The Royal Opening of Parliament

:00:26. > :00:30.Good morning. A very warm welcome to you for the special programme as

:00:30. > :00:35.the Queen goes to the Scottish Parliament to mark the beginning of

:00:35. > :00:38.its fourth session. We are live at the key positions in the historic

:00:39. > :00:43.heart of the capital, inside the Parliament and the chamber and on

:00:43. > :00:48.the Royal Mile. A moment ago, the Crown of Scotland was delivered

:00:48. > :00:52.from Edinburgh Castle And arrived at Holyrood. The main debating

:00:52. > :01:00.chamber is filling up with MSPs and their guests waiting for the Queen

:01:00. > :01:04.to arrive. As the SNPs reshapes Scotland, we will look at monarch's

:01:04. > :01:10.relationship with devolution over the years and will the Queen be

:01:10. > :01:17.guaranteed a welcome as this in an independent Scotland?

:01:17. > :01:25.Three cheers for Her Majesty, the Queen.

:01:25. > :01:30.Hip-hip... Hooray. Today is about the Parliament, the

:01:30. > :01:34.palace and the people including the local heroes nominated by their

:01:34. > :01:40.MSPs to take part in the Riding. So what do you say when you are asked

:01:40. > :01:46.to parade before the Queen? Wow, I think was the word!

:01:46. > :01:52.So music and song, and poetry and performance and possibly some

:01:52. > :02:00.politics it is all in prospect over the next couple of hours for the

:02:01. > :02:07.gathering of 1500 guests. At We watched the Crown of Scotland

:02:07. > :02:10.arrive at Queensbury House and now we are waiting for the arrival of

:02:10. > :02:15.the Queen. I am at the bottom of the Royal

:02:15. > :02:20.mile, Andrew, where I'm soaking up the atmosphere with the crowds and

:02:20. > :02:25.the sunshine, of course, shining on us today. We are waiting to catch a

:02:25. > :02:29.glimpse of the Queen and we will be watching the Riding as it comes

:02:29. > :02:31.down the Royal Mile and we will be talking to special members of the

:02:31. > :02:37.crowd. Thank you.

:02:37. > :02:41.With me following this morning's events, Tom Devine from Edinburgh

:02:41. > :02:43.University and Professor James Mitchell from the Department of

:02:43. > :02:47.Government at Strathclyde University. Thank you.

:02:47. > :02:53.First, Her Majesty, the Queen, is of course, no stranger to the

:02:53. > :02:56.Scottish Parliament. Since 1999 she has addressed MSPs on six occasions.

:02:56. > :02:59.What is the relationship between palace and Parliament, between

:02:59. > :03:03.Holyrood House and Holyrood? And what will happen to that

:03:03. > :03:08.relationship in the future when a referendum on Scottish independence

:03:08. > :03:18.is held? Here is the analysis of our our political editor, Brian

:03:18. > :03:18.

:03:18. > :03:23.Any moment now Concord will be over the mound.

:03:23. > :03:29.The new Scottish Parliament receives Royal approval on the 1st

:03:29. > :03:35.July 1999. A Royal occasion with Scotland's

:03:35. > :03:45.ancient Crown on display, but alongside the pageantry, a fanfare

:03:45. > :03:48.

:03:48. > :03:52.for the common man. Robert Burns Anthem evan gentleman

:03:52. > :03:59.liesing people power and there was a duality in the Queen's address

:03:59. > :04:04.opening the new Parliament. Over the centuries the British have

:04:04. > :04:09.sought to acknowledge and promote that pragmatic balance between

:04:09. > :04:14.continuity and change. As we have forged new political structures to

:04:14. > :04:17.respond more effectively to democratic aspirations.

:04:17. > :04:22.There shall be a Scottish Parliament.

:04:22. > :04:26.Continuity and change, continuity amid change the essential Royal

:04:26. > :04:31.offer. Indeed Her Majesty has been a fixture in devolution, opening

:04:31. > :04:35.each session. Evidence of the importance attached by the palace

:04:35. > :04:45.at Holyrood to their political neighbours. Evidence perhaps too of

:04:45. > :04:48.

:04:48. > :04:54.underlying concern. For the Palace was not always so seemingly sanguin

:04:54. > :04:58.about Scottish self-Government. 1977 the Queen's silver jubilee, 25

:04:58. > :05:02.years on the throne, at that time an earlier attempt at Scottish

:05:02. > :05:05.devolution is being scrutinised and contested at Westminster.

:05:05. > :05:15.Addressing both Houses of Parliament, the Queen enters the

:05:15. > :05:17.

:05:17. > :05:22.controversy. I number kings and queens of

:05:22. > :05:27.Scotland among my ancestors. I can understand these aspirations, but I

:05:27. > :05:35.cannot forget that I was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom of

:05:35. > :05:40.Great Britain and Northern Ireland. At the time, that was rightly

:05:40. > :05:44.interrupted as a political intervention, a criticism of

:05:44. > :05:48.Scottish self-Government as well as a defence of the Union. Fast

:05:48. > :05:55.forward another 25 years to the Golden Jubilee. The Queen is

:05:55. > :05:59.attending the Scottish Parliament, meeting in Aberdeen. Devolution is

:05:59. > :06:07.a reality and the Royal tone has changed.

:06:07. > :06:10.In this age of new constitutional relationships of union nitty based

:06:10. > :06:15.on diversity I welcome the contribution that Scotland is

:06:15. > :06:17.making to strengthen the bonds that link the nations and regions of the

:06:17. > :06:25.United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and Europe.

:06:25. > :06:30.This is how I saw it at the time. I recall the silver jubilee speech

:06:30. > :06:33.25 years, 1977, in which she criticised Scottish devolution. On

:06:34. > :06:37.this occasion, she wasn't apologising, but what I think she

:06:37. > :06:40.was doing was setting in context the new devolved settlement within

:06:40. > :06:45.the structures of the United Kingdom.

:06:45. > :06:50.Shortly we shall become neighbours when this Parliament moves to its

:06:50. > :06:57.new campus at the bottom end of the Royal Mile. Continuity and change,

:06:57. > :07:03.the Queen has addressed MSPs six times in all. Each time, different.

:07:03. > :07:13.The 2003 election brought the rainbow Parliament, socialists,

:07:13. > :07:25.

:07:25. > :07:30.A year on, 2004, and Her Majesty is back.

:07:30. > :07:35.She emphasises scanned within the UK. N-your procedures you are

:07:35. > :07:41.pioneering new forms of working in close association with those you

:07:41. > :07:46.represent. In doing so, you add distinctive Scottish values to the

:07:46. > :07:50.British democratic tradition. The new building maybe late and

:07:50. > :07:55.grotesquey over budget, but it represents a new stage, the

:07:55. > :08:00.evolution of devolution. But greater change is to come.

:08:00. > :08:08.I heard a rumour... LAUGHTER

:08:08. > :08:12.I think we won the election! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

:08:12. > :08:19.2007, as ever, with change, continuity. Her Majesty heralds the

:08:19. > :08:22.new session. Politely, gently, Alex Salmond reminds the monarch of

:08:22. > :08:26.further potential change ahead. Her Majesty, it will not have

:08:26. > :08:30.escaped your notice that I am the first SNP First Minister this

:08:30. > :08:34.Parliament elected. I believe in the restoration of an independent

:08:34. > :08:39.Scotland. Others in this chamber take a different view.

:08:39. > :08:46.In practise the palace had time to obsosh and analyse that possible

:08:46. > :08:50.possible challenge when the Queen devolution in 2009 the SNP

:08:50. > :08:55.Government did not have the Parliamentary votes to call a

:08:55. > :08:58.referendum. They do now. A referendum on Scottish independence

:08:58. > :09:03.will happen in the later half of this Parliament. Does that cause

:09:03. > :09:09.anxiety at the court? Almost certainly. Might the Queen

:09:09. > :09:13.intervene as in 1977? Almost certainly not. This is a decision

:09:13. > :09:18.for people, not Palace and to be clear the SNP leadership sees the

:09:18. > :09:23.Queen remaining head of State in an independent Scotland. They want to

:09:23. > :09:28.repeal the 1707 Act which united the parliaments of Scotland and

:09:28. > :09:35.England. The earlier union of 1603 which united the Crowns would

:09:36. > :09:40.remain in force. A dozen years ago, the Queen first

:09:40. > :09:44.opened Scotland's devolved Parliament. On a subsequent

:09:44. > :09:50.subsequent visit, might she be arriving as Head of a distinct

:09:50. > :09:57.State within the Commonwealth? Or will both Unions persist Repal and

:09:57. > :10:03.Parliamentary, continuity or Brian Taylor there.

:10:03. > :10:08.We will be back inside the Parliament with Brian when the

:10:08. > :10:10.Queen arrives in about six minutes time she will beliefing the Palace.

:10:10. > :10:15.We look at this relationship between the Queen and the

:10:15. > :10:20.Parliament, what sort of parameters do you think she is working within

:10:20. > :10:25.now? How much has the ground changed? The ground has changed

:10:25. > :10:29.enormously. We now have a Parliament, we didn't in 1977. The

:10:29. > :10:34.other important factor is the monarchy isn't as popular as it was.

:10:34. > :10:40.It is still popular in Scotland. But I think the monarch has become

:10:40. > :10:44.wise to the fact that she can't play politics nour in the -- now in

:10:44. > :10:48.the way she might have done 25 years and get away with it. Things

:10:48. > :10:52.have moved on. The SNP is not in favour of ending the monarchy. It

:10:52. > :10:58.is very much a party that supports that union as it were. I think that

:10:58. > :11:02.is important. So I think suspect that the monarchy will take a back

:11:02. > :11:06.seat in these debates over the next few years.

:11:07. > :11:11.The Royal Company of Archers are lining up. The Queen will be out in

:11:11. > :11:17.five minutes. This company is her bodyguard to be fair, I think, they

:11:17. > :11:20.get help from lothian and Borders Police, but they are lining up now.

:11:20. > :11:24.Tom, what do you think will be the relationship of the monarch with

:11:24. > :11:28.Scotland in, if there is to be an independent Scotland, how will that

:11:29. > :11:33.change, do you think? I think we are in a process of evolution.

:11:33. > :11:39.Let's not forget that probably the current monarchy has faced a bigger

:11:39. > :11:49.challenge in relation to Scotland of any monarchy since the 18th

:11:49. > :11:52.century. The last 20 to 30 years have been unpress unprecedented.

:11:52. > :11:56.The foundations there. The fact she comes every time to open the

:11:56. > :11:59.Scottish Parliament, there is no doubt about it, that the several

:11:59. > :12:04.members of the family have a great love of Scotland and that's not

:12:04. > :12:09.simply, you know, something which is there for the public gaze. It is

:12:09. > :12:13.a'ality. The Queen herself has got Scots blood in her because her

:12:13. > :12:19.mother was a Scottish person. I don't think there will be anything

:12:19. > :12:24.other than a significant ripple, I don't think there will be anything

:12:24. > :12:28.like structural change if we go back as has been implied by the

:12:28. > :12:35.Brian to the Union of the Crowns. You know, let's face it, for most

:12:35. > :12:39.of the period between 1603 and the later part of the 19th century, the

:12:39. > :12:43.monarchy ignored Scotland. One of the things that is is happening in

:12:43. > :12:47.the latter part of the 20th century, partly because of constitutional

:12:47. > :12:52.change, they are paying greater attention to it and showing a

:12:52. > :12:57.degree of interest, perhaps for pragmatic reasons, but it is there

:12:57. > :13:01.that their ancestors never did. James, when we look at what we are

:13:01. > :13:06.seeing today, we are seeing the Archers outside Holyrood. We think

:13:06. > :13:10.this has gone on forever, some of them we make up as we go along?

:13:11. > :13:19.is the invention of tradition. It is a classic example. A new

:13:19. > :13:26.institution has to embed itself so we pretend it has been going on for

:13:26. > :13:32.centuries. Some of it does. There is an attempt to do. The historians

:13:32. > :13:35.can tell us what happened. They can have a notion of a a Riding, but it

:13:35. > :13:39.is part of legitimising the Parliament and embedding the

:13:39. > :13:42.Parliament and the monarch's role in all this.

:13:42. > :13:48.This is all nations do. All nations invent tradition. That is part of

:13:48. > :13:54.the way we see see ourselves. The Archers are fascinating to me

:13:54. > :14:04.because they are part, they are part of the long-term effects of

:14:04. > :14:13.Walter Scots famous orchestration of George's visit in 1942. They are

:14:13. > :14:16.now members of the Edinburgh organisation.

:14:16. > :14:25.I hope you are not going to say anything like this.

:14:25. > :14:29.I don't now how to confirm or deny it. The the top targets are the

:14:29. > :14:33.golf club and the New Club. You know what to aim for!

:14:33. > :14:37.Do you think there is a different tone set here with Holyrood as we

:14:37. > :14:42.would see with Westminster? What's going on? It is night and day. If

:14:42. > :14:46.you are talking about invention of tradition then you are actually

:14:46. > :14:52.seeing, if you like, the mother of inventions of traditions and the

:14:52. > :14:58.mothers of Parliament. I mean look at T there is there is hardly --

:14:58. > :15:02.there is hardly any degree of pomp. The number of lackies are limited

:15:02. > :15:05.in the extreme and people wear suits rather than robes. There is

:15:05. > :15:12.no comparison. Do you think this matters? Is this

:15:12. > :15:19.something about trying to make a contemporary connection? You would

:15:19. > :15:21.never get Liz Lockhead speaking in the Westminster Parliament. It is

:15:21. > :15:28.important for the Scots because they want to be different.

:15:28. > :15:34.This is actually our first picture of the Queen. The Queen and the

:15:34. > :15:38.Duke of Edinburgh. That's them driving out of the gate of Holyrood

:15:38. > :15:41.Palace and behind them will be members of the Royal Household

:15:41. > :15:46.there will be going with them thoo the Parliament -- into the

:15:46. > :15:56.Parliament. They are just going past the Guard of Honour who will

:15:56. > :16:07.

:16:07. > :16:17.And that's the bands and and bugals of the Rifles that she is about to

:16:17. > :16:25.

:16:25. > :16:35.And we will get actually a Royal Salute before the Queen goes into

:16:35. > :16:40.

:16:40. > :16:46.that side entrance there. There we The men who will play the fanfare,

:16:46. > :16:52.will be waiting inside. They have to play three fanfares today, and

:16:52. > :17:02.they don't think anybody would envy them that. The Queen about to get

:17:02. > :17:12.out of the car. What's of members of the public.

:17:12. > :17:16.

:17:16. > :17:26.The Queen is being met by the Lord Lieutenant of Edinburgh and the

:17:26. > :17:29.

:17:29. > :17:33.lady provost, Elizabeth. The Royal Company of Archers. The provost is

:17:33. > :17:43.a church minister, he has a gold medal in criminology which seems a

:17:43. > :17:44.

:17:44. > :17:48.little incongruous for a church minister. The Queen there with the

:17:48. > :17:54.presiding officer. She will have already been introduced to the

:17:54. > :18:02.deputies, John Scott and Elaine Smith. The Queen just walking into

:18:02. > :18:05.the Parliament building. As the Queen goes inside we can cross to

:18:05. > :18:12.Brian Taylor who is going to be there for the next half an hour for

:18:12. > :18:16.all of the key ceremonies. Thanks very much. You see four

:18:16. > :18:20.lonely souls lined up waiting for her Majesty, they of the political

:18:20. > :18:26.leaders of the main parties in Scotland, headed by the First

:18:26. > :18:32.Minister, Alex Salmond. Next to him, two who are departing. Just

:18:32. > :18:36.brushing off the dust. Iain Gray, the leader of the Labour Party,

:18:36. > :18:44.Annabel Goldie that the leader of the Scottish Conservatives. And one

:18:44. > :18:50.who has newly arrived is from the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The

:18:50. > :18:58.Queen is being escorted into the building by Tricia Marwick, the new

:18:58. > :19:07.Presiding Officer. She is an SNP, was elected as an SNP, MSP and is

:19:07. > :19:13.now in the mutual position as presiding officer. -- neutral. This

:19:13. > :19:20.is a splendid building. It began as a corridor, now it is the centre of

:19:20. > :19:24.Parliament. Tricia Marwick, from a mining family worked with the

:19:24. > :19:31.housing charity, Shelter and is now the presiding officer of the

:19:31. > :19:41.Scottish Parliament. The word from Alex Salmond, now Iain Gray. They

:19:41. > :19:43.

:19:43. > :19:47.curtsy from Annabel Goldie. Tricia Marwick follows Alex Ferguson as

:19:47. > :19:53.presiding officer. He is in the chamber along with the other MSPs

:19:53. > :19:57.waiting for her Majesty. We saw the two predecessors, George Reid and

:19:57. > :20:06.Sir David Steel, they are in the public gallery looking on over the

:20:06. > :20:16.proceedings which they once shared. -- chaired. The deputy sharing a

:20:16. > :20:20.joke with the Duke of Edinburgh. This is the 7th time her Majesty

:20:20. > :20:25.will have addressed MSPs. It is the 4th session she is opening, but

:20:25. > :20:30.that there were other events, the opening of the building itself into

:20:30. > :20:34.1004. She was there for that session in Aberdeen to mark her own

:20:34. > :20:43.golden jubilee. And there was the 10th anniversary of Parliament.

:20:43. > :20:48.There are the MSPs waiting. The 10th anniversary in 2009. The MSPs

:20:48. > :20:52.were entertained by a school choir prior to this. Tom Divine was

:20:52. > :20:59.making remarks about the invention of traditions. It is true,

:20:59. > :21:02.tradition has accrued upon the Royal openings. But they are grand

:21:02. > :21:10.affairs, but they're also Democratic and down to earth. There

:21:10. > :21:14.will be a poem by Liz Lochhead, the national poet building on the

:21:14. > :21:24.earlier endeavours by Edwin Morgan, in 2004 when the buildings open.

:21:24. > :21:28.

:21:28. > :21:35.And also a Burnsong Gathering. Coming up the glass corridor which

:21:35. > :21:38.runs up the side of the main chamber. There is of course the

:21:38. > :21:42.presiding officers entrance which is just ahead of her Majesty the

:21:42. > :21:45.Queen. As they go further up they will reach the black and white

:21:45. > :21:51.corridor which is where they are headed, which replicates the

:21:51. > :22:01.setting there was in the old building before this rather

:22:01. > :22:09.

:22:09. > :22:19.splendid and costly building at Pausing to point out some of the

:22:19. > :22:24.

:22:24. > :22:34.sites you can see through the other There is the Lord Provost, George

:22:34. > :22:38.

:22:38. > :22:48.Grubb and other members of the His sense of expectation in the

:22:48. > :22:50.

:22:50. > :23:00.chamber. The chatting has died down. Now, we get the fanfare. Ministry

:23:00. > :23:01.

:23:01. > :24:20.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 79 seconds

:24:20. > :24:25.As the fanfare played, the installation of the power of the

:24:25. > :24:30.Parliament and the monarch Crown, remodelled in 1540, part of the

:24:30. > :24:34.Scottish regalia, the Honours of Scotland. One of the oldest crowns

:24:34. > :24:39.in Europe, certainly the oldest in the British Isles. The mace was

:24:39. > :24:42.brought in by a Parliamentary official.

:24:42. > :24:46.Your Majesty and delighted to welcome you and the Duke of

:24:46. > :24:50.Edinburgh to the Scottish Parliament today. As you join us to

:24:50. > :24:56.officially open off for session of Parliament. He returns today to a

:24:56. > :25:01.chamber which is very familiar to you. He first joined us here in

:25:01. > :25:07.2004 for the opening of this magnificent building. He returns in

:25:07. > :25:11.2007 to mark the opening of our third session. More recently, you

:25:11. > :25:18.joined as two years ago when we mark the Parliament's 10th

:25:18. > :25:23.anniversary. Your continued support of the Scottish Parliament and its

:25:23. > :25:29.members is greatly appreciated. And this chamber is a place in which

:25:29. > :25:33.you will always be assured of a very warm welcome. In each of our

:25:33. > :25:39.sessions to date, the voters of Scotland have presented this

:25:39. > :25:45.Parliament with fresh challenges. In this session, we have another

:25:45. > :25:50.first, the first single party majority Government. It will put

:25:50. > :25:57.our procedures to the test, but as before, I know this Parliament will

:25:58. > :26:04.rise to that challenge. Our track record is one of evolution and

:26:04. > :26:09.innovation, and I assure you as presiding officer, I will do all I

:26:09. > :26:16.can to ensure that this Parliament lives up to the aspirations and

:26:16. > :26:20.expectations of the people of Scotland. But no member of the

:26:20. > :26:26.Scottish Parliament should be under any illusion, that the next five

:26:26. > :26:30.years will be easy or straightforward. The people of

:26:30. > :26:35.Scotland are experiencing a time when their incomes and lifestyles

:26:35. > :26:42.have felt the full effects of the difficult, economic period through

:26:42. > :26:49.which we have all been living. And, during the times ahead, people will

:26:49. > :26:54.quite rightly, look to this Parliament for leadership. This

:26:54. > :27:00.session, members will be asked to make some difficult decisions, but

:27:00. > :27:07.the words of our previous and no sadly departed Edwin Morgan, should

:27:07. > :27:11.provide us with some guidance. When this building opened for business

:27:11. > :27:21.in 2004, he reminded us of the hopes and the aspirations of the

:27:21. > :27:24.

:27:24. > :27:34.Scottish people for their Parliament. And he warned us, a

:27:34. > :27:35.

:27:35. > :27:42.symposium of procrastinator is is what we do not want. Perhaps, above

:27:42. > :27:47.all, the mantra of, it wasn't me, is what they do not want. They were

:27:47. > :27:53.strong words, but they are as relevant today as when they were

:27:53. > :27:59.penned. The Scottish Parliament, now 12 years old is an institution

:27:59. > :28:04.of growing maturity. Our greatest challenge over this extended five-

:28:04. > :28:10.year session, is to continue to drive this Parliament forward. We

:28:10. > :28:16.will have to challenge ourselves as elected members to be ambitious, to

:28:16. > :28:21.be bold, and to demonstrate the spirit of innovation for which

:28:22. > :28:29.Scots are renowned. And which will allow us to achieve more with fewer

:28:29. > :28:34.resources. Just as households and businesses and of course family are

:28:34. > :28:39.going. We have the knowledge, we have experience and now we have an

:28:39. > :28:45.opportunity to reflect as a mature Parliament on how we can find in

:28:46. > :28:52.new ways of working in this chamber, in our committees and in all of our

:28:52. > :28:57.other activities. Doing more with less, but still up holding our

:28:57. > :29:03.prime responsibilities as a Parliament. To legislate, to

:29:03. > :29:10.scrutinise, and hold to account the Government of the day. And to

:29:10. > :29:16.represent the will of the people. Your Majesty, when you joined us in

:29:16. > :29:22.2004 to mark the opening of this unique building, you said we must

:29:22. > :29:28.ensure that Holyrood came to be seen as a landmark of 21st century

:29:28. > :29:33.democracy. Your Majesty, like my predecessors, I would champion

:29:33. > :29:39.democracy in this 4th session of Parliament to ensure that our

:29:39. > :29:43.Parliament is open in all it does. Represents the voices of our

:29:43. > :29:53.citizens and is responsive and mature in its consideration of the

:29:53. > :29:58.

:29:58. > :30:02.issues that face us as a country. But I am one of 129 MSPs. The onus

:30:02. > :30:06.is on each and every one of us to make sure this Parliament meets the

:30:06. > :30:11.aspirations of the people of Scotland. We have five years to

:30:11. > :30:15.make it happen and we owe it to the people of our great nation to do so.

:30:15. > :30:25.Your Majesty, it is a great privilege to invite you to address

:30:25. > :30:34.

:30:34. > :30:40.Now Her Majesty, the Queen. Presiding Officer, First Minister,

:30:40. > :30:45.members of the Scottish Parliament, I am pleased to be with you once

:30:45. > :30:54.again on the occasion of the opening of the Scottish Parliament

:30:54. > :31:03.in this its fourth term since the scand Scotland the Scotland Act of

:31:03. > :31:06.1998. Presiding Officer your appointment has been held by three

:31:06. > :31:12.presiding officers. They have been responsible for the high reputation

:31:12. > :31:19.and good conduct of this Parliament. No one would ever argue that

:31:19. > :31:24.Scottish politics is the business of the meek, the passive or the

:31:24. > :31:28.faint hearted. Accordingly as the keeper and defender of the good

:31:28. > :31:35.name of this Parliament, the Presiding Officer requires not only

:31:35. > :31:41.an acute sense of fairness and impartiality, but also the capacity

:31:42. > :31:46.and inclination to exercise careful judgement. Presiding Officer, as

:31:46. > :31:50.you embark upon this important task, I hope that you will draw

:31:50. > :31:58.inspiration from the example of those who came before you and the

:31:58. > :32:02.support of all those in Scotland and beyond who wish this

:32:02. > :32:06.institution well. In earlier addresses to the Scottish

:32:06. > :32:12.Parliament, I have pointed to the particular difficulties which

:32:12. > :32:18.confront a new and developing legislature. Now in its second

:32:18. > :32:24.decade, the Scottish Parliament is firmly established as an integral

:32:24. > :32:29.part of Scottish public life. The maturity of the legislation passed

:32:29. > :32:34.in this chamber and the well tested processes giving rise to it are

:32:34. > :32:42.evidence of the Scottish Parliament having truly come of age. This is

:32:42. > :32:48.an achievement of which all members, past, and present should be proud.

:32:48. > :32:53.To the new and returning members of the Scottish Parliament, I offer

:32:54. > :32:57.the observation that in return for the authority placed upon you a

:32:57. > :33:05.very great deal is asked of Scotland's elected politicians.

:33:05. > :33:09.Perhaps as much now as ever before. Among the Scottish people the roles

:33:09. > :33:13.and responsibilities of this Parliament and all its members are

:33:13. > :33:19.probably better known and understood than at any stage in the

:33:19. > :33:29.past 1 years. -- 12 years. As this consciousness of your work has

:33:29. > :33:33.grown, so inevitably have expectations. This, of course, is a

:33:33. > :33:40.ceremonial and celebratory occasion, an opportunity to reaffirm the

:33:40. > :33:43.importance we attach to the values and freedoms which undewrite and

:33:43. > :33:48.protect our democracy. Your work here is carried out in the presence

:33:48. > :33:58.of the of the mace. It was presented to this Parliament at its

:33:58. > :34:02.official opening on this day in 1999. As well as serving as a

:34:02. > :34:05.symbol of your authority to to govern, the mace with just a few

:34:05. > :34:10.words engraved upon it is a reminder of your responsibilities

:34:10. > :34:19.to the people of Scotland, to govern with wisdom and compassion.

:34:19. > :34:25.To make fair and just laws and to show integrity in all that you do.

:34:25. > :34:30.You are charged to give these words meaning in the face of the constant

:34:30. > :34:35.and competing demands that will be placed upon you. As a close

:34:35. > :34:41.observer of every stage of this Parliament's life, I remain

:34:41. > :34:44.confident that you will manage to discharge your duty diligently and

:34:44. > :34:52.competently and serve the interests of the people of Scotland to the

:34:52. > :34:56.best of your ability. Presiding Officer, First Minister, members of

:34:56. > :35:06.the Scottish Parliament, the Duke of Edinburgh joins me in extending

:35:06. > :35:14.

:35:14. > :35:16.my very best wishes to you and for this fourth session of Parliament.

:35:16. > :35:18.APPLAUSE The Queen talking about the various

:35:18. > :35:28.relationships between the Queen and the Scottish Parliament. She is

:35:28. > :35:28.

:35:28. > :36:08.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 79 seconds

:36:08. > :36:18.talking about the Parliament having # Among the pluming heather

:36:18. > :36:25.

:36:25. > :36:35.# And the moon shines bright # The Partridge loves the fruitful

:36:35. > :36:37.

:36:37. > :36:47.fell # The woodcock haunts the lonely

:36:47. > :37:04.

:37:04. > :37:14.dell Thus every kind their pleasure find

:37:14. > :37:20.

:37:20. > :37:30.# The savage and the tender # Some join some leagues combine

:37:30. > :37:31.

:37:31. > :37:38.# Some tolltry wander # Avaunt away, the cruel sway

:37:38. > :37:44.# Tyrannic man's dominion # The sportsman's joy, the

:37:44. > :37:51.murdering cry # # But Peggy dear, the evening's

:37:51. > :37:56.clear # Thick flies the skimming swallow

:37:56. > :38:06.# And the sky is blue, the fields in view

:38:06. > :38:08.

:38:08. > :38:16.# All fading-green and yellow # Come let us stray our gladsome

:38:16. > :38:26.# And view the charms of nature # The rustling corn, the fruited

:38:26. > :38:28.

:38:28. > :38:34.thorn # And every happy creature

:38:34. > :38:43.# We'll genty walk and sweetly talk # Until the silent moon shines

:38:43. > :38:46.clearly # I'll graspthy waist and fondly

:38:46. > :38:53.Press # How I love thee dearly

:38:53. > :39:01.# Not vernal showers to budding flowers

:39:01. > :39:11.# Not autumn to the farmer # So dear can be as thou to me

:39:11. > :39:39.

:39:40. > :39:46.Magnificent. Just to put us in mind what Edwin

:39:46. > :39:51.Morgan wrote, this is called Open. Open the doors said the poet,

:39:51. > :39:56.Morgan, singing out about our dearest, deepest wish. That the

:39:56. > :40:06.work of this, our Scottish Parliament begin. And the light of

:40:06. > :40:16.the mind shine out as the light of that new day shown in. Poets have

:40:16. > :40:23.never been fond of politicians, weary of flags and slogans, the

:40:23. > :40:33.salt ire is not a bit of blue sky with a vote on it. When Burns

:40:33. > :40:36.

:40:36. > :40:46.Invented his scorn, they were a rain nation, Morgan - to you our

:40:46. > :40:46.

:40:46. > :40:55.brand-new Parliamentarians, he told you to not be a nest of feardies,

:40:56. > :41:04.he charged you to never ever dare come out it wasn't me, no excuse

:41:04. > :41:10.for thon droppy mantra. He had a catalogue for what we did not and

:41:10. > :41:19.do not want. What do the people want of the place he asked?

:41:19. > :41:25.Answered that it be filled with thinking persons as open, aye, open

:41:25. > :41:34.and adventurous as its architecture. Now, justice is a fine and bonny

:41:34. > :41:40.word to engrave upon a mace as are integrity, compassion and wisdom,

:41:40. > :41:50.grand concepts, qualities to grace every last thinking person of our

:41:50. > :41:52.

:41:52. > :41:58.our Parliament. But above all, openness, how else to turn Abyei

:41:58. > :42:04.struct noun, into a doing word. Open your ears, listen. Let the

:42:04. > :42:12.people petition and be heard. Justice, wisdom, compassion,

:42:12. > :42:19.integrity, open your eyes and see. Gretty, compassion, justice, wisdom,

:42:19. > :42:26.open your hearts and hope. Open your minds to change.

:42:26. > :42:32.Open the future because it is not yet written. It's as open as that

:42:32. > :42:40.is coming yet. It is true. But close the gap between what we say

:42:40. > :42:45.and what we do. Open the doors, let the work of this our fourth

:42:45. > :42:55.Parliament begin. Let the light of the open mind

:42:55. > :43:03.

:43:03. > :43:08.shine out. Let the clear and open A magnificent Liz Lockhead. A

:43:08. > :43:12.couple of quotes, many from Edwin Morgan, but it is coming yet her

:43:12. > :43:17.reference to the song a Man is a Man.

:43:17. > :43:20.On behalf of the people of Scotland can I thank you for declaring this

:43:20. > :43:27.fourth session of the Scottish Parliament open. As some of our

:43:27. > :43:30.friend in the Press out, we will move into recess!

:43:30. > :43:33.Hur majesty has been the firmest of friends of this Parliament,

:43:34. > :43:37.particularly in our early and difficult years and you now return

:43:37. > :43:39.to demonstrate that confidence as to demonstrate that confidence as

:43:39. > :43:44.we move into a different age. Scotland and Parliament have

:43:44. > :43:51.changed since you first came to congratulate our newly democratised

:43:51. > :43:57.nation in 1999. We have grown in esteem and ambition and we wish to

:43:57. > :44:07.grow more. Since May a scramble of voices have been heard to declare

:44:07. > :44:10.

:44:10. > :44:15.the road ahead. The nest of feardies approach is for another

:44:15. > :44:19.time and place. We aspire to be more successful, fairer and greener.

:44:19. > :44:24.We want to uphold the values of the common wheel. To protect the

:44:24. > :44:30.vulnerable. Nurture the young, we want to emerge from current

:44:30. > :44:34.economic difficulties into better times.

:44:34. > :44:37.Your Majesty can I quote from a speep you in aid -- speech you made

:44:37. > :44:42.to another nation and one which was received with great praise and

:44:42. > :44:46.warmth. In Dublin Castle, after an impressive opening in the Irish

:44:46. > :44:49.language that I will not attempt to emulate!

:44:49. > :44:52.You said, "Together we have much to celebrate. The ties between our

:44:52. > :44:56.people, the shared values, the economic business and cultural

:44:56. > :45:01.links that make us so much more than just neighbours. They make us

:45:01. > :45:06.firm friends and equal partners." Scotland, Ireland, England and

:45:06. > :45:15.Wales, together we do have much to celebrate. The English language of

:45:15. > :45:20.of the greatest works in that language is the King James Bible

:45:20. > :45:26.which is 400 years old this very year. The translation was first

:45:26. > :45:33.suggested not at Hampton Court, but at the General Assembly of the

:45:33. > :45:36.Church of Scotland in Fife in 1601. It was driven by Scottish. A

:45:36. > :45:42.commitment to education, a desire that everyone should be able to

:45:42. > :45:46.read ad understand scripture. The idea travelled south with kings

:45:46. > :45:49.James when he accepted the English crown two years later. It was

:45:49. > :45:54.brought to life by scholars in kim brainlg, ox in order and

:45:54. > :46:00.Westminster. It has given us some of the most common phases in the

:46:00. > :46:10.language we sure. For example, a thorn in the flesh. A fly in the

:46:10. > :46:14.

:46:14. > :46:19.ointment. Turning the world upside Phrases which occasionally resound

:46:19. > :46:25.around this chamber! I am not always deployed in the interests of

:46:25. > :46:30.the Government. So there is much that All-Share, this much we know.

:46:30. > :46:35.But the nations of these islands are always distinctive with our own

:46:35. > :46:38.economic culture. Some of us believe the best way to articulate

:46:38. > :46:43.that uniqueness and tackle these challenges lies within ourselves,

:46:43. > :46:47.and should be expressed within the work of this Parliament. What ever

:46:47. > :46:53.constitutional path the people of Scotland shoes, and it is their

:46:53. > :46:59.choice to make, we will aspire to be in your words, firm friends and

:46:59. > :47:03.equal partners. It gave me great pleasure recently to represent

:47:03. > :47:13.Scotland at the wedding of your grandson in Westminster Abbey. We

:47:13. > :47:19.look forward to another wedding, that of your granddaughter Zaria.

:47:19. > :47:23.It is worth remembering Canongate itself was commissioned in 1668 by

:47:23. > :47:28.King James the 7th, King of both Scotland and England when these two

:47:28. > :47:32.countries had their own Parliament in Edinburgh and London. From 60 no

:47:32. > :47:35.three when this Parliament entered a long adjournment, your

:47:35. > :47:39.predecessors reigned over two sovereign nations and there was

:47:39. > :47:45.nothing particularly unusual in that arrangement. Today, you have

:47:45. > :47:49.come here as Queen of Scots, but also as head of state's of 16

:47:49. > :47:55.different realms and leader of a Commonwealth comprising 54 nations.

:47:55. > :47:58.It is a role you have always taken seriously and discharged flawlessly.

:47:58. > :48:05.I look forward to welcoming you to the Commonwealth Games which take

:48:05. > :48:07.place in Glasgow in three years. In your last Christmas address you

:48:07. > :48:12.mentioned the daily games and observed the smallest nations get

:48:12. > :48:15.the largest cheers. The city of Glasgow can guarantee a deafening

:48:15. > :48:22.welcome in 2014 when Scotland will compete in the Games as the host

:48:22. > :48:25.nation. We are proud people, keen to contribute to the global common

:48:25. > :48:29.Weal and that marvellous a egalitarian principle which

:48:29. > :48:35.inspires the modern Commonwealth. Or as the King James Bible would

:48:35. > :48:42.have it, to everything there is a season and a time. For Scotland,

:48:42. > :48:48.for this Parliament, this can be a good season and a good time.

:48:48. > :48:56.The speech by the First Minister, historical but very much also up-

:48:56. > :49:06.to-date and explicit. Suggesting he independence would mean the Queen

:49:06. > :49:14.

:49:14. > :49:21.was the Queen of Scots. # The back of winter is broken.

:49:21. > :49:29.# And light flickers by the door. # The seeds of the summer have

:49:29. > :49:33.spoken. # In gallons that worm on the shore.

:49:33. > :49:39.# By night and day in sport we will play.

:49:39. > :49:49.# And the light, as the dawn dances over the bay.

:49:49. > :49:51.

:49:51. > :50:01.# Sleek blows the grant of the morning a way.

:50:01. > :50:05.

:50:05. > :50:13.# And we followed the Heron. # Now these bones that lie empty

:50:13. > :50:19.and hollow. # Are ready for gladness achieve.

:50:19. > :50:23.# By night and day we will sport and we will play.

:50:23. > :50:33.# And delight as the dawn dances over the bay.

:50:33. > :50:42.

:50:42. > :50:49.# And we followed the Heron home. # So long may you sing of the

:50:49. > :50:55.summer. # While the north wind delivers it

:50:55. > :51:01.sermon. # Of ice and salt water and stone.

:51:01. > :51:07.# And by night and by day, we will sport and we will play.

:51:07. > :51:14.# And the light as the dawn dances over the bay.

:51:14. > :51:24.# Sleep knows the breath of the morning away.

:51:24. > :51:29.# And we follow the Heron home. # And by night and day we will

:51:29. > :51:35.sport and we will play. # And delight as the dawn dances

:51:35. > :51:39.over the bay. # Sleek blows the breath of the

:51:40. > :51:49.morning away. # And we followed the Heron home.

:51:50. > :52:07.

:52:07. > :52:10.# And we follow the Heron home. Kirsty Grace taking the lead vocals.

:52:10. > :52:20.The presiding officer will close the meeting.

:52:20. > :52:25.I now close this meeting. Now the Duke of Hamilton comes

:52:25. > :52:31.forward as the fanfare, blackbirds is played. It is the first time the

:52:31. > :52:41.current Duke, the 16th Duke of Hamilton has had the task of

:52:41. > :53:05.

:53:05. > :53:09.carrying the Crown. The Archers The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh

:53:09. > :53:16.and the presiding officer following the Crown. The Crown, remodelled in

:53:16. > :53:26.1540 was first used to with Queen Mary, Queen of Scots. Since 2011 it

:53:26. > :53:43.

:53:43. > :53:47.There it is, the black and white currants or replicating the coroner

:53:47. > :53:51.that is in a temporary building Parliament used in the Mound. This

:53:51. > :54:01.looks like something out of Alice Through the Looking Glass, but I

:54:01. > :54:02.

:54:02. > :54:08.love it, it is absolutely beautiful. Part of the Honours of Scotland at

:54:08. > :54:18.return to Edinburgh Castle placed in an Oake chest for safekeeping

:54:18. > :54:29.

:54:29. > :54:39.and only rediscovered at 1818 at And that is it, the 4th session of

:54:39. > :54:42.

:54:42. > :54:46.Tom, what you make of the tone of Tom, what you make of the tone of

:54:47. > :54:51.all of that? I thought it was very dignified. It was extremely well

:54:51. > :54:55.done. Everybody who spoke, spoke well. There was a number of

:54:55. > :55:02.interesting things coming through from the two principle speeches

:55:02. > :55:05.from the Queen and also the First Minister. It has echoed other

:55:05. > :55:10.openings of the Scottish Parliament, the emphasis on Democratic

:55:10. > :55:16.involvement. Simplicity, a sense of history and also running through it,

:55:16. > :55:21.the constant use of the Scots language, which I think is

:55:21. > :55:25.important and the odd use of humour. Very distinctively Scottish. It

:55:25. > :55:28.could not take place in any other part of the British Isles. I'm not

:55:28. > :55:33.just thinking of England, and thinking of Ireland, Northern

:55:33. > :55:37.Ireland and Wales as well. It is for more without being pompous,

:55:37. > :55:42.which is a difficult thing to do. But we look at the speeches in more

:55:42. > :55:47.detail, the Queen's Speech saying nobody would ever argued that the

:55:47. > :55:50.Scottish Parliament is for the meek or the faint hearted. What did you

:55:50. > :55:55.make of it, what were the key points in the Queen's Speech for

:55:55. > :56:00.you? The Queen's Speech was a classic speech. She doesn't engage

:56:00. > :56:03.in politics, but she has to engage with the Parliament. The phrase

:56:03. > :56:08.where she recognises this Parliament is a distinct

:56:08. > :56:12.institution is quite important. She is not going to enter into the

:56:13. > :56:16.constitutional debate, there was never any prospect of that. Nor was

:56:17. > :56:19.there any danger anybody could read anything into her speech. She is

:56:19. > :56:26.becoming very careful about what she says when she comes into

:56:26. > :56:31.Scotland. Given one of the earlier speeches was controversial. It is

:56:31. > :56:37.almost as if she has become less controversial. If you go back to

:56:37. > :56:41.the 70s, 80s and 90s, the Royal Family now realise as far as

:56:41. > :56:47.Scotland is concerned, they have to tread very carefully. One of the

:56:47. > :56:51.things about the modern media, they will indulge in very careful

:56:51. > :56:59.analysis in what is said. The only thing running through the thing, in

:56:59. > :57:04.her view at least it has matured as a Parliament. Then you go back to

:57:04. > :57:14.the President, the presidential officer. What she is saying and

:57:14. > :57:14.

:57:14. > :57:18.implying, still things have to be done to improve it. This is echoing

:57:18. > :57:22.the former First Minister's Jack McConnell's statement which was

:57:22. > :57:26.critical about the procedures of Parliament. I am hoping Tricia

:57:26. > :57:33.Marwick will take this forward. Change does have to occur, lot

:57:33. > :57:38.least in terms of the chamber, which Alex Salmond alluded to in

:57:38. > :57:45.his speech. We have to mention the First Minister's speech when he

:57:45. > :57:49.said some of us believe the best way to articulate the uniqueness of

:57:49. > :57:52.Scotland is to tackle the challenges within ourselves and it

:57:52. > :57:56.should be expressed through the work of this Parliament. What do

:57:56. > :57:59.you think of the tone set by the First Minister? It was very

:58:00. > :58:05.implicit a very clear. He was making it very clear to the monarch,

:58:05. > :58:09.his grumble is not with the Union of grounds, it is with the treaty

:58:09. > :58:14.of the Union. We can see some shots of the Queen with the presiding

:58:14. > :58:21.officer, Tricia Marwick, being introduced to staff members at the

:58:21. > :58:25.Parliament. I should say, Tom and James had been in a bitter dispute

:58:25. > :58:33.about whether the Queen is wearing as your blue, or sat by it. I think

:58:33. > :58:37.we're going with the blue. definitive statement! Let's go back

:58:37. > :58:40.over two Andrew on the streets. Andrew.

:58:40. > :58:47.We have featured the Parliament, we have featured the monarch and we

:58:47. > :58:51.have featured the MSPs, now it is time for the people. You can get

:58:51. > :58:55.the strains of music behind me, this is the riding which features

:58:55. > :58:59.1,500 people from all its Grosskopf and taking part in a big procession

:58:59. > :59:04.which is winding down the Royal Mile. They will be arriving here

:59:04. > :59:11.shortly. It is ancient tradition, the old riding for the old Scottish

:59:11. > :59:15.Parliament stopped in 17 of seven and was resurrected in 1999. Best

:59:15. > :59:22.1707. It is a chance for the people of Scotland to take part in the

:59:22. > :59:26.ceremony. We have local heroes, MSPs have nominated 111 local

:59:26. > :59:31.heroes from their constituencies, people whole have been involved in

:59:31. > :59:37.charity work. The MSPs will come out of Queensberry House and meet

:59:38. > :59:44.them. We have been speaking to some of them.

:59:44. > :59:48.The Royal Mile, 1685. Lords, leads, barons and bishops followed by the

:59:48. > :59:53.Honours of Scotland proceed towards Parliament to hear the opening of

:59:53. > :59:57.the Parliamentary session. Scenes such as this captured in these rare

:59:57. > :00:02.engravings displayed at the Scottish Parliament, were a regular

:00:02. > :00:06.occurrence in the 17th century until the Act of Union in 1707. But

:00:06. > :00:13.the tradition was revived for the opening of the new Scottish

:00:13. > :00:16.Parliament building in 2004. While and not to the past, it has been

:00:16. > :00:22.brought into the 21st century. People from all walks of life take

:00:22. > :00:29.part, including local heroes who are nominated for their good work.

:00:29. > :00:33.This year among them, will be Alan, a retained firefighter. He set up

:00:33. > :00:37.the village's first Medical Response Service four years ago and

:00:37. > :00:45.since then it has been called out more than 300 times to Bacup the

:00:45. > :00:48.They are calling it the local hero award. The good thing about it, the

:00:48. > :00:53.people involved not only in the retained service, but also in first

:00:53. > :00:57.response. They get a bit of acknowledgement for T it is

:00:57. > :01:02.unfortunate that I have been nominated.

:01:02. > :01:10.Unwanted hand me downs provide vital cash for the charity, Save

:01:10. > :01:17.the Children. This woman has run this branch for 26 years. She was

:01:17. > :01:22.nominated by Alistair Allan. I take the recognition for Save the

:01:22. > :01:25.Children, it is not for me, it is for Save the Children and it is for

:01:25. > :01:30.the ladies who work here and supported the shop and the cause

:01:30. > :01:35.over over those years. Allan Michael set-up in drop-in centre

:01:35. > :01:42.for the over 50s to prevent the isolation and loneliness that can

:01:42. > :01:49.affect people in old age. He was shocked to hear he had been

:01:49. > :01:53.nominated by Mary Scanlon. Wow was the word. It was out of the

:01:53. > :01:58.blue. I had no idea that such a thing had existed. I had never been

:01:58. > :02:04.to the Parliament. Riding down the Royal Mile, I hope they have a big

:02:04. > :02:09.enough horse for me and I'm looking forward to that.

:02:09. > :02:15.Bobby Sanderson should be used to blowing his own trumpet, but he was

:02:16. > :02:21.surprised to be taking part in the Riding. He is a a founder member

:02:21. > :02:26.afsilver band which played its first concert in June 19478. He was

:02:26. > :02:34.selecting by Elaine Murray. It is an honour to be picked from

:02:34. > :02:39.the whole of Dumfries and Galloway. I was quite amazed at the fact I

:02:39. > :02:43.was was chosen. This year's Riding will reflect the

:02:43. > :02:48.ideals of the Scottish Parliament which are engraved on its mace,

:02:48. > :02:56.wisdom, justice, integrity and the local heroes will represent

:02:56. > :03:03.We will pick up with this morning's Riding later on in the programme.

:03:03. > :03:09.Right now, our roving reporter is outside the main entrance with some

:03:09. > :03:16.We are in pole position here to get the best view of the Queen that we

:03:16. > :03:26.can and I am here with primary one pupils from Royal Mile Primary

:03:26. > :03:27.

:03:27. > :03:32.School. What are you here to do today? Mplg to see the --. To see

:03:32. > :03:40.the Queen. Tell me, how excited excited are

:03:40. > :03:42.you about this? Have you been practising?

:03:42. > :03:46.LAUGHTER Harry, I know you are going to chat

:03:47. > :03:52.to me. How old are you? And what are you waiting to see? The Queen.

:03:52. > :03:56.The Queen. Are you excited? Have you been learning about her at

:03:56. > :04:01.school? Yeah. I have got the most special person

:04:01. > :04:05.of all. Alan, you are going to do a special job. Aaron is going to give

:04:05. > :04:08.a posy to the Queen. Are you looking forward to this?

:04:08. > :04:12.Yeah. What are you going to say to the

:04:12. > :04:20.Queen when you give her that special posy. What are you going to

:04:21. > :04:25.say to the Queen when you give her these? Good morning, Your Majesty.

:04:25. > :04:30.Can you practise for us? Good morning Your Majesty.

:04:30. > :04:36.Are you excited about it? Yeah. Very excited? Yeah.

:04:36. > :04:41.You have got the headteacher here. How proud are you? I am really

:04:41. > :04:44.proud of them. We have had a fantastic year at Royal Mile and

:04:44. > :04:48.this is a bit of icing on the cake before we go on holiday.

:04:48. > :04:52.This is normal for you guys to see the Queen. She is here a lot with

:04:52. > :04:55.her house in Holyrood Palace, what do you think about seeing the Queen

:04:55. > :04:59.today? Good. Good. Have you been thinking about

:04:59. > :05:03.it? What will you look at her and see what she is wearing? I have

:05:03. > :05:07.seen what she is wearing. She is wearing a beautiful blue hat and a

:05:07. > :05:10.beautiful blue jacket. So you will be able to watch out for that. Are

:05:10. > :05:16.you looking forward to that. Matthew, you had something to he

:05:16. > :05:20.will us about the Queen earlier, didn't you? I seen her daughter and

:05:20. > :05:25.my mum said she had a dress that was purplish.

:05:25. > :05:29.Well, you will have to watch out for this one today to tell your mum

:05:29. > :05:32.what Queen is wearing today. These guys are well behaved and we are

:05:32. > :05:42.really excited because this is about as close as we will get to

:05:42. > :05:44.

:05:44. > :05:47.Let's go back now into the main hall of the Parliament and catch up

:05:47. > :05:53.with the Queen's visit inside the Parliament. Bri Arntion you can he

:05:53. > :05:59.will -- Brian, you can tell tell us what is happening now.

:06:00. > :06:04.Yes, she is talking to Bob Reid. These are individuals who engaged

:06:04. > :06:10.with the Parliament, pe ting it, coming along to debates and arguing

:06:10. > :06:13.for changes in the law or whatever. It was regarded as such a

:06:13. > :06:19.successful exercise they took the exhibition around Scotland and ten

:06:19. > :06:23.are brought to Scotland. Bob set up the scamble and quad bike club to

:06:23. > :06:29.support young people in the area. The Queen has been touring that

:06:29. > :06:33.exhibition to see how things are going. Now we are moving on to the

:06:34. > :06:41.issue of the or trait. You can see the portrait. The Queen is about to

:06:41. > :06:47.take a look at T at it. It is done by Shaun Murawski. He is a 4-year-

:06:47. > :06:53.old graduate. -- 24-year-old graduate. Next to him a famous

:06:53. > :06:56.photographer, Harry Ben Benson, he has done photographs of the

:06:56. > :07:03.Presiding Officer. That is a better picture of the or trait of the

:07:03. > :07:13.Queen there -- portrait of the Queen. The sitting took place in

:07:13. > :07:13.

:07:13. > :07:21.the Throne Room in Holyrood House. It was the apprentice who took the

:07:22. > :07:30.picture under the guidance of Harry. The It is rather superb. I am not

:07:30. > :07:36.sure what the colour of blue is. I give way to my colleagues!

:07:36. > :07:40.This is the main hall, the main entrance hall for people. It is

:07:40. > :07:46.where you sign the book as the Queen is about to do. You sign the

:07:46. > :07:49.book to gain a pass for entry. I think Her Majesty The Queen is a

:07:49. > :07:55.welcome guest. She is signing the book to register the fact that it

:07:55. > :07:59.is the opening of the fourth session of Parliament. You move out

:07:59. > :08:06.into the splendour and light of the Parliamentary chamber.

:08:06. > :08:10.The entry hall is used commonly for exhibitions and events. It is all

:08:10. > :08:14.to do with this idea of access. As I say that exhibition of moving

:08:14. > :08:20.stories we saw the last of the one there is with Bob, the exhibition

:08:20. > :08:22.of moving store Chris is stressing this point -- stories is stressing

:08:22. > :08:26.the point. These are ten individuals who tried to get a

:08:26. > :08:33.change in the law. Maybe lobbied about healthcare or sought access

:08:33. > :08:41.to their MSPs or to the Petitions Committee of Parliament. The Duke

:08:41. > :08:49.of Edinburgh adding his signature as well.

:08:49. > :08:54.After this, Her Majesty, the Queen will pop across the road to the to

:08:54. > :09:04.the Palace of Holyrood House. The guard waiting outside for her as

:09:04. > :09:16.

:09:16. > :09:21.I am sure she will be back. That's the seventh time she has been to

:09:21. > :09:26.Parliament so she is a very regular visitor indeed.

:09:26. > :09:30.I should just say in the afternoon we have had the Royal event in the

:09:30. > :09:34.morning, the opening of the fourth session, but in the afternoon as

:09:34. > :09:42.the Riding comes down to Queensbury House and to the Parliament, in the

:09:42. > :09:47.afternoon there is a programme of entertainment laid on, folk music,

:09:47. > :09:53.contemporary, the idea of it being the peoples Parliament rather than

:09:53. > :10:01.just purely a Royal Royal occasion, but very much a Royal occasion it

:10:01. > :10:07.The short stroll across the road to her official residence in Scotland,

:10:07. > :10:17.the Palace of roll of Holyrood House.

:10:17. > :10:19.

:10:19. > :10:23.Ah, the posy being presented. Oh, he has gone all shy.

:10:23. > :10:30.Well done, Aaron, that was brilliant. Gorks no need to be --

:10:30. > :10:35.gosh, no need to be shy. It was superbly done. Isn't it a beautiful

:10:35. > :10:45.sunny day for the event as well? Superb given the weather we have

:10:45. > :10:54.

:10:54. > :11:00.had. Sunshine today for the Queen's visit. It is excellent.

:11:00. > :11:10.Patricia Marwick escorts the Queen and the durveg Edinburgh. -- Duke

:11:10. > :11:10.

:11:10. > :11:19.of Edinburgh. I think Patricia Marwick can be

:11:19. > :11:24.proud of the part she played. Patricia Marwick had a speaking

:11:24. > :11:29.time and it was a first time for her as well as the newly elected

:11:29. > :11:33.Presiding Officer. I thought she did splendidly. The speech as Tom

:11:33. > :11:40.Devine was mentioning was a combination of respect, warmth and

:11:40. > :11:47.dignity, but also very much that thread that there was throughout

:11:47. > :11:57.much of the proceedings, the poem by Liz Lockhead certainly, but very

:11:57. > :12:04.

:12:04. > :12:07.much the speech by the PO as well. A salute. A Guard of Honour. And

:12:07. > :12:17.the events in the part of Holyrood -- Parliament of Holyrood are over

:12:17. > :12:25.as the Queen heads to the Palace of Holyrood and the raucous of Riding

:12:25. > :12:31.come down the hill. STUDIO: Brian, thank you. That

:12:31. > :12:39.sounds like our cue. The regiment of Scotland will be leading the

:12:39. > :12:44.Riding down and past the principle MSPs. The Queen has been on the

:12:44. > :12:50.platform as this goes bast, but she won't -- past, but she won't be

:12:50. > :12:55.they year. Things will lighten up. There is samba bands. Nicola

:12:56. > :13:02.Sturgeon is there. Nicola Sturgeon will take part in the march down

:13:02. > :13:08.the Royal Mile. 1500 people will take part in this. Local heroes who

:13:08. > :13:13.have been nominated by their MSPs, brass bands, samba bands,

:13:13. > :13:18.cheerleaders, Scottish pipes, African drums, a whole range of

:13:18. > :13:24.music there for you all afternoon. But also going to have children who

:13:24. > :13:30.are 12 years old today celebrating their birthday. So that will put

:13:30. > :13:39.going to kung fu panda in the shade for anybody else's mums and dads.

:13:39. > :13:42.When you are looking at this James to say, Patricia Marwick's

:13:42. > :13:46.prominent role role in what was happening. Do you think what she

:13:46. > :13:52.was laying out in a reform agenda will be the main story over the

:13:52. > :13:57.months and years? Absolutely, the Parliament needs to look at itself

:13:57. > :14:02.again. The Parliament has been very successful, but actually in many

:14:02. > :14:06.respects it has been a disappointment. It hasn't managed

:14:06. > :14:10.to really have a clear rule for its committees and the Parliament needs

:14:10. > :14:14.to reflect on that. She said it is an opportunity to reflect how we

:14:15. > :14:20.can find new ways of working in this chamber n our committees and

:14:20. > :14:25.in all our other activities. That signals the new Presiding Officer

:14:25. > :14:31.maybe a reforming Presiding Officer. We can see there outside the

:14:31. > :14:34.Parliament, the Royal Company of Archers and we are back with the

:14:35. > :14:40.band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland as they are lining up to

:14:40. > :14:50.swing down the Royal Mile now. Let's cross back to Katrina who has

:14:50. > :14:53.

:14:53. > :14:59.We are down at the bottom of the Royal Mile. The First Minister is

:14:59. > :15:03.shaking hands with the crowd as he goes along. I am going to talk to

:15:03. > :15:11.some of the people who are here to see the Queen and for all sorts of

:15:11. > :15:16.other special reasons. Kieran, why are you here? My brother has just

:15:16. > :15:23.presented flowers to the Queen. I'm very excited for him. Is it good to

:15:23. > :15:33.see the Queen? Yes. Sir, You are clearly a fan, telogen name and why

:15:33. > :15:33.

:15:33. > :15:36.you're here? My name is Sean Robinson, I had been an Makis since

:15:36. > :15:41.1977 and I have come to see the Queen opened the official

:15:41. > :15:50.Parliament. Are you glad you got a glimpse? I have also met Prince

:15:50. > :15:56.Charles as well. We have a special friend, Sarah. You have come here

:15:56. > :16:04.today and there is somebody you are waiting to watch? My grandad.

:16:04. > :16:11.is he in the riding? Because he is a local hero. Are you very proud?

:16:11. > :16:16.Yes. He is very proud of you also coming here to watch him. Your

:16:16. > :16:21.grandmother, are you enjoying today? Most certainly, yes, I came

:16:21. > :16:25.to see the Queen and I had seen her, so I will watch the parade. You are

:16:25. > :16:30.regular? I was here at the weekend and had a great time watching the

:16:30. > :16:34.military coming down on Saturday and Sunday. A lovely party this

:16:34. > :16:39.afternoon, the Parliament is being opened up to the public, are you

:16:39. > :16:43.taking part in that? It will be nice, it is nice to come through

:16:43. > :16:48.and see something locals. What about yourself and Madam, where

:16:48. > :16:58.have you come from? I have come from Norfolk. Are you enjoy the

:16:58. > :17:00.

:17:00. > :17:08.atmosphere? Yes, definitely. This is the riding coming now. I am

:17:08. > :17:14.going to hand back to Isabel. There was a band creeping up behind

:17:14. > :17:17.you, if you look over your shoulder. If we look at this in terms of the

:17:17. > :17:22.idea there will be tough times ahead, just before we get into the

:17:22. > :17:27.party mood, a bit of a party pooper, but that came over clearly. The

:17:27. > :17:31.next five years won't be easy? Ironically, go back to James's

:17:31. > :17:36.point about a reform agenda. I think the Parliament would have to

:17:36. > :17:39.do with what you would call a lot more political meet over the next

:17:39. > :17:44.five years than it has been accustomed to dealing with. I think

:17:44. > :17:47.to some extent, the policies up until now have been at the edges.

:17:47. > :17:53.There will have to deal with serious challenges over the next

:17:53. > :18:01.period. Particularly in economic and financial terms. In my own area

:18:01. > :18:03.of the universities, there are huge issues and therefore I think if the

:18:03. > :18:10.form of Parliamentary procedure is going to occur, it's not before

:18:10. > :18:15.time because it will be necessary in order to allow the Parliament to

:18:15. > :18:20.be examined about these important issues, in the wake no previous

:18:20. > :18:24.Scottish Parliament has been challenged with. Just seeing the

:18:24. > :18:29.banners going by, we have had Bridgend arts and dancers, they

:18:29. > :18:34.were the ones with the purple masks. We have also got the Boys' Brigade.

:18:34. > :18:38.The theme of the riding his wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity.

:18:38. > :18:44.You will see that on the banners as they go by. Various youth

:18:44. > :18:47.organisations, the Girl Guides, Glasgow and Lanarkshire Army Cadet

:18:47. > :18:57.Force and the Regiment Band, as they were saying earlier is the

:18:57. > :18:58.

:18:58. > :19:02.Royal Regiment of Scotland. Lots of pipes and drums. Later in the

:19:02. > :19:06.afternoons there will be lots of different bands playing inside the

:19:06. > :19:13.Parliament. They will be combining Scottish pipes with African drums.

:19:13. > :19:19.That it will be worth looking at, I think. James, Tom was saying about

:19:19. > :19:24.how the Parliamentary process moves forward in the next five years. As

:19:24. > :19:29.so often we hear the constitutional debate it will dominate, is that

:19:29. > :19:34.your impression? I think the dominant issue over the next few

:19:34. > :19:40.years will be finances, but it will play into the debate on the

:19:40. > :19:45.constitution. But the over arching question of how we finance our

:19:45. > :19:48.public services is going to be the key driving force. It is going to

:19:48. > :19:53.be a very different constitutional debate from which we have had in

:19:53. > :19:57.the past. The question will be how can an independent Scotland with

:19:57. > :20:04.more powers managed the public finances and provide better

:20:04. > :20:08.services. We have major challenges, not just the lack of public finance,

:20:08. > :20:18.for Democratic change and an ageing population, they all need to be

:20:18. > :20:23.

:20:23. > :20:28.addressed. We have had the MSPs and the local heroes there we were

:20:28. > :20:33.talking about, now these are women drummers and they are making their

:20:33. > :20:39.way down. To be less serious, because I feel I am dragging but

:20:39. > :20:45.tone down every time I make you talk about constitutional change.

:20:45. > :20:50.The this is a day of celebration. Absolutely. We have all sorts of

:20:50. > :20:54.people taking part, what kind of interaction does this Parliament

:20:54. > :20:58.ones with the voters? It wants to be seen to be connected with the

:20:58. > :21:03.voters. Looking at the website for the Scottish Parliament, they have

:21:03. > :21:09.achieved that in so many different ways. All be it electronically, but

:21:09. > :21:13.this is supposed to be symbolic. Thinking about the old riding, the

:21:13. > :21:17.late 17th century riding, a tiny alley to march down what we now

:21:17. > :21:22.call the Royal Mile who were the members of Parliament. Probably

:21:22. > :21:28.less than up when 5% of the Scottish population it represented

:21:28. > :21:35.them. If it the modern Scottish Parliament, in a sense is trying to

:21:35. > :21:40.outdo Westminster in terms of that connectedness with the people. But,

:21:40. > :21:46.until it starts to decide on matters of really significance

:21:46. > :21:50.importance, and grab people's attention and motivate people to be

:21:50. > :21:54.concerned with some of these debates, then I don't think it will

:21:54. > :21:59.actually succeed in that. That's why the next few years will be very

:21:59. > :22:04.fascinating in that respect, even exciting. Because apart from a

:22:04. > :22:12.constitutional issue there is this variety of other challenges. Now we

:22:12. > :22:19.can see MSPs and there is the Education Secretary walking down.

:22:19. > :22:24.It is spot and MSP time! There is Alex Salmond, the First Minister.

:22:24. > :22:28.And the leader of the Scottish Lib Dems. This is a platform outside

:22:29. > :22:33.the Parliament and the riding goes past. They are waving and a thumbs-

:22:33. > :22:39.up from the First Minister to various members of the riding.

:22:39. > :22:44.Tricia Marwick will also be there, as well one of the Deputy presiding

:22:44. > :22:52.ministers. If the go back to Alex Salmond's speech, I think it is

:22:52. > :22:56.full of symbolism, because these things are meant to be, I think the

:22:56. > :23:00.Irish mention is important, but also the mention of the

:23:00. > :23:06.Commonwealth, and the mention of the Union of crowns, and the

:23:06. > :23:09.difference of the Union of grounds, and also the fact we wish to,

:23:09. > :23:15.depending how the debate on the constitution pans out, we wish to

:23:15. > :23:20.be good neighbours of the English. The historical fusion between the

:23:20. > :23:24.two peoples. It is this distinction between a full-scale independence

:23:24. > :23:28.dynamic and the Cup fact that so much of what is referred to as a

:23:29. > :23:36.Social Union, the cultural union will be retained even in an

:23:36. > :23:44.independent Scotland. Liz Lochhead, she was just giving

:23:44. > :23:50.it straight. She was saying and not a bit of blue sky with a cross on

:23:50. > :23:57.it, basically. What did you make of her speech? It blows the cobwebs

:23:57. > :24:01.away doesn't it? Absolutely, it is a very welcome speech and a poem.

:24:01. > :24:05.Closing the gap between what we say and what we do. It was a message to

:24:05. > :24:10.these MSPs, you have been elected but don't forget the people out

:24:10. > :24:13.there. It was wonderful to hear that message. One of the founding

:24:13. > :24:17.principles of the Parliament is the powers be shared with the people

:24:17. > :24:21.and the people have to be part of the process. Not just at election

:24:21. > :24:26.time. What she is signalling is the public are out there watching you

:24:26. > :24:30.and it was refreshing to hear from Liz Lochhead. Liz Lochhead is from

:24:30. > :24:37.Motherwell. This is a very good thing? A very good thing and they

:24:37. > :24:42.tend to speak directly. Having been born there myself. I think it is

:24:42. > :24:47.something for which you are noted, if I may and lighting you on that

:24:47. > :24:53.point. Thank you for the semi- complement. I think we can cross

:24:53. > :24:56.back over to Brian? No, he is just about to join us in a short time,

:24:56. > :25:01.but to pick up on what Liz Lochhead was saying, it seemed like a direct

:25:01. > :25:09.plea that the committee to be given more powers. The restructuring

:25:09. > :25:13.James has been talking about? the mention the First Minister

:25:13. > :25:18.previously, Jack McConnell, he thought this would have to be done.

:25:18. > :25:22.There are lot of reforms that need to occur but they need to handle

:25:22. > :25:28.and manage these challenges. It is probably more important than

:25:28. > :25:33.procedural developments. First Minister's questions, we don't have

:25:33. > :25:37.time to talk about. It would have taken us too long. But we can now

:25:37. > :25:46.crossed to Brian Taylor in the Parliament building. Brian?

:25:46. > :25:51.I am joined by Liz Lochhead, Scotland's national poet. Feud

:25:51. > :25:54.congratulations on the poem, absolutely superb. Fangs, you

:25:54. > :26:00.wouldn't have been saying that on Monday night when I was up all

:26:00. > :26:06.night swearing. Was the genesis tricky? I'm not a political poet,

:26:06. > :26:10.so I thought the English Basque -- best thing to do would be support.

:26:10. > :26:17.A reference to Robbie Burns? The song that was sung on the first

:26:17. > :26:24.day? If you are stuck, look at what has been done recently and what has

:26:24. > :26:29.been said. You could unsafe fairer than the things Edwin Morgan said.

:26:29. > :26:34.It was a wonderful day, the First Minister's speech was great, bold

:26:34. > :26:39.and cheeky. But it was wonderful. Very passionate. How do you think

:26:39. > :26:44.you went down with the Queen? He was reassuring her on the one hand,

:26:44. > :26:49.saying the Regal Union is fine. was very interesting. It was a

:26:49. > :26:54.great speech and I think the whole events, I felt it was rather

:26:54. > :27:00.splendid, I am a bit biased, but I did feel this is really something

:27:00. > :27:07.special. What do you see changing? You read Edwin Morgan's poem in

:27:07. > :27:11.2004 when the building was opened. Today was your own work, what do

:27:11. > :27:15.you think has changed in Scotland in the intervening period? A real

:27:15. > :27:22.feeling we want a change. I don't know if it is focused yet, that

:27:22. > :27:27.feeling, but I think it is good for the Labour Party in Britain to get

:27:27. > :27:31.the wake up call we got in Scotland. For people to realise how we want

:27:31. > :27:37.to get back to some of the values that those of us who used to the

:27:37. > :27:44.Labour Party members are long while ago had. We want change and I am

:27:44. > :27:48.not a member of any political party of course, I am a voter. I was just

:27:48. > :27:54.excited after the last election, just at the very thing, we could

:27:54. > :27:58.have changed. What is it like writing to order? Scary for Sabin

:27:58. > :28:03.makes you realise there is no such a thing as a free lunch. I am not a

:28:03. > :28:08.political poet. I would never write a poem, I wouldn't keep that poem,

:28:08. > :28:13.it was only something for this occasion. You have written 19 books

:28:13. > :28:20.of poetry, you have written plays? Alike being asked to write things

:28:20. > :28:24.for occasion. My friend, Caroline Duffy, who is at the proper poet

:28:24. > :28:27.laureate of Britain, she sidesteps things like she did not write a

:28:28. > :28:32.poem for the Royal wedding but she commissioned a lot of poets,

:28:32. > :28:42.friends of hers all over Britain to write a wedding vow and it was

:28:42. > :28:46.published before hand. Is this a poet Laureate's union? I phone her

:28:46. > :28:52.up and asked if I should take this job, and she said take it. It will

:28:52. > :28:58.be fine. You wouldn't do anything you wouldn't do normally. Do you

:28:58. > :29:01.think it is knife Best nice the phrase refers back to Henderson,

:29:02. > :29:08.Dunbar and the medieval poets? is greater refers back like that.

:29:08. > :29:12.But it is what it means, which it means maker. The specialist used a

:29:12. > :29:19.bit as a poet is one thing. You make a poem, the way you make a

:29:19. > :29:23.plate of soup. That is a good thing to think of it like. It was a tasty

:29:23. > :29:28.place of sued be made today. Is there room for the arts, poetry and

:29:28. > :29:35.music alongside the rough and tumble of per -- politics?

:29:35. > :29:40.course there is. You take it as a symbolic role in armour of poetry

:29:40. > :29:45.itself. And poetry to Scottish people, and people all over the

:29:45. > :29:50.world. The Scottish are used to poetry as something you would say

:29:50. > :29:57.and enjoy. Something as simple as a song. On that note, Liz Lochhead,

:29:57. > :30:03.thanks very much indeed. Back to the studio.

:30:03. > :30:06.Liz Lochhead. I bet people always took her phone calls. The

:30:06. > :30:11.entertainment continues into this afternoon with live performances

:30:11. > :30:21.inside the Parliament. Let's go back to our reporter who has some

:30:21. > :30:21.

:30:21. > :30:26.of the details of what will be There is a very noisy Riding taking

:30:26. > :30:31.place. We have a pipe band going past. We have seen lots of

:30:31. > :30:36.different groups going by from all over Scotland. Joining me now is

:30:36. > :30:40.this band hol be playing in the Parliament -- who will be playing

:30:40. > :30:44.in the Parliament later thb later this afternoon. How important is it

:30:44. > :30:51.that people like you are involved in the Royal opening? Seeing all

:30:51. > :30:56.these different bands playing now, it is great to be playing as well,

:30:56. > :31:03.to be acknowledged. It is great that we are appreciated

:31:03. > :31:13.enough to be involved in a national event.

:31:13. > :31:19.

:31:19. > :31:24.You guys are from Caithness. What kind of music do you play? Indi pop.

:31:24. > :31:29.How helpful will have event be in raising your profile? It helped

:31:29. > :31:36.masses. We have been recording yesterday. We talked with record

:31:36. > :31:41.labels and things. It is going well. We have some of your band

:31:41. > :31:51.colleagues here. Can we get a quick tune from you. Just a very quick

:31:51. > :32:07.

:32:07. > :32:17.# I'm going to sell my heart # Sell my soul

:32:17. > :32:30.

:32:31. > :32:38.# A brand-new street and a brand- There we go. The neighbours are not

:32:38. > :32:41.going to be complaining about any noise today however loud it gets!

:32:41. > :32:45.Harry Benson was invited to be a mentor for the portrait of the

:32:45. > :32:53.Queen. As we saw earlier on in the programme, he is now with our

:32:53. > :32:58.political editor, Brian Taylor Thank you very much indeed. As you

:32:58. > :33:01.say, I am delighted to welcome Harry Benson a world renowned

:33:01. > :33:07.photographer and Scottish born. Thank you very much indeed for

:33:07. > :33:12.joining us. You were mentoring a young photographer in unveiling the

:33:12. > :33:15.Queen. What do you reckon of the portrait? I think it is very good.

:33:15. > :33:17.The photographer is from Glasgow and that makes it better!

:33:17. > :33:21.You are a Glaswegian yourself? Indeed, I am.

:33:21. > :33:24.You have done a lot of work for the Parliament. Portraits of the

:33:24. > :33:28.presiding officers. Do you feel that connection with the

:33:28. > :33:33.Parliament? Yes, I did. It is a great looking building. The

:33:33. > :33:38.Parliament is very interesting. Do you think it is good there is

:33:38. > :33:43.this artistic involvement in what is going to be dry, rough politics

:33:43. > :33:47.as well? Yes, I do. I think it makes politics look fun. It might

:33:47. > :33:51.be a pleasure going to work in there.

:33:51. > :33:58.There is that side to it as well. You have taken photographic

:33:58. > :34:03.portraits of the most famous people in the world. Every president.

:34:03. > :34:09.And film stars as well? And movie stars. Wtialtion that's my -- well,

:34:09. > :34:12.that's my business. As well as doing that, you like

:34:12. > :34:17.doing this? I like coming back to Scotland.

:34:17. > :34:21.Scottish ties still pull you? come back a lot. I live in New York,

:34:22. > :34:26.but I love come to go Scotland. -- come to go Scotland.

:34:26. > :34:30.I gather to represent the US and Scottish links you are getting an

:34:30. > :34:36.honour from the US Embassy. I got it last night.

:34:36. > :34:43.What does that involve? A hero or something. They gave it to

:34:43. > :34:47.firefighters in New York. The one that is worked in 9/11. I was down

:34:47. > :34:51.there as well. Oh I say.

:34:51. > :34:56.Was yours for American/Scottish relations? Yes.

:34:56. > :35:03.How strongly do you think those are at the present moment? I think the

:35:03. > :35:09.Scots have always liked the Yanks. Does it apply the other way around?

:35:09. > :35:16.They love Scotland. Really? Absolutely.

:35:16. > :35:22.Do they have a real love of Scotland or is it Brigadoon?

:35:22. > :35:31.them think that. As the pooipse and the pipes and drums come down the

:35:31. > :35:38.hill. I am delighted to have been joined by a US US US/Scottish hero

:35:38. > :35:43.Thank you very much indeed for that. Picking up a point that Liz

:35:43. > :35:47.Lockhead made. Whatever your politics, tas very exciting dynamic

:35:47. > :35:51.time in Scotland politics, isn't it? We are living through an

:35:51. > :35:55.important phase. It is a challenging period. In terms of the

:35:55. > :35:58.public finances and in terms of the constitutional debate. The next few

:35:58. > :36:02.years are going to be important and an exciting period for people like

:36:02. > :36:07.me and for people like you and for the public at large.

:36:07. > :36:13.What about the tone that will have to be adopted by the Opposition.

:36:13. > :36:23.Gou get any sense that -- do you get any sense that tone may change?

:36:23. > :36:23.

:36:23. > :36:27.How the SNP leadership itself plays this. They have indicated an

:36:27. > :36:32.aspiration to consensuality. If that's the case you might have a

:36:32. > :36:37.mellow tone in the Parliament. I think the issues are so enormous

:36:37. > :36:42.that we are in for interesting times during the next few years as

:36:42. > :36:46.we should be because there is not enough in my view passionate debate

:36:47. > :36:52.going on. Well, it looks like, I am sorry to

:36:52. > :36:54.interrupt you, it looks like the First Minister is having a debate

:36:54. > :36:58.with some voters. Alex Salmond loves passionate

:36:58. > :37:04.debate. That's walking down the Royal Mile

:37:04. > :37:09.and that's heading towards the park. People taking pictures of the First

:37:09. > :37:14.Minister. He is in the middle of the crowd there. There he is there

:37:14. > :37:17.the middle of the crowd. That's another big distinction from

:37:17. > :37:23.Westminster. Possibly for scruret reasons. -- security reasons.

:37:23. > :37:27.You probably wouldn't be allowed to do that. I wonder if David Cameron

:37:27. > :37:31.would would want to do it anyway! They are getting their picture

:37:31. > :37:39.taken. The First Minister there. In terms of the politicians

:37:39. > :37:42.interaction because some of that has been unfortunate. The Queen was

:37:42. > :37:47.referring to you don't go into Scottish politics if you are you

:37:47. > :37:51.are faint hearted. Do you think that tone has to change? It has to

:37:51. > :37:54.change and for the parties that had a negative tone, they need to

:37:54. > :37:57.change. One of the conclusions that some of us have drawn from a study

:37:57. > :38:02.of the election this time around and the last time is the negative

:38:02. > :38:07.tone from some parties harmed them and the positive tone from the SNP

:38:07. > :38:10.helped them as it did in 2007. You can have real debate. The

:38:10. > :38:14.passionate debate that Tom was talking about, but in a positive,

:38:14. > :38:20.constructive way. The negativity is just very unhelpful. It puts the

:38:20. > :38:30.electorate off and frankly it puts voters off off voting.

:38:30. > :38:39.Do you think the try balancism is so -- try balancism is so engrained

:38:39. > :38:43.now? That's the way groups co here to have this group process. Some

:38:43. > :38:45.commentators had doubts of the calibre, let's face it, the calibre

:38:45. > :38:49.of individual members of the Scottish Parliament. I don't know

:38:49. > :38:55.enough about their backgrounds to be certain about that. But this

:38:55. > :39:02.will be a testing time. I notice from the itake, the people whom I

:39:02. > :39:05.do know have real abilities and are articulate. I am hoping for an

:39:06. > :39:09.exciting and engaging Parliamentary session over a set of sessions over

:39:09. > :39:13.the next few years. One of the things that has to change, if I got

:39:13. > :39:17.it right, after the opening of the Parliament today, we are now about

:39:17. > :39:22.to go into recession. Yes, I think I can confirm that.

:39:22. > :39:26.find that amazing. Do you think they are not bound to

:39:26. > :39:31.be run ragged after the election? Why don't you have the opening of

:39:31. > :39:35.the Parliament and straight into business.

:39:35. > :39:38.In fairness the Parliament has gone into recess, but the politicians

:39:38. > :39:44.haven't. Some need a holiday, but many of them have a lot of business

:39:44. > :39:50.over the summer. They have got to get out into their communities.

:39:50. > :39:54.I draw the charge. We are in good form today!

:39:54. > :40:00.James, what about this getting out? Sometimes you hear there is a sense

:40:00. > :40:04.in other parts of the country, say you go into the north or go down to

:40:04. > :40:11.the Borders, politics is something that happens in Edinburgh or spills

:40:11. > :40:14.into glass into Glasgow, do they need to engage in a different way?

:40:14. > :40:18.I think we should address this issue. When Parliament is in

:40:18. > :40:24.session it becomes like Westminster, a village and the media plays a

:40:24. > :40:28.part and the commentators play a part. We play a part. We have got

:40:28. > :40:34.to remember the Parliament is for the people. In a way it would be

:40:34. > :40:37.good if they could get out and about more. In fairness, the MSPs

:40:37. > :40:41.do this because they have to keep in touch with the constituents, but

:40:41. > :40:47.maybe we as commentators and the media maybe need to get out and

:40:47. > :40:53.about. We tend for parochial focusing on the Holyrood village.

:40:53. > :40:58.There is a tend to be Edinburgh- centric or Glasgow-centric.

:40:58. > :41:03.To me at least that ceremonial today and the speeches and the

:41:03. > :41:08.cultural contributions, I mean it was fantasticically heart warming

:41:08. > :41:11.because because it goes back to what the First Minister said. This

:41:12. > :41:15.is a country that's comfortable in its own skin. Apart from the

:41:15. > :41:21.changes that James talked about, there has been a very significant

:41:21. > :41:26.and indeed in some areas dramatic increase in Scotland's sense of

:41:26. > :41:31.itself and self-confidence over the last 25 years and I think in terms

:41:31. > :41:35.of symbolism and manifestation you got a sense of that today. It is

:41:35. > :41:40.our Parliament. It was our culture on display today and we did it as a

:41:40. > :41:44.nation well. One of the interesting things of

:41:44. > :41:50.the Parliament, something Tom said, is that you know it does look like

:41:50. > :41:54.Scotland, but it sounds like Scotland The variety of acts.

:41:54. > :41:58.People comfortable with their local accents. A Parliament is about, as

:41:58. > :42:02.the term means, it is a French word, it is about speaking and it is

:42:02. > :42:09.about the sound of the institution. What you had today was the mosaic

:42:09. > :42:15.of Scotland coming through from the far north to the Borders, no sign

:42:15. > :42:25.of of received speech as well. With one exception! We will have to do

:42:25. > :42:27.with something about it. That comes with the territory!

:42:27. > :42:29.LAUGHTER You are never going to get into the

:42:29. > :42:31.Royal Company of Archers if you continue behaving in this way!

:42:31. > :42:36.Women playing a prominent role today. Yes, not prominent enough.

:42:36. > :42:38.We need to see more women inside the Parliament being given senior

:42:39. > :42:42.positions, not just across Government, but in the committees.

:42:42. > :42:46.There is more work to be done. Thank you very much indeed. That's

:42:46. > :42:56.it. Let's have a look back at some of the most striking images of the

:42:56. > :43:35.