference, perhaps the most predictable, if depressing, comments in the aftermath of the mini-budget were the chorus of calls from the Scottish Conservatives urging me to match the UK Government’s reckless tax cuts.

The Tories at Westminster had set fire to the UK economy, and their counterparts in Scotland were urging me to pour petrol on the flames.

And of course at the same time as demanding we cut tax, the Tories constantly demand we spend more money. If you didn’t know already, let me tell you this. The Tories really are a bunch of reckless hypocrites.

By their actions in the mini-Budget the Tories threw away any claim they could have to be a party of fiscal responsibility. In contrast, this Party has balanced the books in each and every one of our years in Government. We should make no apology for believing in – and delivering – fiscal responsibility and we should take no lessons on the subject from the Tories.

Because fiscal responsibility pays for our NHS.

Fiscal responsibility pays for our children’s education.

It pays for the game changing Scottish Child Payment – lifting children out of poverty and available only in Scotland.

From free personal care to prescriptions.

1140 hours of free childcare to free university provision.

From free bus travel to the small business bonus.

We won’t follow the Tories down the rabbit hole of tax cuts for the rich. We will do what’s right for Scotland’s people, our economy and our public services.

It has been abundantly clear for some time that Scotland and the United Kingdom are increasingly moving in completely different directions.

Tory Governments elected at Westminster, but rejected outright here in Scotland.

Brexit supported by Labour and the Conservatives and imposed on Scotland against our democratic will.

Abject hostility to sensible migration policies at Westminster, when Scotland needs to be open for people to choose to come and live here.

Your SNP Government will do all that we can to help Scotland prosper in the face of the obstacles created by Westminster.

We will work to make Scotland the best place to start and grow a business or a social enterprise, a magnet for inward investment, an international example of how to decarbonise our economy, a nation where people and businesses can continually upgrade their skills, a leader in research and development, a great place to live and work with high living standards.

We will do that by encouraging a new generation of entrepreneurs to create business ideas, by pursuing new market opportunities at home and overseas, by encouraging regional economic initiatives in every part of Scotland, by constantly developing the skills of our workforce, and by creating a fairer and more equal society where everyone can play a part in the Scottish economy.

While the Tories engage in a race to the bottom, we will engage in a race for a high wage, high value economy and society – an inclusive growth agenda to improve the lives of each and every one of our citizens.

Since we came to power in 2007, we have used the powers of devolution to the maximum we possibly could.

We gave the strongest support to renewable energy and we are now able to generate nearly all of our net electricity needs from renewables.

We invested in our schools so that today over 90% of school pupils are educated in good or satisfactory schools compared to just over 60% when we came to office.

We introduced the Scottish Child Payment and increased it swiftly to help those facing the greatest need today.

We have delivered much to improve the lives of the people who live in Scotland.

But there are clearly limits to what we can do as a new age of austerity is about to be inflicted upon us :

If Scotland wants to be able to tackle the enduring scourge of poverty;

If Scotland wants to play her part in the world as an equal member of the European Union;

If Scotland wants to be a country that creates the best life chances for every one of our citizens;

Then devolution is not enough – We cannot be at the mercy of Westminster decisions any longer – Scotland has to choose to be an Independent country.

And that is our task – the historic mission of our Party – to make Scotland an independent country.

If I think back to conversations I had with people who did not support us during the 2014 Referendum, many felt they had financial security within the United Kingdom. After the events of the last few weeks how can that any longer be the case?

How can any politician look a pensioner, or a mortgage holder or a person living in poverty straight in the eye, after the wreckage of the last few weeks, and say there is financial security any longer in the United Kingdom.

Our task is to engage with those people – with those we could not win over in 2014. To explain our beliefs and our values. To share with them our hopes for our country. And to help them believe that Scotland can join the nations of the world and play our rightful part.

It is a task of respectful persuasion and of reassurance. It is a task of significance in the lives of all of us who choose to live here in Scotland. It is a task that can chart a new course for Scotland. It is a task that we must – and we will win – for Scotland.

The comments made by John Swinney, the Deputy First Minister in Scotland, on 1 August 2022.

People in Scotland, whatever their politics, will be absolutely horrified by the obnoxious remarks that Liz Truss has made tonight.

The unionist campaigners suggest Scotland should be at the heart of the United Kingdom and how Scotland can be expected to be at the heart of the UK when the democratically elected leader of our country is, in the view of the person most likely to be the next prime minister of the UK, somebody that should be ignored is completely and utterly unacceptable.

I think Liz Truss has fundamentally with one, silly, intemperate intervention, fundamentally undermined the argument she tries to put forward: that Scotland, somehow, can be fairly and well treated at the heart of the United Kingdom.

The speech made by John Swinney on 27 November 2021.

Friends,

It is a great privilege to once again address you once again – albeit in the comfort of your own homes.

I am very much looking forward to being back in a hall with all of you at our next conference.

But I am also thankful that we live in a world where technology has allowed us all to stay in touch with each other even during a global pandemic.

We gather for our annual conference in a rapidly changing world – and to adapt a well-known phrase, the last few weeks have certainly been a very, very long time in politics.

Since we last met, the eyes of the world have been on Scotland, as Glasgow hosted the COP26 climate summit.

This may go down as the most important gathering of world leaders this century.

It was a huge privilege to host this event – but also a huge responsibility.

We are indebted to the thousands of people involved in organising the event, who worked tirelessly to keep the tens of thousands visitors safe during a global pandemic.

And the people of Glasgow were welcoming hosts. They once again proved that the magnificent City of Glasgow is a world-class city – with world-class leadership.

Although we were not meant to be at the top table of these negotiations, the SNP Government did everything we could to positively influence the talks.

And delegates, Scotland may not yet be a member of the United Nations in our own right – but our First Minister has demonstrated that when that day comes, Scotland can – and will – have a powerful and positive role to play on the world stage.

Tackling the climate emergency is not going to be easy – but we have no choice.

We need to act now for the sake of our children and grandchildren.

But I know that we can do this – we can all pull together and play our part.

We all know what it is like to have our resolve tested to the limit – because we have been living through a global pandemic.

COVID-19 has taken many, many lives. It has upended our society and thrown up unprecedented challenges in our economy.

People have seen their financial security taken away, their education disrupted or their job prospects diminished.

The pandemic has made us all think hard about what really matters most.

And it has also been a painful reminder of how unequal our society is.

We all know the impacts of this pandemic have not been felt evenly.

This is true in Scotland as much as it is in any other country.

We have done everything we could to support people during the worst of the pandemic – from introducing free school meals during the school holidays, significant payments to low-income families with school children, as well as a one off £130 pandemic payment to around half a million people, and major financial boosts to our Scottish Welfare Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments.

But despite our best efforts, those who were already the most disadvantaged in our communities have also suffered disproportionately during the pandemic.

We have a moral duty – using all of the limited powers that the Scottish Parliament currently has – to do everything we can to ensure that the people who have lost the most during the pandemic are now supported the most.

And going forward, that is exactly what the SNP Government intends to do.

We have recently published a detailed COVID recovery strategy, which places fairness front and centre of our plans.

We have worked extensively across civic society in Scotland to devise these plans – with organisations like the Citizen’s Assembly, the Social Renewal Advisory Board, and many more.

Just as we have all learned a lot about ourselves during the pandemic, we have seen what can be achieved in government when we look past traditional barriers.

When we can strain every sinew to get the right service or support to people exactly when they need it.

And just as confronting the pandemic head-on was a collective endeavour, our recovery must be a genuine ‘Team Scotland‘ effort – not just of national government, but also local government, the third sector and businesses large and small.

We are not interested in rebuilding the world as it was in 2019.

We are building Scotland for future generations – and we must do so with ambition and with resolve.

I know that if we can capture the same energy, imagination and urgency we have seen in the last couple of years, we will deliver a spring board to a fairer, greener Scotland for future generations.

Conference, the lesson we should all learn from our First Minister’s outstanding leadership over the last couple of years is that if you take decisions honestly and openly, then the people of Scotland will trust you and they will support you.

We will always strive to show respect to the people who have elected us.

Meanwhile the Tory government at Westminster show them little but contempt.

Contempt for Scottish democratic wishes.

Contempt for Scotland’s democratic parliament.

And led by a Prime Minister who seems to have contempt for everyone who isn’t called Boris Johnson.

A Prime Minister who seems to have spent almost as much time recently at Peppa Pig World as he did at COP26.

But you know, if it’s snouts in the trough that Boris Johnson wants to see, he doesn’t need to go all the way to Peppa Pig World.

He just needs to look along the Commons benches to those sitting around him.

What has been revealed about the behaviour of Tory MPs in recent weeks has been going on for years – and the charge sheet is long and shameful.

The Tories have rewritten the definitions of cronyism and corruption.

And when they are caught bang to rights by an independent investigation – they just rewrite the rule-book as well.

While the world’s eyes were on Glasgow looking for leadership on the climate emergency, what they saw instead was a Prime Minister repeatedly forced to deny that the UK is a corrupt country.

Conference, let’s not kid ourselves – Westminster is rotten to the core.

The Tories have no democratic mandate to govern Scotland

And they have lost all moral authority to hold the highest offices in the land.

The people of Scotland deserve so much better than the Tories.

Delegates, the never-ending circus of the Tory government would be almost funny if it were not so serious.

But there is one issue on which they are working – almost under the radar – with a very clear political objective.

While the SNP Government has been using every power at our disposal over the last couple of years to tackle the pandemic, the Tories have been quietly working to undermine devolution.

This goes completely against what the people of Scotland voted for in 1997.

I am immensely proud of the achievements of devolution – all of us should be.

The Scottish Parliament helped revitalise Scottish democracy and civic engagement.

It has enabled us to make different – and better – policy choices from Westminster.

And even with its limited powers, devolution has helped us mitigate some of the very worst Tory policies – such as the Bedroom Tax.

Very few people in Scotland would now want to roll the clock back to the way things were before.

But we are now seeing a concerted attack on our parliament, from the very people who fought tooth and nail against it being established in the first place.

In a grotesque irony, the Tories are using something that the people of Scotland voted overwhelmingly against – Brexit – to undermine something they voted overwhelmingly for – the Scottish Parliament.

There have been many threats to Scotland’s social and economic wellbeing as a result of Brexit – and many of them are only just beginning to be felt.

Take the new Internal Market Act – which was the Tories’ smoke-and-mirror replacement of the European Single Market.

It certainly has an innocuous sounding name – and I am pretty sure that was intentional.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

Through this Act, The Tories have given themselves unfettered power to decide the rules of the internal market – and to completely ignore the devolution settlement if they want to.

This is not some abstract constitutional debate.

The Act gives them powers to spend public funds in devolved areas like education, culture and sport – all to fit their own priorities and giving us no say.

It means they can ride roughshod over the ban on some single-use plastics that we recently announced as part of Scotland’s efforts to tackle the climate emergency.

Does anyone seriously think that an innovation like Minimum Unit Pricing for Alcohol—which, let’s remind ourselves, after hearing all the evidence and argument the courts held to be compatible with EU law—would have been possible if this insidious Act had been in place at that time?

If all of this seems far-fetched to you – just remember that this is the government which took us to court to have parts of the legislation to ensure the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child was embedded in Scots law struck down.

This was a Bill passed unanimously by the Scottish Parliament, trying to enact a policy commitment which the UK themselves made in 1991 but haven’t fulfilled.

It didn’t matter that the bill would have enormously benefitted children’s rights.

What Westminster couldn’t handle was any suggestion that Scotland could be getting too big for its boots.

Even the noble cause of advancing child welfare should not be allowed to get in the way of Westminster control.

Friends,

Self-government has been an immense success story for Scotland – as we always knew it would be.

For my entire adult life, I have been committed to empowering the people of Scotland to have an ever greater say in how their country is run.

When I joined the SNP as a teenager, the people of Scotland had recently voted for a Scottish Assembly.

But they had seen their democratic wishes denied by a tawdry coalition of Tory and Labour unionists who decided that they knew better than the people of Scotland what was best.

Some things never change, I guess!

But those who believed in Scottish self-government never gave up.

I was proud to campaign in the devolution referendum in 1997.

I was privileged to be able to vote as an MP for the legislation that established the Scottish Parliament after almost 300 years.

And in the wake of the independence referendum, I represented the SNP on the cross-party Smith Commission which took our Parliament on the next steps with greater tax and social security powers.

The direction of travel was clear – more decisions being taken in Scotland led to better decisions being taken for Scotland.

And despite the boasts from Labour that devolution would kill nationalism stone dead – it has in fact proved conclusively that the people of Scotland are more than capable of governing themselves.

So it’s no wonder that the Westminster control-freaks are so determined to undermine it.

In public the Tories say they are committed to making devolution work – but behind the scenes they are plotting to make it unworkable.

There will be no sudden Big Bang moment.

Boris Johnson is not going to stand up and announce to the cheering Tory faithful that he is dismantling the devolution settlement – much as I am sure he would like to.

But make no mistake – piece by piece, devolution is quietly being filleted – hollowed out from the inside, by a Tory party which has always opposed the idea of anything other than unfettered Westminster control on Scotland.

Much like the climate emergency, which is slowly creeping up on us every single day – we need to issue a Code Red for Devolution.

All of us who care so deeply about the Scottish Parliament and its role in Scottish public life need to stand up and be counted – before it is too late.

Sadly though, it looks like we can’t count on Labour and the Liberal Democrats to be part of this fight.

Just last week, in the Scottish Parliament, they voted with the Tories to endorse the disgraceful attack on the devolution funding settlement.

Never in my life would I have imagined that those parties who campaigned for the Scottish Parliament would now be shrugging their shoulders as the Tories undermine it.

The truth is that they care more about preserving the union than preserving the Scottish parliament.

They tolerated devolution while they were in charge – but as soon as they lost power they gave up on it.

Well, the SNP will certainly not give up.

We will fight this Tory power grab for as long as it takes.

Because to give in on this most pressing of issues would be to give up on the people of Scotland.

And that is not what the Scottish National Party is about.

But Conference, there is a bigger question here that we must consider.

If devolution is no longer safe under Westminster control….

…if everyday decisions taken by our elected Scottish Parliament can be routinely undermined at a whim by the Tories

…and if even Labour and the Liberal Democrats are more interested in preserving the union than protecting devolution….

Then how can the Scottish Parliament ever be protected as long as we remain under Westminster control?

The answer is that it cannot.

There is no status quo. The only way to stop Scotland going backwards on the constitutional journey is by moving forwards.

The only way to keep the gains of devolution is by becoming independent.

You know, the case for independence is stronger than it has ever been.

Never has Scotland’s extraordinary potential as an independent nation been clearer.

And never has Westminster control seemed so damaging to Scotland’s interests.

For those of you who are impatient for independence – I know how you feel.

So am I.

But I also take heart from just how far we have come as a movement.

House by house, street by street, day by day and year by year – we have made the case for self-government in Scotland.

We must continue to demonstrate to people in every corner of this nation that no one can make better decisions about their country’s future than they can.

And remind them that despite what they have been told for decades by Westminster – they live in an extraordinarily wealthy country, blessed with enormous natural resources and human talent.

The Westminster establishment may think that they can just wish away Scotland’s independence movement.

But they should be absolutely clear that they won’t be able to do that.

Our movement is growing.

And the case for independence grows ever stronger by the day.

We are here to stay – and in the end, if we stay the course, we will win.

The speech made by John Swinney in the Scottish Parliament on 22 November 2001.

We meet this afternoon to elect a new first Minister, for the third time in the short life of this Parliament.

The first occasion was a credit to Scotland – an exchange of ideas that resulted, perhaps in the expected – but which also enhanced our fledgling democracy.

The second occasion was a result of a tragedy – the untimely death of Donald Dewar – who, with others from his party, from ours, from the Liberal Democrats and from wider Scottish life, had worked to establish this Parliament and give our nation a fresh start.

This third occasion is the result of a farce – a farce inflicted upon Scotland and its Parliament by the Labour party and by nobody else – the party that now, without any democratic process, seeks to foist its unelected leader upon our country. The party that promotes its own, by making cronyism a way of life, and which always lets Scotland down.

This afternoon that farce may be carried to its illogical conclusion. The Liberal Democrats, in their usual Pavlovian response to their Labour masters, apparently intend to dutifully bring into office a Labour machine politician who represents everything the Liberals claim not to represent.

Labour has failed the democratic test. The Scottish Parliament must now do what Labour has failed to do.

This Parliament must exercise democratic scrutiny – and I am proud to set out my candidacy on behalf of a party committed to a democratic, fair and prosperous Scotland.

A party that always puts the interests of the Scottish people first.

A party that can comfortably shelter those who are disgusted by the institutional cronyism of the Labour Party and ashamed at what it has become.

And I am proud to represent a party that recognises that if we want to create that democratic, fair and prosperous Scotland we must have the normal powers of a normal Independent Parliament.

Presiding Officer, this Parliament is a stepping stone to freedom. And this party will help our nation cross over the murky swamp of Labour Scotland, into the bright and clear air of an independent Scotland.

There is a job of work to be done to start that process. Let me tell this chamber how I will go about doing that job.

Scotland needs reform of its public services as well as reform of its public servants.

Those two reforms are clearly linked. We must reform the whole system of public appointments, and the bill brought forward by my colleague Alex Neil is the key that will unlock the door to openness and accountability. I challenge each candidate for the post of First Minister to echo my support for that bill. Whilst reducing the power of Labour’s quango state we will also improve the calibre of those that serve the public. These appointments should be made on behalf of the public by a Scottish government – not appointments made on behalf of Labour, by Labour.

And I also challenge each candidate to echo my party’s support for root and branch reform of local government.

The present state of local government in Scotland is a monument to Labour institutional cronyism. Any system that rewards a party with less than half the vote with 90% of the seats – and all of the power – is a system whose time has passed in this democratic age. To defend it is to defend the indefensible, but Labour members here and at Westminster are lining up to defend it.

We could change that system today. My election as First Minster would usher in immediate legislation to ensure that the local elections in 2003 were held under a new system. That legislation is already being drafted in the name of my colleague Tricia Marwick. All it needs now is the votes of this chamber.

That promise should attract Liberal votes – but of course the Liberals have deserted the principle of fair votes in favour of the patronage exercised by means of unfair elections. No wonder they do not even have the courage to put up a candidate today.

They are no longer a party in this parliament – they are a wholly owned subsidiary of whoever can give them the most jobs and the best promises.

But I warn the Liberals today – you need a long spoon to sup with New Labour. You are in for a disappointing journey to PR in local government: a long, tortuous journey in which meetings to arrange timetables to arrange meetings will be the order of the day!

We need reform of our public servants. And with it we need reform of our public services.

Delivering public services and building public trust: those are my priorities.

A society shorn of cronyism will be a society that can focus on the real needs of Scotland.

It will be a society in which we can prioritise public investment in our struggling health and education services. We will do so by using not for profit trusts. We reject the discredited and expensive Tory-inspired Private Finance Initiative that puts money from our classrooms and hospitals into the pockets of private financiers.

We shall do so by a radical programme of reform in Education, reducing class sizes and freeing up teachers to teach.

We shall do so by investing in health so that our cancer services are the best in the world, not the worst in Europe.

We shall do so by protecting our environment by never, ever allowing a London government to foist nuclear power stations on Scotland.

And we shall do so by giving this Parliament the financial independence it needs to deliver the quality public services the people of Scotland rightfully expect.

We cannot allow free personal care for Scotland’s elderly people to be held-up because of a backroom rammy over cash between Labour ministers in London and Labour ministers in Edinburgh.

Presiding Officer,

If the Chamber today selects the Labour nominee for this post, then those who vote in that way will be condoning massive abuses of power over generations. They will be wiping from their memories the images of Monklands, of Glasgow City Council, of Govan, of Paisley and Renfrew, of scandal after scandal and deceit after deceit. They will be accepting that the leadership of our nation is something to be traded behind closed doors within a party bloated with arrogance and power and forgetful of where it has come from.

It is time for this Parliament to assert itself.

It is time for Scotland to assert itself. To look to its future – a future that demands a government and a First Minister standing up for Scotland, not fighting for themselves.

I ask the Chamber today to support my nomination.

But more importantly, Presiding Officer, I ask Scotland to support a vision of bright dreams for the future, not the old nightmares of the past.