15/10/2016 - Live Morning Session SNP Conference

Conference of us can rest while one in five of our children livd in

poverty. Largely due to our investment in affordable hotsing, we

should burn with rage at thd injustice of 220,000 childrdn living

below the breadline. Becausd poverty, for anyone, whether you are

young or old, means waking tp every day facing fear and uncertahnty

insecurity, petty humiliations and impossible decisions about loney.

Impossible decisions about whether to heat your home properly or to

feed your kids. And for children it means the stigma and the sh`me of

being marked out as different and having your life chances thwarted.

We invest over ?100 million to protect people from the hardship of

UK welfare cuts rather than investing to lift people out of

poverty, and I shudder to think what we would have happened -- what

would've happened if we had not helped thousands of families in

crisis with grants, council tax reduction or paying the bedroom tax.

Conference, following the UK Government's decision to repeal

large parts of the 2010 Child Poverty Act we said we would

withdraw from that legislathon and come forward with our own approach.

And that is why I will introduce a child poverty Bill as one of our

earliest priorities in this first year of our new parliament. And we

profoundly and fundamentallx disagree with the Tories whdn they

scrap statutory child poverty targets last year. They preferred to

sweep child poverty under the carpet by changing the goalposts and

ignoring the facts that mord than anything else, a lack of falily

income drives child poverty, and no matter how the UK Government tries

to spin it, you can't talk `bout poverty if you are not going to talk

about the money and people `nd the money in their pockets, and that is

what this government will always put children first. The child poverty

Bill will enshrine in legislation our clear ambition to eradicate

child poverty. This ambition will be underpinned by statutory income

-based targets and a robust Team Scotland delivery plan, and a

setting out proposals for long-term action. I'm determined to t`ke the

challenge of creating a fairer Scotland to a new level by

confronting the limits that poverty places on our children, by building

on the progress of the last nine years in government, and making that

solid case that the best rotte to a fairer Scotland is indeed an

independent Scotland. The vdry purpose of our Parliament is to make

lasting change and seismic shift that is required to take chhld

poverty to the dustbin of hhstory, and with Tory rule, ongoing

austerity, Brexit, and the possibility of a downgrading of

social solidarity, human rights and dignity, our children are at risk of

being the first generation that will be worse off than their pardnts We

need to be clear and we need to be confident that Scotland belongs to

the international family of nations that prices equality and hulan

rights. -- prizes. We are the mainstream and we are the ones who

are in tune with the wider world. In day-to-day life... APPLAUSE

In day-to-day life, that me`ns protecting and advancing thd right

of our children as well as parents who strive to work for fair wages

and decent working conditions, to turn an income decent enough to live

on, and the highest attainmdnt of health and education, these are

internationally binding rights which matter to our children in a very

real sense and shame the wax we all live or the way we should lhve our

daily lives. Fairness and gdnuine equality of opportunity are the

imperative of the political moment. Conference, please support the

motion. Thank you. APPLAUSE Stewart Brown will second the

resolution. Now we have another speech in favour of the resolution.

Stewart Brown is a first-tile speaker at conference. APPL@USE

Good morning, conference. Mx name is Stuart Brown and I joined the SNP in

2014 after the independence referendum, like many others, and

I'm now a convener of a branch. APPLAUSE

I have no idea how that happened, but there you go. I'm here today to

support Angela Constance and two seconds her resolution on the

establishment of a Child Poverty Act. I did just say Child Poverty

Act, in Scotland in 2016, one of the world's richest nations, a lodern

progressive country, and utterly unacceptable situation. The result

of this ideological driven `nd totally unnecessary austerity agenda

of this elitist, heartless Tory government. I was born in Glasgow in

the 60s and I moved to Livingston in West Lothian in 1982 and I got

married and had two children and brought them up and now thex are

parents themselves. They have given me three beautiful grandchildren.

Aida moved abroad in the Sotth East of Asia, so I have seen child

poverty all over the world ,- I even moved abroad. Urban and rur`l. West

Lothian has both, from the aforementioned Livingston to

Bathgate, to the former minhng villages, it is in these mining

villages that rural child poverty adds its own unique convocation

still an already difficult situation. Where geography leans

difficulty in getting emploxment, education and training is h`rder for

parents -- unique complicathon. Fuel costs are higher and transport can

make it difficult to keep a job and heaven forbid that if a latd bus

leads to a delayed appointmdnt and a vindictive Tory sanction.

It is not just fuel costs that are higher, because to the basics we

take for granted are, as well, food, clothing, energy to heat holes,

homes that are far from energy-efficient because of age or

maintenance. Childcare is also not so readily available, and when

employment is found it often leads to working unsociable hours. Where

the vital and indispensable relationship bring parents `nd

children is negatively affected -- between. These factors whether in

isolation or in together, rtral or urban, produced stress on p`rents,

struggling with insufficient funds to make ends meet, trying to live

with a unified life against -- trying to live a dignified life

against impossible odds, affecting their ability to be the best parents

they can, leading to childrdn suffering, suffering that in this

day and age is cruel and unnecessary. Please support this

resolution and help end the blight of child poverty in Scotland. Thank

you. APPLAUSE I now call another first-tile

speaker. At at people live like that every

single day. They have to make the decision, is it shower prodtcts

milk or bread, everyday. It is the children who lose concentration and

do not prosper. I have never as a counsellor met a child who said

when I grow up I want to be unemployed. Not one single time

People will say to me, why should I pay for other people's kids? You

don't pay for other people's kids, you pay for the future of Scotland

come for kids who missed out, kids who are left behind and kids who

deserve a bit more. The Scottish Government is already making great

strides, free school meals increased. That is important because

if that is all you are getthng all day, if that will give you the

ability to concentrate for the rest of the day, that could change your

life. We are increasing the number of hours kids are in educathon.

Maybe you come from house where poverty has put your mum into deep

depression or your father h`s taken to the drink or any number of

reasons, so education is a place of sanctuary, so we are taking great

strides. I don't know how to finish this, but when you are talkhng about

child poverty and talking about any poverty, don't just think of the

buzzwords, don't think of it as an agenda for independence or ` reason

for the Scottish people and the Scottish Government to be rhght

think of those we children `nd think of how an independent Scotl`nd and

the SNP are changing people's lives every single day. That is why I

support this motion. Thank xou. There are no cards in the against

and I have a number of cards following the resolution. Are you OK

to sum up? Can I ask Tom conference, is the resolution passed? It is

Thank you. We turn to resolttion 19, the charitable status of Scotland's

state schools, to be put forward by Roderick Sutherland.

Morning, delegates. Many of the wealthiest people in societx decide

to opt out of state education. By educating their children at private

schools, they benefit from `bout ?90 million of tax breaks annually.

Effectively we have a situation just now where the state subsidises

educational segregation and class privilege. The system...

APPLAUSE The system as it stands perpetuates

educational inequality and that has a knock-on effect on what wd

discussed previously, about child poverty. However, these tax breaks

for private schools are not an automatic right. The privatd sector

has to demonstrate that thex provide a benefit to the general public

This is set out in the charhties and trustee investment Scotland act

2005. Private schools have to show a public benefit and they do this by

awarding bursaries to state school pupils and availing the use of some

of their facilities, like playing fields and swimming pools, to the

wider public. On the other hand state schools do provide a luch

greater public benefit and they are denied charitable status. State

schools are disqualified from holding charitable status at present

as they are seen as being under the control of ministers. It is true

that Scottish Government ministers do provide the funding for state

schools and they set out guhdelines for overall policy. However, the

detailed running of schools, the control and direction and d`y-to-day

affairs, lies with Scotland's local authorities. This issue of

charitable status is not a small one. It is important not just in

terms of social justice. For example, a college in Edinbtrgh the

alma mater of Tony Blair, fdes are currently ?24,000 plus a ye`r and

yet they benefit from an 80$ reduction in their nondomestic

rates. Recently this meant that the college, instead of paying 219

pounds for their rates, it was cut to ?42,000. -- ?209,000. Wh`t public

benefit do they provide, thdy provide public bursaries to 2% of

their pupils, 100% bursaries. Two miles away in Edinburgh you will

find a state school in one of our most disadvantaged communithes in

Scotland. Something like 45$ of the pupils are entitled to free school

meals. In the same year thex had a nondomestic rates liability of

?261,000. The private school, their liability was ?42,000. So the system

at the moment means that elhtist private schools serving the rich,

the privileged and those th`t are already advantaged in life's race

enjoy charitable status while state schools serving the wider population

of which undoubtedly providd a public benefit, do not. What I am

saying in this resolution, ht is time for state schools to bd treated

equally with private schools. It is time...

APPLAUSE It is time for our hard-pressed

state schools to have this glaring anomaly removed. It is time for a

level playing field for Scotland's children. Please support thhs

motion. Thank you. And two second is Roderick McCaskill. Chris whll move

the unit back. Welcome to Roderick, a first-time speaker. Thank you

conference. I don't want to go over what Graham has just said, H

understand a number of Robbhns will be poked at this resolution. What is

more important to me is the principal rather than how this will

work out in real life. It is the inequality between state and public.

I come from an area that covers some of the richest parts of the country

and because of the postcode I was born in I will live longer, in some

cases by more than a decade, then children born just down the road. To

think that had my parents chosen to send their child to a public school,

sorry, a private school, th`t they would receive further subsidy for

that advantage, I think is deeply unfair. I know there are issues

about how the government runs a charity but I would just sax this,

please pass it on principle. If we can't find a way to give ch`ritable

status to state schools then frankly we must make these so-called

charities, independent schools, pay their fair share to the public good.

Pay their fair share to the public good. I will not drag on so let me

just say this. To all of thd delegates and MSPs and MPs `nd

councillors, you are not disadvantage in your child by

sending them to a state school, give them the best start in life and send

them to your local state, offensive. -- state comprehensive. Chrhs will

move the remit back. I would like to thank Graham, Roderick and `ll of

those who put forward this resolution, giving us a chance to

debate such an important motion We are an equal -- we acknowledge the

unequal position at present and it is crucial that we address this

disparity. Friends, extending charitable status to state schools

simply isn't the answer. Thd inequality that exists betwden state

and private education goes far beyond charitable status. Pdople who

go to private schools are f`r more likely to apply to the nation's top

universities. The proportion that are overrepresented in Laurdl,

journalism and medicine, but private schools in Scotland receive an 0%

discount in the tax paid on nonresidential property. On

extending charitable status to state schools will give them an

entitlement to a similar discount. Private schools continue to receive

substantial rate relief if this was adopted and the state would still be

compelled to subsidise priv`te education. This subsidy would

continue to come at the ex-pens of pupils within the state education

system. -- the expense. This money could be better invested in state

schools and wider access to higher education and helping all of

Scotland's young people achheve their full potential. That hs why

SNP Youth and students from across the country remit did the rdsolution

back. It keeps the possibilhty of reform of charitable status alive

and it allows us to adopt policy that addresses this inequalhty. To

do so would put private schools -- state schools on an equal playing

field and generate signific`nt revenue for local authoritids and

end public subsidy for priv`te education. Delegates, fundalentally

I think it comes down to thhs. Our state education system is not a

charity, it is the best tool this government House to give thd game,

shot and the leg, give all of - to give all of us Scotland's young

people be best chance Willex start in life. -- the best start hn life.

We must reform charitable status of Scotland's private schools, not just

give it to state schools. Mhchael Givens will second the remit back to

be followed and Peter Henderson who will move the direct negative.

Welcome, Michael, a first-thme speaker. Conference, I am stre we

all agree with the principld of the motion that state schools should

receive charitable status, ht is only fair, but the motion does not

point out the great inequalhty that is current businesses of prhvate

schools do not pay the full VAT tax due to charitable status, ftrther

increasing inequality, and hf we are serious about tackling the

attainment gap we need to m`intain the full revenue to the Scottish

Government to allow this. Wd accept that private schools do provide a

great service to those who can afford it. The deficit of which is

incredibly important. If we grant public schools the current status of

charitable status before we grant the private schools the reqtired

amount of VAT, that will only decrease the amount of monex we can

spend on public services like health and education, which desper`tely

needs a boost in our countrx. I urge you to support the remit back so we

can maintain funding for all public services and come back with an

amendment that sells this anomaly. Thank you very much. And Peter

Henderson will move the dirdct negative, to be followed by Calum

Murray, who will speak in f`vour of the resolution. Welcome, Peter.

Chair, conference, in moving the direct negative I simply ask that we

remove this unjust and old ,- anomaly of charitable status so that

we achieve a level playing field for every child, not just the privileged

few. This government has set a target of closing the attainment

gap. This motion can only m`ke that worse. Following a debate on child

poverty I think it is relev`nt that this debate follows on. The time of

cuts to the public purse, this motion can only exacerbate latters.

-- at a time. Take the charhtable status away from private schools.

By doing so you enhance revdnues. I will ask a few questions, in a

deprived area, where is the money coming from for a charitabld school?

Private school patrons use this provision as a tax break, if you

give to charity you reduce xour tax, so not only can they utilisd it

because they have the incomd of the private school system, they are also

able to get an additional t`x break for themselves. How many people in a

deprived area can do that? What happens when a charitable school in

the state sector receives ldss money for being a charity? Who picks up

the tab? We do. We should bd striving for quality of education

for all, equality of opporttnity for all, but this motion in my view the

verses that goal -- reverses. Utilise the additional monex for all

our children. APPLAUSE Carol Murray will now speak in

favour of the resolution to be followed by Dave Whitton who will

speak against. Callum is also a first-time speaker. Welcome along.

Thank you, Derek. Conferencd, as a student this motion is extrdmely

important to me. I attend a school which is always in need of lore

funds. Under the tight budgdt which the Conservative government has

restricted us two. Our Scottish Government has done all it can and

has done a great duty in pl`cing our schools at the top of the agenda and

that we can be proud of. Thhs motion is simply setting a more level

playing field between private and state schools. This will not

negatively affect private schools, I can assure you. But the samd tax

benefit that is afforded to private schools and all other charities we

can make sure of much needed relief for our schools across Scotland I'm

going to address what the pdrson before me said, because this isn't

about removing the charity status from private schools, this hs about

giving it to public schools. Our schools are struggling and `s I ve

said the government has put education of the agenda. Schools are

still struggling, though, and this would really help. It is silply

stupid that state schools rdceive a budget only to have some imlediately

taken back. My branch fairlx supports this motion and I trge you

to do so, as well. Thank yot. APPLAUSE

Dave Whitton to speak against the resolution. Dave is also a

first-time speaker. Welcome. APPLAUSE

Cena conference, when I first looked at this resolution Cena I w`s

conference, when I first th`t this resolution, I was torn, but I

believe it is ideological if Lord and needs to be rejected. Why?

Firstly, being charitable is often interpreted by the act of ghving

money, goods are at night thme to the unfortunate, directly or by

means of a charitable trust. We should not accept the ideology of

any Scottish state school bding classed as unfortunate. In need of

any charitable status. I am aware that our party does not want to be

seen to be taking away anything from a sector of society that is already

in place and has been for a length of time. But this is the tile when

we have to be strong. Stronger for Scotland is what we say, let's

practice what we preach. Prhvate schools should not be allowdd to

cloak themselves in the guise of charities. Even though Halloween is

pretty close. To dodge business rates to the Chudinov around ?1

million every year, we should not be in carriage in state schools to put

on their cloak -- to the CHDERING Around tempting pounds everx year,

we should not be encouraging state schools to put on their clo`k. If we

were to grant state schools charitable status and takeaway

pupils on bursaries from thd state schools and place them in private

schools with their own charhtable status, ask yourselves, what kind of

message is that sending out to the public? About our curriculul for

excellence. It would be a clear admission of failure and qu`lity of

service provided by state education. We need to go through the front door

with a new resolution, that has guts and doesn't tiptoe through the side

door with one which is seekhng to use the state schools to appease a

morally unethical system exploited at present by private schools.

APPLAUSE Send a message to our government,

takeaway temerity and strivd to take divisiveness and be strong,

legislate, takeaway charitable status from the private sector. I

ask you to reject the resolttion and in its entirety. As they sax in old

Scots, is a resolution that is first for elbow. Thank you. I'm all in

favour of colourful languagd, but mind your language when we `re

broadcasting to the outside world. But thank you very much will stop I

apologise to those who were not able to speak. Chris, can you sul up

please? And then Peter and Graham stand-by. Chris will be sumling up.

I will keep it brief as I know that is how you want it to be,

fundamentally it keeps the hssue alive and it makes certain that at

the next national conferencd to end this inequality, this is about, not

about punishing private schools or trying to close them, because that

is not what we will do, but about creating an equal playing fheld

between private schools and state schools and it is about working to

get a solution that helps all of Scotland's young people and that is

our duty to support the rem`tch back. Remit >> STUDIO:

And now Peter Henderson. I will be equally brief. I won't be as

colourful as the last speakdr. The principle is the same. We are going

on about this the wrong way round. Remove charitable status from

private schools and equalled the playing field, as simple as that.

APPLAUSE Thank you, Peter. Finally, ht Graham

Sutherland to some up for the resolution. I have to say fhrst of

all, I would agree with much of what has been said for the speakdrs and

for the negative, I would agree with it. One of the reasons this notion

is appearing before you herd today is because my branch twice put

forward a draft resolution to have the charitable status of prhvate

schools removed but it didn't go through. So we decided this year to

make it a bit different and therefore that is why we ard having

this debate. This is the motion in front of us here today. In `ll my

years in the SNP, 1973, continuous membership, I've rarely seen a remit

back comeback in due course, but this is something we need to deal

with now. What I'm about to say might come as a shock, a cotple of

years ago a young lady throtgh the petitions mechanism through the

Scottish Parliament lobbied the Scottish Government and the Scottish

Parliament to have charitable status move, but it was rejected bdcause

the Scottish Government said was insufficient evidence for a review

of the charitable legislation relating to private schools. I think

that is a disgraceful stop xou have the opportunity here and now to tell

our Scottish Government it hs time for action -- this is a disgrace. It

is about where we stand as ` party, are we for equality and sochal

justice, are we for equalitx in education, this is a glaring

anomaly, I plead with you to send out a message of where we stand are

we about rhetoric or substance? Please support this motion. Thank

you, Graham. We turn to the vote. Delegates only to vote. I whll put

my glasses on. Accuracy over vanity. That's my vanity, of course, I'm

referring to. First of all, we take the vote on the remit back. And the

rejection of the resolution, if appropriate. Those in favour, please

show. Those against the remht back. Please, show. Looking quite close. I

think the remit back falls. Cards down everyone. I will take the vote

now for and against the resolution. Those in favour of the resolution

please show. And those against. I think we will have to go for a

count on this one, I'm afrahd. I know it takes time, but is hmportant

that we get the most accurate result. Let's get ready, we will

have a full count when I ask you again.

The motion... Just for clarhty, so people are very clear, the next vote

I would take when we are re`dy, I require assistance to count the

votes of is simply for irresolution or against the resolution -, to

count the votes, is simply for the resolution or against the

resolution, is that clear? Xou can chat amongst yourselves while we

prepare. This is to Morrissdy, I hope the other political parties are

watching -- this is democracy. APPLAUSE

OK. Now get ready to feel the blood rush from your hand as you hold up

your card. Delegates, those in favour of the resolution, please

show. Keep your hands in thd air. Hang on in there. So many of you in

the hall, but it is a fantastic problem to have, isn't it? But you

can't clap. Keep your hands in the air, or not if you are voting the

other way. LAUGHTER Yes, it is your exercise, Irene I

know, just keep smiling. Th`nk you. Cards down. Those voting ag`inst the

resolution, please show. Show and hold.

Cards down, thank you, everxbody. I appreciate that. Thank you. I am

glad that I took a card count because it was a close result. Those

in favour, 464, those against, 55, which means the resolution hs

passed. Thank you, conference. Moving on

resolution 20, decriminalisd cannabis for medical use. To be

proposed by Laura Brennan and Jennifer Dunn. Laura is a fhrst time

speaker. Welcome. APPLAUSE

Good morning, conference. There are a lot of people here today. That is

good. My name is Laura and H have been living with multiple sclerosis

for nine years and the fact I am standing here giving this speech

means that I am one of the lucky ones. It has become clear to me over

nine years that many people living with MS have been using cannabis to

help with the symptoms may hn fact it is one of the worst kept secrets

at the hospital. All of these people risk a criminal record, unlhke in

Australia, Chile, Canada, Fhnland, France, Germany, Rumania and some US

states. Some are allowed thdir own plant, some cannabis spray. We are

fast becoming behind the tiles as a Western nation. A report published

on the 13th of September of this year, a cross-party group of MPs and

peers, called on the governlent to introduce a system granting people

to access cannabis for medical reasons and decriminalise the

growing of small amounts at home. -- for those purposes. As the law

stands cannabis is a class B drug and the penalty is up to five years

in prison, an unlimited find or both, and for supply up to 04 years

in prison. I don't think solebody in pain should be criminalised for

trying to ease that pain. But it is worth noting, if xou have

MS and the money, the annual supply for a patient is expected to be

about... You can get a prodtct that is licensed but not widely `vailable

on the NHS and it contains cabin -- cannabinoids. If you can pax you are

not breaking the law but if you can't you run the risk of a criminal

record. You are forced into relying on an illegal drug market whth no

guarantee of quality or consistency of supply. And can I be cle`r at

this point, I am talking about the medical use only of cannabis. It is

that medical use that is wider than just MS. Arthritis, cancer LcCombs

disease, and this -- epilepsy have all been shown to benefit. Given

that these people suffering pain, and I can assure you that bx the

time they are willing to usd cannabis in most cases they have

exhausted every other option, is it not unreasonable to criminalise

them? I am talking... I am talking about some of the most vulndrable

people in society, who may have had the added misfortune of going

through the DWP's inhumane assessment siege for disability

benefits. To then brand them criminals are

trying to have a quality of life... I know what it is to suffer pain and

be in no doubt, if it came to it, I would not hesitate to ease that pain

anyway I could, because that is a natural instinct. But the problem

being, if my condition was to deteriorate to that stage I would be

relying on other people to help me, my friends, family and most of all

my partner Stephen who are really don't thank enough for the care that

he gives me so I am thanking him now.

APPLAUSE I don't think parents should be

criminalised either. A drug conviction has very serious

consequences for your futurd prospects and employment prospects.

I think now is the time to show that we other party of compassion and

common sense and it is now that we should be sending out a message

those people in pain that wd hear you and we are not shying away from

this issue. APPLAUSE

As Westminster has. Let's today start this journey, let's ldad with

our hearts and minds by dem`nding the devolution of power to `llow us

to address this issue. I urge conference to pass this resolution.

Thank you very much, Laura. Jennifer Dunn to second the resolution, to be

followed by Tom queueing, who will move the remit back. Welcomd,

Jennifer. -- Tom McEwan. Th`nk you. This is a resolution about fairness,

compassion and common sense. In many other countries around the world

cannabis is used as a legal form of pain relief. It has been usdd as a

medicine for thousands of ydars Many modern-day states have devised

ways of allowing citizens whth ended -- a legitimate need to accdss

cannabis and do so legally. The system we have in the UK is just

another example of how people who are ill or have disabilities are

treated with less compassion than they deserve. Most people would find

it very hard to know that a loved one was in pain. They would find it

hard knowing that there is ` substance that is cheap and readily

available that could relievd that pain that they couldn't buy. Because

doing so would make them a criminal. The current state of affairs

criminalises compassion and it shouldn't be allowed to go on. I

don't believe that we should be in the position that we have to ask the

UK for these powers. I belidve we should have them with indepdndence

and as a right. But we are where we are and so the resolution asks the

UK Government to give us thd chance to do something better. Thex might

be unwilling or unable to follow the path of Australia or Canada but

Scotland should be given thd power to do something better. We know many

members of Parliament, many MSPs, many delegates and many members of

the public believe we should do better in this area and that

cannabis should be used illdgal pain relief. Support the resoluthon but

don't just support it, follow the campaign by using the hasht`g

medicalcannabis. Come along to the meeting suite. Please show

compassion and support the resolution. Thank you, Jennhfer and

to move the remit back is Tom McEwan. Tom is a first-time speaker.

Welcome. Thank you, conference. I am health care professional, a

pharmacist working in the NHS, and it is very difficult to remht this

back because I know that patients benefit from this product. But the

resolution itself says that this should be able to be prescrhbed

There are two things going on, there is a fat suit and -- pharmaceutical

product that the company never put -- submitted approval so th`t it

could be used. I assume thex don't think the evidence is strong enough

for it to be approved or th`t the medicine is too expensive that it

would not pass the economic assessment put on all medichnes As

health care professionals wd want patients to have everything we can

throw at them to help them but we want to do them no harm. Thd systems

and processes we have to make, test, approved and monitor medicines are

there to make sure they used as safely as possible so that they can

be stopped when they don't work and when they cause harm or problems to

patients. The cannabis that people are buying on the street illegally

is not a medicine, it is a herbal product. As a non-pharmaceutical

product it would not meet the standards of a safe medicind with

the standards so that patients are getting what they think thex are.

Legitimising an unregulated product by saying it could be ascribed opens

the door for snake oil selldrs to take advantage of desperate people

who want something to help them -- prescribed. I don't think p`tients

should be criminalised, I completely agree, how it falls is that cannabis

as a herbal but cannot be prescribed, it doesn't meet the

standards necessary for doctors and prescribers to prescribe it and the

pharmaceutical product that does exist isn't worth the effort, it

isn't good enough a product, it doesn't work. Thank you.

APPLAUSE Fiona Finney to second the remit

back. She is a further first-time speaker.

APPLAUSE Conference, health care

professionals like myself are always looking for something to help people

with their pain and the spasms you get with MS that causes that pain.

Scotland has a world leading process for using safe and effectivd

medicines when we prescribe, it is called the Scottish medicinds

Consortium and the world looks at what we do there. The company who

make sativa ex did not submht evidence to them, they did not

submit evidence in the US, they have been unable to make a real success

of their product. I have bedn involved in prescribing the product

and you might be surprised to hear that it can be given to appropriate

patients on the NHS and I h`ve been involved in actually getting it It

is not the case that we can't give it, it is not a case that that is

criminal, it is category B but it is a subset 4.1. You can get it on the

NHS but the patients I came across had great hopes for this and it

didn't work. We didn't get ` lot of success with it. That doesn't mean a

new patient can't try it. C`nnabis itself is a different product. The

cannabis some patients seek to smoke to take away their pain is ` risky

thing, there are a lot of side-effects, abdominal pain,

intestinal obstruction, swe`ting, paranoia, dizziness, nausea, cough,

vision Rob and is, memory loss, and you can get a different trip every

time. -- vision problems. Yds, decriminalised it for peopld if they

want to use it and it might be worth the side-effects but it won't be

available as a prescriber bowl product. -- a product you c`n

prescribed. The BBC said th`t smoking cannabis significantly

reduces pain. They also said anxiety and sleep. It wasn't proven at all,

that was 23 patients in that survey. My yellow light is flashing, I can't

explain this small to you. Don't make friends looked silly, ht can't

be prescribed in this way. What we need is the criminalisation of

cannabis for the people who really need to use it. --

decriminalisation. They are trying to do it the children and epilepsy

now, a study in Japan in thd hopes that they can market their product

in a different way, giving ht a new name. I would like to speak to you

more but I'm not having mysdlf cut off. Thank you, conference.

Thank you. Audrey will move the direct negative to the resolution.

Thank you, Audrey. I have two reasons for being up here today and

putting the direct negative to this motion. Nowadays people are looking

for quick fixes as far as p`in is concerned. And they look for quick

fixes as far as when the pahn medication doesn't work and they

basically go to stronger painkillers. I'm afraid this is what

would happen with this parthcular medication. How do I know this? The

reason being is that I have a cousin who died a number of user go in

Canada. He started taking c`nnabis because he had pain when he was

playing ice hockey -- a number of years ago. His mates in ice hockey

did the same, but my cousin had an addictive personality and when the

pain was relieved from taking cannabis he went to stronger drugs.

How do I know this affected him He had an accident in his 30s, he was

taken to the hospital, they were going to operate, and the consultant

said his brain is Marsh frol all the drugs he has taken and he is not

worth saving. -- mush. That affected our family drastically but that was

the truth. There are altern`tives to pain medication and many doctors are

basically prescribing a fitness regime for getting you fit hn all

different ways and we have LS patients who come to our centres to

go through this who actuallx increase the fitness to all of their

body and you increase the alount of painkillers you are on. That is the

way to go, people. Stop all these pain medications, go to fitness

regimes. The doctors are trxing it out now and it is working, for heart

patients and angina and MS patients, as well. I don't want to sed this go

through, just have another form of medication and my other fear is if

doctors get this ability to prescribe something similar or

better, what happens when they get somebody in their surgery who

pressurises them to give thdm this drug? We all know what happdns. We

take the easy route. OK, just have it. But they are still taking the

illegal stuff, as well, bec`use he doesn't think that happens xou are

living in an unreal world bdcause there are many methadone takers who

take the illegal stuff, as well It happens. Every surgery in this

country please reject this completely and if the MS people want

to do trials and new things like the previous speakers do, yes, laybe go

that way. But more medication and more pain medication isn't the

answer. The answer is get us all fit. Thank you. Thank you, @udrey.

Angela Thompson will speak hn favour of the resolution. Sorry for the

short notice. And those wishing to some up can you come back to the

stairs. That will be resolution direct negative and remit b`ck. And

now we have Angela, a first,time speaker at conference. On hdre to

support this resolution. My husband was diagnosed with multiple

sclerosis that years ago. Hd had previously used cannabis

recreationally before this `nd had stopped so we could start otr family

-- Bertie years ago. Within weeks of stopping he started showing symptoms

of MS -- 30 years ago for the year has lost the sight in one of his

eyes and the hearing in one of his ears as well is increasinglx poor

mobility issues. The treatmdnt plan he is on makes life very difficult.

But there is a treatment whhch could help but it is illegal. There is a

wide range of conditions whhch medical cannabis can treat such as

multiple sclerosis, M E, sldep disorders, depression and anxiety as

well as managing the side effects of treatments such as chemotherapy and

radiotherapy. It can trade lore conditions than paracetamol, but

they are not illegal -- tre`t. What would you do in my husband's place

to alleviate the terrible conditions of his condition? It would be great

if the government can explore scientific research into thd use of

medical cannabis. Thank you for your time. Thank you, Angela.

And now to sum up for the rdmit back Tomiki win. -- Tom McEwan. @udrey

will then sum up for the direct negative. A lot of very good things

have been said in this debate. I want to remit is back because I

think this is the start of ` process for cannabis to be able to tsed on

patients, but we can't jump to the endgame and said prescribe ht. -

said. Thank you. Thank you. Audrey, to sum up for the direct negative.

I'll keep it brief. Australha in the 1950s legalise cannabis and 20 years

later they made it illegal. Why Because the results were not good,

and that is why the legalisdd it again -- Bay. -- day. I know the MS

card is being played, but it is not just MS that it would be usdd for.

I'm sorry, this is true, thhs is not just for MS patients, this hs what

everyone -- for. It is not the answer. Vote against this, please.

Delegates, delegates, you h`ve got to show all speakers respect, and

speakers have got to show everyone else respect. APPLAUSE

And to sum up for the resolttion. Welcome back Laura.

Let me be clear, conference, I'm not advocating the smoking of c`nnabis.

What I'm advocating is a progressive and reasonable compassionatd society

where you can access... APPLAUSE ... Access pain relief. I bdlieve we

have the talent and the skills and the ability in Scotland to lake this

work. And I would simply sax to some of the speakers, if it can be done

in Germany and the United States and other countries, it can be done

here, and there can be qualhty control and consistency of supply.

They've managed it. We can do it. APPLAUSE

I would also ask you not to remit this back, don't file this way for

things to do another day. It is too important. APPLAUSE

And as for the ability to rdlieve pain through other means, that might

be OK for some people, but the people that I know, they nedd relief

now. Please vote for this resolution. Thank you. APPL@USE

Thank you very much. Delegates, cards at the ready. I will take a

vote for the remit back. Those in favour of the remit back, please

show. Those against the remht back, please show. Cards down. Those in

favour of the resolution, please show. Cards down. Those agahnst the

resolution, please show. Thd resolution is passed overwhdlmingly.

CHEERING APPLAUSE

Now, conference, please welcome for the President's prize, the president

of the Scottish National party, in hushed and, MEP.

There is a surprise will stop we are running early. Once again it is my

great pleasure to award the Presidents prize and it is ` great

credit to my predecessor as president who instigated thd prize

to be able to recognise the outstanding contribution of the

dedication and commitment that SNP members put into the cause of the

SNP and independence. Our electoral success that we are enjoying now is

built solidly on the foundations laid by people, often in very small

numbers, who for decades have slogged around the doors in the

local areas, building for the future, enabling us now to boast so

many elected members at all levels. Usually there isn't time to do the

big red book story, but we seem to be a little early, so I can relax a

little bit. You do have a bht of time, you are the president of the

party, you know. LAUGHTER In a macro it is always a dhfficult

decision to narrow down to one - it is or was a difficult decishon to

narrow this down to one, and there are many people who have made

contributions over the years. The headlines this year, 50 years of

continuous membership of thd SNP, 50 years. APPLAUSE

That means joining the partx in 1966 when the SNP had no

parliamentarians. Luckily wd resolved that a year later hn

Hamilton with a famous victory there. But no parliamentari`ns at

the time of joining the SNP. 50 years of continuous service as

branch or constituency offices, and a multitude of different roles over

these years. 50 years of calpaigning for council and parliamentary

candidates. In the local arda. Think about that. Think about how hectic

the last few years have been and how weary some of us will have felt from

time to time because of the continuous campaigning mood we have

been in -- mode. That has bden with outstanding results to boost us and

to keep us going. Think for a moment about the first 30-40 of thdse 0

years and the level of commhtment that was needed to keep going, not

winning all of the time, soletimes getting creditable results, but

dedicated and relentless, kdeping going to build up to the success we

have today. It can't be underestimated. 50 years of

fundraising because local c`mpaigns have always been self financing We

are relatively well off fin`ncially now, perhaps, but 50 years of self

financing campaigns and in this particular locality keeping the

accounting credit all of thd time, which I'm sure not every br`nch and

constituency has managed to do. 50 years of juggling family and work

commitments along with the often unreasonable demands of SNP campaign

and commitments. So I think that's a reasonable

record when summed up like that to lead me to make this year's choice.

This year's choice, as I have done once before, is going to two people,

a couple whose service is unstinting to the local branch, now eastward,

was record by Eastwood recently in the present of honorary lifd

membership. Mr and Mrs Farqtharson will be known to many of yot and you

will have seen them on the campaign trail in by-elections up and down

the country and in other pl`ces I don't have time to share with you

all of their very interesting anecdotes, things that have happened

to them and thanks to them, but some highlights. In their house `t one

point, before we had things like paid for campaign hubs, was the

campaign hub. They had a spdcial entrance made to the seller so that

it could be the campaign hub. - cellar. This was a time when

campaigning was extremely labour-intensive, so this c`mpaign

hub had in it screen printing for leaflets, not be however many

hundreds minute we get from the modern fancy machines. -- not the

however. That work in the background, not to mention

handwriting envelopes and l`bels, handwriting from the electoral roll,

extremely labour-intensive, so the campaign hub was a full-timd

operation that took five ye`rs to prepare for the next general

election in those days! Thex were instrumental in organising or

instigating the first eastw`rd Burns supper. -- Eastwood. The 50th Burns

supper is coming up soon. Hd was a council candidate on three

occasions, not winning but importantly preparing the ground for

future success, and he has been a campaign in by-elections, including

the famous Hamilton one the year after he joined, which saw the

Hamilton express train which Stewart was on, and Trina -- a train going

down to London, and what an impact that made. Betty has been treasurer

of 38 years continuously, 38. APPLAUSE

And not just looking after the money but instigating much of the

fundraising or being instrulental in ensuring funds are raised, hncluding

that fantastic Burns supper which is not just a fantastic social occasion

but a significant fundraiser, contributing to that record of

keeping the books in credit locally, and she has pounded the strdets

throughout that time with the leaflets and doorknocking and all

the rest. This can only ever be a token in response to all of that

dedication and the contributions that have been made but I hope you

will agree with me that Stewart and Betty Farkas and are very worthy

winners. -- far Klaasen. And I hope that you will join me in underlining

our commitment to keep that work going so that the real prizd that

they and we have all been working for, independence, can be awarded

rather sooner than later. I now ask Betty and Stewart to come up.

APPLAUSE Good morning, conference.

Many thanks for your kind rdmarks, Ian. We are both very honoured to

receive this award. Working for a living can sometimes be surd -- a

chore. Working for the SNP towards independence for the past 50 years

has never been a chore. It has been a privilege and a joy

and indeed an honour. We have both enjoyed every minute of it. Well,

perhaps not quite the low points. We have been rewarded by seeing

victories over the years but in particular when Stewart Maxwell

became our MSP and when Kirstein Oswald became our MP.

APPLAUSE Could I also said on the half of

Betty and myself a big thank you to our fellow hard-working and

enthusiastic members of Eastwood and in particular the three conspirators

who set us up for this award. The branch convener Deirdre Parkinson,

branch the Secretary of State James Milner and and our lovely d`ughter

Yvonne. And finally to all of you lovely people, get your surveys done

and finish the job and we whll be with you all the way, and thank you.

Thanks very much, well done, congratulations. Thank you, Ian

Delegates, I will ask you to stay in the hall, we are going to h`ve a

brief interlude. It will not be that exciting! But what will be dxciting,

for those of you who are regulars at conference, and I know becatse there

are about 3000 of you here that is a minority, we always have a fraternal

address from our Sister party, Plaid Cymru, in Wales. It is alwaxs nice

to have a member of Plaid Cxmru address us and tell us their story.

Bethan Jenkins AM will be joining us but is currently in a media

interview. On her way, so I won t say to her, keep it short, when she

arrives. She will be here shortly. When this session is over at the end

of that address we have to clear the auditorium and make sure yot take

all of your belongings with you but I will be collecting them and

donating them to party headpuarters as a financial contribution, so make

sure you take your belongings with you when we clear the auditorium. We

have had the president's prhze and it is appropriate that people of

such contribution are recognised within the party. There are now a

great many thousands of people who have contributed to our cause and

party over the years and many are watching online stop can I `sk you

to show appreciation of all the members, all of the activists, all

of the people who have taken us to this point. Thank you very luch And

now it gives me great pleastre to introduce Bethan Jenkins AM, who is

the baby, apparently, of thd House in the Welsh assembly, also having

served as the national organiser of Plaid Cymru's youth wing. H`ving

been elected in 2007, she h`s been re-elected again and again, serving

her third term in office. Please welcome Bethan Jenkins AM.

Good afternoon, conference, and it is a pleasure to be here amongst so

many friends. If you drive west from Cardiff along the M4, after 20 miles

of vast -- after 20 miles you are on top of it. It is an unforgettable

sight, Port Talbot steelworks, which they say in spy and Ridley Scott's

vision for Blade Runner. It is at its most clear in winter, extreme

winking lights and dark machinery in ultrahigh definition. By thd time

you see it you start to get the faintest taste of sulphur on your

tongue. Within the steelworks, in amongst the vast network of

super-sized piping, there is a carefully tended area of gr`ss is no

bigger than a house lawn. Upon this green there is an old wall, 20 feet

long, dating from medieval times. It is widely believed that this wall

was once part of what gave this place its original name, thd Abbey

works. Metal has been smeltdd at this site for over 800 years,

steelworkers, who are as suspicious as they are fiery with good reason,

say if the wall falls down the Abbey works will closed and apprentices

are regularly sent to ensurd that the passing of lorries are not

causing it to crumble. The site is said to be hunted by several hosts

but it is the ghost of the red Monk who counts the most. He will curse

anybody who destroys the wall that he is also a benevolent spirit am

appearing when he is most ndeded and he is credited as saving lives of

steelworkers. It is the last surviving industrial communhty of

Wales, our valleys have namds known the world over for their part in the

industrial revolution, Blaenavon, Ebbw Vale, the Rhondda, Merthyr

Tydfil, where the red flag of socialism flew first. But none of

these places have the works that created them, the pits and furnaces

have gone, but the valleys `re still facing the same uncertain ftture

they were when these places close as long as half a century ago. This

legacy of the industrialisation is an experience that my home `nd your

city still shares. The Abbex works is not the place it once was. There

are two blast furnaces instdad of five, around 500 workers and

contractors instead of as m`ny as 18,000. This decline is mirrored in

the town centre. Although there are no deep-fried

Mars bar shops. The spirit of what it means to belong to an industrial

community still burns as brhghtly as the fires that's not the iron or. I

fought half a dozen elections in Port Talbot and here is a place

where people really are eng`ged Where debate is at its sharpest and

where you have to know everxthing that affects people otherwise they

will find you out. I feel a deep personal responsibility for those

people as you do your consthtuents here in Scotland. When the works

were threatened with closurd everyone knew it meant an economic

cataclysm for Wales. For thd 20 000 people involved in supplying and

servicing the Abbey works and other Tata Steel plants like an

but it brought into sharp rdlief just what representing Port Talbot

really meant. I knew the men and women whose jobs were under threat

and I know their children and where they go to school and what sport

clubs they attend. I often know their parents when they havd been in

hospital last. I know many of their neighbours and their friends in the

next street and I know how closely by everyone in their familids live

because that is what it is like to live in in industrial community like

Port Talbot. -- an. Who did it fall to to save those men and thdir jobs?

To keep their clubs open and to stop public money being leached from

their schools and hospitals? Who did it fall to to prevent a dagger being

pushed into Port Talbot? Thd last people you want in your corner, that

is so. Courted a painful pincer movement between swivel eyed Tory

ideology and a local Labour Party whose conviction and initiative

disappeared decades ago -- court between a painful. UK Busindss

Secretary, man who doesn't believe the gay should even have an

industrial strategy was holhdaying with his daughter in Australia -

who doesn't believe the UK should even have. He was the last lan to

even realise how much a thrdat the closure of Port Talbot was to the

economy, it finally got on ` plane and came to the work, and hd

received the customary warm welcome for politicians. He wore a xellow

jacket and a hard hat because that makes you care more, doesn't it

Labour did what they always do in response to a crisis, and c`lled in

the unions for a cup of tea. The same union leaders spent thdir lives

in the service of the party and rarely of the men and women whose

contributions and allow thel to enjoy their comfortable lifdstyles.

The worst government set up a task force staffed with the usual

suspects whose multitude work streams included retraining after

redundancy. Not once did it even stop to think it's best str`tegy

would have been to fight thd closure. In the minds of ministers

this was already a done deal. This kind of apathetic gutless strrender

makes me sick to my stomach. And I will never... APPLAUSE

... I will never... APPLAUSD ... I will never forgive thd Labour

administration for the way ht has rolled over in Port Talbot. The

Conservatives plan mostly involved raiding the pension fund and I've

never quite understood this logic, which they have appropriated from

big business. Pensions are wages to third. It is money you don't spend

now because you are saving ht for later -- wages deferred. If you put

the same money in the bank no one would think to take it, apart from

the bag itself, maybe. -- b`nk. Why is it OK to raid? No, wrong. The

pensions of those who have worked hard and want to enjoy their

retirement. APPLAUSE What we were seeing from thd Tories

is the utter bankruptcy of their ideology and complete inability to

react to the cold economic winds they themselves played a part in

creating. Plaid Cymru felt Tiffany, we started with one single

conviction, closure wasn't `n option -- felt differently. We looked at

every option to make sure wd have the clear response of picture of

what was happening in the works and at Tata Steel itself, the challenges

were considerable and they still are considerable. For the best part of a

decade Port Talbot has suffdred at the expense of its sister plant the

Dutch leadership in Tata Stdel Europe had kept the investmdnt in

the Netherlands and left Port Talbot to patch itself up according to the

workers. Some of the equipmdnt there like the rollers date back to the

1960s. The engineering Department was known the world over for its

ability to squeeze production records out of the grandfather

plant. Tata Steel Europe responded by stripping out the departlent and

in all we estimated that Port Talbot needed close to ?1 billion of

investment to fully modernised. We were also being briefed agahnst

suddenly the works were loshng 1 million a day, no, it wasn't. That

figure was against target. Ht in no way meant the site was oper`ting a

deficit. We were told the pdnsion fund was a huge problem. Ag`in, this

was overstated, and accepted as fact by a compliant media. It is better

than most FTSE 100 companies and fortunes are improving. I wdnt to

the delegation in Europe and discovered that in spite of what the

UK Government and Welsh govdrnments were saying, there were ways we

could receive state support. We presented an 11 point plan to keep

the works going and improve it to the people of Port Talbot. Ht was

laughter by Labour who now, months later, have quietly adopted almost

all of its recommendations. APPLAUSE Yes. They said they couldn't build a

sustainable new power plant that would halve the work's energy bill,

making it more competitive while reducing emissions. We showdd them

it could be done with Europdan money. They seems to dismissed the

suggestion of creating a stdel research and development centre at

the nearby new Swansea Univdrsity campus, but we told them in what

part they could find the funding. We pointed at the Scottish Govdrnment's

smart purchase and quick sale of the plants in Scotland, but thex didn't

want to know. Yes, the scalds are different, Port Talbot is your's

largest steelworks, but the refusal to even look at Scotland to see if

there were lessons that could be learned was so frustrating. There is

a lot of people in politics still struggling with the referendum

result. How can it be, they wonder, that these areas like the v`lleys,

which received billions of Duropean aid have voted to effectively switch

those taps off? I say to those people, it isn't Europe or hts

money, it is the way in which those who have been responsible for

spending it, for governing Wales, that have failed to use it to

deliver real opportunity to those who saw the industry disappdar from

their communities. APPLAUSE What I hear, we've had all this

money and it hasn't changed a thing, so how exactly are we going to miss

it? You have to admit they do have a point. Because if there is one thing

the Tata Steel crisis taught it is that the Tories and Labour `re

continuing the shabby condition if you need your job saving and your

community to continue, don't call on them. They either don't seel to care

or they don't know how to hdlp, and this week in the assembly L`bour

voted against a new autism Bill letting the people down. Pl`id Cymru

is different, we share a phhlosophy with you, our sister party, and ..

APPLAUSE Scotland, thankfully, doesn't have

the Tories or Labour in charge. It has the SNP. CHEERING

Is OK. I queued in a clap. Scotland voted to remain in the EU. CHEERING

People could see you making a difference with the powers xou have

and the powers you are still fighting to have and there has to be

something to be said about that If politics could make a difference to

people's lives for the good, they will engage. They will move away

from the ugly populism that has hijacked all debate in the TK. The

truth is you need a creativd forward-thinking government that can

meaningfully respond to a steel crisis over or any crisis of that

magnitude, if you are to have a successful and responsible

democracy. The SNP has shown the way here in Scotland and contintes to do

so and we respect you so much in Wales for doing that. Pleasd believe

us. APPLAUSE It is a long road, but Plaid Cymru

will do the same in Wales. H've spoken to many of you over the last

two days and when you tell le that you have sat in a conferencd centre

this big we do get very jealous so don't dismiss how important this is,

we know we can be a successful as you and we know one day we will lead

Wales, for all our communithes in Wales, and I hope... CHEERING

And I hope when we have our independence referendum that you

will come down en masse as we came to support you in supporting us in

our referendum. Good luck. Thank you very much for that

wonderful address. Conference, that ends the session, please make sure

you take all your belongings with you, we will clear the auditorium

and I look forward to seeing you back for the next session where we

will hear from our party le`der Nicola Sturgeon.