SNP Manifesto Launch Election 2017

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE when I put out a gentle request, I didn't think I

would get such a fantastic turnout! This is a city with a long

association with the Scottish National Party. Not only was this a

conference city for years and years, we have held the constituencies here

since 1995, since that superb victory for Rosamund Cunningham 22

years ago and we are not going to let this constituency go again.

APPLAUSE Apparently, there's bit of a

challenge this time. Apparently this is the one target seat for the

Tories. I wouldn't be relaxed unless it was a number one target seat, but

in the last two elections I travelled and my majority.

APPLAUSE Perth and north Perthshire is a line in the sand they will not

cross, and with your help we will ensure that happens. But thank you

for coming to this wonderful city, you are more than welcome. Perth

welcomes the Scottish National Party, it is an SNP city and it's

great to see so many of you here today. It's my pleasure and

privilege to introduce my colleague, the deputy leader of the party.

Angus Robertson and I were both elected in 2001, and we are now the

longest serving members of Parliament. And we are only 35. But

ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to welcome my colleague, my

friend, our deputy leader of the party, Angus Robertson.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE thank you. Thank you. Thank you very

much, friends. And welcome to the manifesto launch of the real

opposition. Our strong and effective SNP group has a proven record of

standing up for Scotland at Westminster, leaving the real

opposition to the Tory government. And in this election, only the SNP

can provide a strong, progressive voice to protect the Scottish people

and Scottish jobs against the dangers of an unopposed hardline

Tory government. That's why now more than ever before, it is essential we

have a strong group of SNP MPs standing up against Tory cuts. And a

manifesto that will represent progressive values and an

alternative to austerity. We will provide that effective voice, we

will provide strong opposition, we will provide a real agenda for

change. So ladies and gentlemen... APPLAUSE Ladies and gentlemen, it --

to present our plan, please welcome the leader of the SNP, the First

Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Thank you very much, thank you,

Angus. A very warm welcome to the launch of the SNP's manifesto for

the general election. This manifesto sets out a clear plan to end Tory

cuts, protect Scottish jobs, and strengthen Scotland's hand. It is a

manifesto with fairness, opportunity, and democracy at its

heart. The manifesto for a country that is welcoming and outward

looking. A manifesto that reflects our belief in the infinite

possibilities open to the people of Scotland if we work together in the

common good to build the kind of country we know we can be.

APPLAUSE A pledge that this election is that

SNP MPs will work every day to make Scotland's voice heard and build a

better country. We know that decisions taken at Westminster in

the years ahead will shape our country, so now more than ever it is

vital to have strong SNP voices standing up for Scotland. With

Labour... APPLAUSE

With Labour in disarray the Tories saw a chance to tighten their grip

on the whole of the UK, for many years to come. But with their true

colours being exposed in this campaign, we have a real chance to

keep them in check. And let's be clear - Labour isn't strong enough

to do that. Voting Labour simply risks letting in Tory MPs. In

Scotland, only the SNP can keep the Tories in check.

APPLAUSE In this election, it is vital that

we strengthen Scotland's hand, not Theresa May's. Otherwise, so much of

what we cherish and value would be under threat. The dismantling of the

post-war welfare state, already under way, will pick up pace.

Experts are already predicting the biggest rise in inequality since the

1980s. They say the incomes of the poorest third of working age

households will fall by 10% over the next four years, and that Tory

policy will drive 1 million more children across the UK into poverty.

By 2021 they could be more than 5 million children across the UK, a

number equivalent to the total published of Scotland, living in

poverty in one of the richest countries in the world. That is

shameful. That is shameful. Our manifesto puts

it at the very heart of this election. Jobs will be lost as the

Tories threaten to turn their backs not just on the EU but on the single

market as well. That is why more than ever before we need strong SNP

voices at Westminster to stand up to the Tories and to stand up for

Scotland. As a country we face big challenges

but we have made so much progress. We must not let Westminster

government struggles backwards. In this manifesto we set out how strong

SNP MPs will help to build a fairer and more equal Scotland. That starts

with a clear alternative to continued austerity. For the Tories

austerity cuts are not simply a policy response to a particular

economic situation, they are political dogma. An ideology. As

well as damaging our public services they hold back our economy. That's

why the current government has consistently failed to meet all of

its fiscal targets. We are setting out a different approach. Our plan

has three key aims. Firstly to balance the UK budget for day-to-day

spending by the end of the parliament and after that borrowing

only to invest. Secondly to return the deficit to its pre-crash

long-term average. Thirdly to set debt on a downward path. These

responsible targets will return the UK's finances to a stable and

sustainable position and crucially they will also free up an additional

?180 billion of public investment over the next Parliament to grow the

economy, safeguard public services and protect household incomes. A

clear alternative to five more years of austerity. Hope and investment

for the future, not a destroying cycle of cuts. That is the SNP plan.

SNP MPs will also back their tax. In government we have frozen the basic

rate of income tax to help low and middle earners. That is the right

approach at a time when rising inflation is making it harder for

many families to make ends meet. We have also opted not to cut tax for

higher rate taxpayers. A tax cut for the top 10% of income murders at a

time when public spending is under pressure is the wrong priority. We

choose investment in our public services instead.

SNP MPs will also support an increase across the UK in the

additional rate of income tax. For those earning more than ?150,000

from 45p to 50p. The difference between the SNP and the Tories is

this. The Tories plans will give tax cuts to the wealthiest while pushing

more hard-working people and families in the poverty. Our plans

are there to all and will lift people out of poverty. Not just

cause it is the right thing to do but because we know that greater

inequality helps our economy as well. One of the biggest scandals in

recent years and it is a scandal has been the rise and of people living

in poverty despite having a job. 70% of children growing up in poverty

live in a household with at least one person is working. Scotland

already has the highest proportion of workers, paid the real living

wage, of any UK country and that is positive. But we need to do more to

tackle low pay, falling wages and reduce support for those on low

incomes. That is why today I am setting out a 3-point plan to tackle

poverty and inequality and increase the incomes and the living standards

of families across the UK. Firstly we will support moves over the next

Parliament working with business to increase the minimum wage to the

level of the real living wage. That means a living wage by the end of

the next Parliament that will be slightly more than ?10 power.

Secondly, here in Scotland we will take a different approach to public

sector pay. The 1% take-up was designed to protect jobs at the time

of spending cuts imposed by Westminster. The SNP has taken

action to soften its impact in shoring for example that many nurses

in Scotland are paid more than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK.

There is no doubt it has been hard for public sector workers and at a

time of rising inflation it is increasingly unsustainable. Of

course pay rises must be affordable but they must also reflect the real

life circumstances people face and enable us to attract and retain

staff in our public services. For next year and in future years we

will not assume a 1% pay cap. Instead we will set a remote for

discussions with trade unions based on a proper consideration of the

part of inflation with a view to reaching their outcomes which strike

the right balance between affordability and the cost of

living. Thirdly, policies in this manifesto will restore fairness to

our social security system. Make no mistake, the Tories have sought to

undermine faith in the welfare state itself. They have set out very

deliberately to stigmatise those on benefits. No one should be allowed

to blues the system but their rhetoric as cover for the hardship

they are causing to those who work hard and struggle to get like

ongoing comes. Children, the elderly, women, the disabled, even

the bereaved are bearing the brunt. There are around ?9 billion of

Social Security cuts still to come over the next four years. Not

surprisingly the Tories want to press ahead with every single penny.

What is surprising is that Labour is pledging to reverse less than a

quarter of those cuts. Let me be clear today, SNP MPs will stand

against all of the further planned cuts to social security.

We will do so because we punish the disabled and those who work hard to

make ends meet. We also support the reversal of the two child cap on tax

credits. And we will campaign tirelessly

against the immoral cause that goes with it.

The rape clause, a policy that shames every Tory candidate who

supports it. We will demand reversal of the cuts

to employment support allowance removing ?30 per week in vital

support from disabled people. We will oppose the freeze for working

age benefits. The policy that is set to reduce the incomes of the poorest

in our society by 6%. The reason we stand against the Tory assault on

Social Security on the poor, disabled and vulnerable as this,

these cats strike at the very heart of how we see ourselves as a nation

and our shared ambition for the future of our nation.

They are unfair and designed to divide. Of course, growing gap

between rich and poor is not the only divide the Tory policy will

create. Their manifesto seeks to set young against older. The utter chaos

that engulfs Theresa May's plans for a so-called dementia tax makes me

prouder than ever that the Scottish Parliament introduced free personal

nursing care for our belief. Those needing nursing care in

Scotland receives two wooden ?49 a week towards the cost of their care.

That significantly reduces the burden on the personal assets of

someone who has to fund their own care. Let me make clear today, the

SNP will always protect free personal and nursing care for our

elderly. Of course it is concern for fairness

and old age which drives this policy and SNP MPs will be strong voices

for their pensions. The Tory manifesto is nothing short of an

assault on pensioners. From the dementia tax to the removal of the

winter fuel allowance. To every older person in Scotland I say this,

it is very clear that the Tories think they can take the votes of

many older people for granted and their manifesto makes clear what

they will do if given the chance. If you don't want them to have a free

hand to remove your hard-won protections, make sure you elect

strong voices who will stand up for you.

The SNP will protect the winter fuel allowance and with pensioner poverty

once again on the rise you will oppose the removal of the pensions

triple lock. We will also be strong voices for the women who have been

short-changed due to the accelerated timetable for increases in the

women's state pension age. SNP MPs will continue to give full support

in their efforts to secure that. It seems clear that the Tories are

planning to cut deeper to cover the impact of their planned extreme

Brexit but these cats are hurting the low paid and pensioners and they

are damaging our public services. That is why we will stand against

them. Over the past ten years the SNP has prioritised the health

service and we will continue to do so. Our NHS faces real challenges

but patient satisfaction is at record levels in our hospital A is

the best performing anywhere in the UK.

Many nurses in Scotland are better paid than anywhere else in the UK

and we have integrated health and social care. We already have a

pledge to increase the NHS budget by ?2 billion by the end of this

Scottish parliament, but our alternative plan for the public

finances would allow a further increase of front line health

spending across the UK. SNP MPs will call on the new UK Government to

increase health spending per head of population in England to the current

Scottish level, which is 7% higher. APPLAUSE

That would increase the health budget in England by ?11 billion

more than inflation by 2022, and it would deliver a consequential

funding to support additional investment in Scotland's NHS of up

to ?1 billion over and above our current commitment.

The SNP standing up for Scotland's NHS now and always.

And for our police and Fire Services who have served us so well over this

past week as they always do, SNP MPs will demand that a Tory government

returns the ?140 million of VAT that it has so unfairly taken.

APPLAUSE Money that the Tories have unfairly taken away from our

emergency services. For Scotland's young people and

families we will continue to extend free childcare. We are investing

?750 million in a special fund to raise standards in our schools and

the SNP is committed to always protecting free university

education. In this election, we are also

campaigning to restore the post study work freezer so we can

continue to attract the best and brightest from around the world to

our country here in Scotland. We are working to ensure that our

universities don't lose out on vital European funding.

APPLAUSE Policies like expanding free childcare, closing the

attainment gap in our schools, and free university tuition are designed

to help young people achieve their goals and create a fairer society.

Making sure we have a strong economy is also vital to the futures of our

young people. Jobs and the economy are central to this manifesto. These

have been really challenging economic times, particularly given

the fall in the oil price, but at the end of last year, Scotland's GDP

per head was above its prerecession level. Productivity has been growing

faster than the UK, and unemployment is lower than the UK average. On the

greatest economic issue facing Scotland, reversing population

decline and growing the number of working age people who live here,

real progress has been made, progress that is now put at risk by

Brexit. In Government we have a ?6 billion infrastructure programme and

we are taking 100,000 business premises out of paying business

rates altogether. APPLAUSE

In this election, we will not support further reductions to the

headline rate of corporation tax, that is not the right priority at

this time, but we will support targeted reductions in national

insurance to bring down the costs and lawyers face when taking on new

workers, and to help boost productivity we will support an

increase in the investment allowance to encourage businesses to invest

more in plant and machinery. Supporting our economy is vital to

everything we do. We live in a world where technological and economic

transformation is happening at a pace we haven't seen before. We have

the potential in Scotland, more than most countries on earth, to take

advantage of the opportunity this change presents. Our food and drink

industry is a multi-billion pound success story. We have unrivalled

energy resources. Our universities are among the best in the world. We

are world leaders in the industries of the future, like life sciences,

financial services and financial technology, creative industry, space

technology and sustainable tourism. Our natural resources, a

long-standing reputation for innovation, are educated workforce

and internationally recognised brand gives Scotland a head start. The

European single market, already the worlds biggest, represents a massive

opportunity for areas of Scottish strength. In the digital economy,

energy, retail, the green and knowledge economy, the single market

is still a work in progress with huge potential still to be unlocked.

That means a huge potential economic prize for Scotland. It means a world

of opportunity for our young people, but Brexit, especially an extreme

Brexit, puts all of that at risk and that's why I believe so strongly

that at the end of the Brexit process, not now but when the terms

of the deal are known, Scotland must have a choice about our future. The

choice between following the UK down the Brexit path or becoming an

independent country. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

there is just too much at stake for Brexit simply to be imposed on

Scotland, no matter how damaging it turns out to be. Our future must be

decided by us not for us. APPLAUSE

Last year's election delivered the democratic mandate for Scotland

having such a choice and the recent vote of the Scottish Parliament

underlie it. If the SNP wins the majority of

Scottish seats in this election that will further reinforce our mandate,

and in these circumstances any continued Tory attempts to block

Scotland having a choice when the time is right and the options are

clear would be democratically unsustainable.

APPLAUSE However, that will be a choice for

the end of the Brexit process. I want to be clear today that this

election also presents Scotland with a more immediate opportunity. In the

months ahead we must make sure our interests are not ignored in the

Brexit negotiations. A vote for the SNP will make sure Scotland's voice

is heard. The majority of people in Scotland voted to remain in the EU

but even many of those who voted to leave have real concerns about the

extreme Brexit being pursued by the Prime Minister. To be taken out

not just of the EU but also the single market ports 80,000 Scottish

jobs at risk. It poses a real danger to our farmers and fishermen,

universities, food and drink businesses, almost every sector of

our economy. That's why the Scottish Government published compromised

proposals that would keep Scotland and the single market. These

proposals were brushed aside by the Prime Minister, but this election

offers people the opportunity to give them democratic legitimacy and

make it impossible for the Prime Minister to continue to ignore

Scotland's voice. APPLAUSE

So my message today to all voters in Scotland is this...

Whether you voted to leave or remain last year, vote SNP on the 8th of

June to give me a mandate to demand a place for Scotland at the Brexit

negotiating table so we can work to keep Scotland in the single market.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE now more than ever, it is vital to

have strong SNP voices standing up for Scotland at Westminster. A vote

for the SNP on June the 8th will strengthen Scotland's hand against

Tory cuts, it will strengthen Scotland's hand against an extreme

Brexit, and it will strengthen Scotland's right to make our own

decisions. The fact is we cannot afford a Tory government with a free

hand to do whatever it likes. We must have strong voices, standing up

for our interests and defending the values we hold dear. You know that

Tory MPs will be a rubber stamp for whatever Theresa May wants am just

as you know that in Scotland, voting Labour risks letting in Tory MPs.

Only the SNP is strong enough to keep the Tories in check and only

SNP MPs will always stand up for Scotland.

APPLAUSE Weather on Brexit, austerity or the

future of our public services, this is a manifesto to make Scotland's

voice heard. It's a manifesto for prosperity and

opportunity, a manifesto to tackle inequality, a manifesto to protect

jobs and build a fair society we know is within our grasp, and a

manifesto to ensure Scotland's future will always be in Scotland's

hands. I'm proud to present it to the Scottish people today.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE Thank you very much indeed. Thank

you! I'm now going to take some questions from the media so please

listen quietly and carefully to media. Questions are here to hold us

to account. Brian Taylor? Your entire launch, entire speech is

predicated on the return of the majority Conservative government.

You have called that highly likely, you have discounted Labour's

prospects but in those circumstances, wooden power reside

in numbers ten and 11 Downing St? What evidence is there that even a

vast SNP presence at Westminster whereby simple arithmetic you cannot

form the majority, that even that vast presence can constrain the

Conservatives? Making Scotland's voice heard week

in week out and raising issues which are important for the whole of the

UK at prime ministers questions, it was the SNP that was the first to

spot and pick up on the National Insurance increases in the budget

and that led to a U-turn. It has been the SNP making sure Scotland's

voice is heard. Over a period where we may have another Tory government

with a bigger majority that will be even more important. In politics,

who wins elections matters in terms of who has the authority to stand up

and speak for those they represent and if the SNP win this election

week on Thursday I take nothing for granted but if we win this election

yet again the people of Scotland will have put their trust in the SNP

to stand up for Scotland. And that is exactly what we will do. The

final point is I think we have seen in the last two weeks that in

Theresa May we face the turn of the -- the Queen of the U-turns. The

more U-turns we can force her into the better. James Matthews from Sky

News. You talk about addressing an independent referendum at the end of

the Brexit process. Is the end of the Brexit process still spring 2019

or in circumstances do you regard it as later than that? And for the

Tories to block a referendum would be democratically unsustainable but

what would you do? We should let people have their say on June the

8th and that is the great opportunity to Theresa May has given

us in calling this election. I am very clear that Scotland's choice,

Scotland must have a choice. We cannot have our future imposed on

us. We hear Theresa May today talk about the damage that Brexit could

do with it goes wrong. We cannot find ourselves in a position where

we have no alternative but to accept the damaging Brexit. That is why a

choice at the right time is important. I said at the end of the

process and I said that the reason because it is important that people

of clarity about Brexit and what it means. Then they were loved clarity

about the options. I said Autumn 2018 to spring 2019 for a reason

because that is when Theresa May is saying the Brexit process will end.

If that changes then I have said this on the day I set up the plans,

if it's changes we will have to consider our timing in light of

that. The keypad of principle for me is clarity at the end of the process

to allow people to make a genuinely informed choice about the future of

our country. You talk about a win in this

election reinforcing the case for another independence referendum. If

you lose seats does that week in your case? Journalists are here to

do the job. They are here to hold me and other politicians to account.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned but the person who gets more votes and more

seats than any other party wins the election. That is democracy. What I

am also seeing clearly, we're talking about the choice for the end

of the Brexit process. This election also gives us immediate

opportunities to make sure that our voices in the House of Commons, it

makes sure we have SNP voices against an extreme Brexit. That is

why I am saying to people across Scotland, no matter how you voted in

the referendum last year or two years ago, this is our opportunity

to make Scotland's voice heard and we know the only way to make our

voice heard is to vote SNP and that is what I'm asking everyone to do on

June the 8th. The Conservatives are running this

general election campaign in Scotland on one message wishes

they'd don't want another independence referendum. Really? !

There is some evidence that it is working and that some of your

colleagues could lose their seats. Do you worry about that? Also can

they ask if the SNP would support the Labour proposals on income tax

for 45% rate at ?80,000 and 50% at ?123,000 and if not why? We will

support a 50p tax rate for those earning ?150,000 or more. We oppose

tax cuts for the higher rate and we support a freeze on the basic rate

of income tax because inflation is rising.

In terms of your next question, I am confident that all of my colleagues

has been a strong voice the Scotland. Get out and vote for them

on June the 8th. Angus Robertson has been the voice

of opposition, standing up to Theresa May and standing up to the

Tories. Not only putting her on the spot week in week out but pudding

Jeremy Corbyn to shame as he does it. So let's make sure that fall in

the side of the Tories is still there. On the point of the Tory

campaign, you may have heard me say this last week but Ruth Davidson is

going around Scotland saying I talk about nothing other than

independence. But she talks about it so much I don't get the chance to

talk about it. What I am talking about in this election is how we put

an end to Tory austerity. How we get rid of policies like the rape close

and Ruth Davidson's support for that close readers shame her. -- readers.

The reason the Tories want to talk about independence, if you look at

any of their leaflets there is no mention of welfare or education or

health. The reason for that is this, they don't want to talk about the

record and they don't want to talk about their policies. They know the

Tory record and Tory policies harm our public services, and people

across this country. I will let Ruth Davidson talk about anything she

wants to and I will continue to talk about how we put an end to the Tory

policies that are doing so much damage.

Little do they -- little birdie tells me it's your birthday. Happy

birthday. Thank you. We might have gone from one extreme to the other

with the media. A happy medium is what we should try for. You see in

the manifesto you want to balance the budget by the end of Parliament

that there is a lot of extra spending here and not very much in

the way of tax rises. Do you have a detailed plan about costings and can

you give us an idea how you plan to balance the budget? What we have

said in terms of our alternative fiscal plan by balancing day-to-day

spending by the end of the Parliament, reducing the deficit to

its long-term pre-crash average and getting debt on Adobe would

trajectory, that will compare to the Tory plans free up ?118 billion over

the life of the Parliament. In addition there are tax rises

involved in this manifesto. The 45 to 50p on additional rate of income

tax. The removal of the marriage allowance and also reversing the cat

in the bank levy. Those tax increases will raise an additional

?10 billion over the life of the Parliament. The spending commitments

in the manifesto add up to around ?80 billion over the life of the

Parliament. They also leave some headroom if for example there needs

to be investment to deal with some of the impacts of Brexit. This is a

fully thought out and affordable plan. How we balance the budget is

to take sensible steps towards balancing the budget but not doing

it through aggressive cuts on the backs of those who can least afford

them. This is moderating what the Tories are already planning and it

allows us to invest more in our NHS, halt the welfare cuts that are

driving more people into poverty and it allows us to invest properly in

our economy. One of the really stupid things about Tory economic

policy over the past them of years has been that there will austerity

has made it harder for them to meet their fiscal targets. I invest in we

can grow our economy faster and meet those targets. This is common sense

and in this election we are the only party putting forward a credible

alternative to austerity that gets finances back on to a sustainable

footing and I am proud to put forward today.

I will take Tom and then Kathleen. The manifesto covers in 2015 were

pictures of you but you are not on the cover of this manifesto. Do you

accept that you personally, I know you are on page two, do you accept

that you have become more divisive person on the for voters? This is a

great example. It's a great example of how for all politicians you are

dammed if you'd do and dammed if you don't. In our manifesto launch last

year they all said it was the cult of personality. This year they are

criticising. That baby is much cuter than me, come on! So that's why.

There is a picture of me holding up a Scottish love heart on page to

which I think is a great image. Theresa

May has said no to independence referendum before Brexit is played

out and Ruth Davidson has said she does not want a second independence

referendum for 35 years. If Theresa May is returned to power what can

you do to make sure that Scotland can have a referendum before Brexit?

I want Scotland to have a choice at the end of the Brexit process so

there is not much difference between what I am saying and Theresa May is

saying in that regard. I don't want people to choose now, that would be

wrong, but when we can judge what Brexit means for us, people can make

an informed choice. The alternative to that is we have to accept Brexit

no matter how damaging it might be. We heard Theresa May today talk

about the dangers of Brexit going wrong. She is spelling out the

dangers to our economy, to public services. I believe that our future

should be decided for us, not time -- not now but when the time is

right. Every vote for the SNP a week on Thursday is a vote to strengthen

my hand to make sure Scotland's voice is heard in these vital

negotiations over the next few months.

APPLAUSE I have got the choice of Telegraph

journalists, which want to take? -- which one to take? Any meaning

mine e-mail. Go on, Simon. Thank you. Jeremy Corbyn said yesterday he

would open discussions with you over a second independence referendum if

he becomes Prime Minister so I wanted your thoughts on that.

Secondly I wondered if you had been a bit quick to write him off given

the polls suggest he is winning the campaign in England? I watched some

of the debate but it wasn't a debate because they didn't interact with

each other but I'm not sure it would have been hard to come off better

than Theresa May in that Sky programme last night. And this is a

serious point, there are older people all over the country now

wondering what the Tory government means for the care when they get

older, and the House they will be able to leave to their children.

There are older people wondering whether they will still have a

Winter fuel payment. I think it is outrageous the Tories are not

answering any of these questions in the election, and anyone watching

the Prime Minister last night would suddenly have seen very clearly why

she has dodged any direct leaders debates in this election.

APPLAUSE The polls, even though the polls are narrowing, I think

everything suggests we are still facing another Tory government, but

it's a Tory government that has been exposed over this campaign, and that

presents us here with an opportunity and that's an opportunity to make

sure we keep a Tory government in check, that we don't face a Tory

government without a strong Scottish boys standing up for our interests.

It's a fundamentally important point at this election because we know

that Labour is no longer strong enough in Scotland to stand up to

the Tories, so voting Labour in constituencies across Scotland would

only run the risk of letting a Tory MP in the back door and that's a

risk people should think carefully about. Only the SNP has the strength

in Scotland to stand up to the Tories, so we face, I think, another

Tory government but it is a Tory government that has had its

vulnerabilities exposed in this campaign so let's grasp this

opportunity to send strong Scottish voices to keep that government in

check. Tory MPs, and we know this beyond a shadow of a doubt, we only

had to watch Ruth Davidson defend the rate clause, we know Tory MPs

would be a rubber stamp for anything Theresa May wants to do. -- rape

clause. If we want strong Scottish voices standing up for Scotland, in

Scotland that can only come from the SNP so make sure on June the 8th

youth vote SNP to get those strong voices.

APPLAUSE OK, thank you all very much indeed.

Before we end today, we will do I'm sure some more photographs here. Can

I thank all of you for coming here today, but more importantly can I

ask each and every one of you now to leave this hall and get out there

and campaign for your local SNP candidate. Before you leave Perth

today, campaign for Pete Wishaw, and then campaign as hard as you can.

There are big challenges ahead for all of us. The decision is taken by

Westminster governments over the next few years will shape our

country, let's make sure SNP voices are in there standing up for

Scotland. Let's get out, let's win this election.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE the people are in work but still

struggle to make ends meet to find enough money to pay those bills at

the end of the week. How will they make up their minds how to vote? We

have come here to the suburbs of south London to Eltham to find out.

Well, it's fish and chips for the latest of my election takeaways.

We are in the suburbs of south London in Eltham

who are going to tell us how they are making up their minds