:00:21. > :00:26.Overthrew warm welcome from Holyrood, where MSPs have been
:00:26. > :00:32.talking rubbish, debating waste management, its impact on the
:00:32. > :00:36.environment and the issue of social care. Which of either of those
:00:37. > :00:45.topics will come up in questions to the First Minister? Let's cross to
:00:45. > :00:55.the chamber and find out. Iain Gray is already on his feet.
:00:55. > :01:05.
:01:05. > :01:08.Will they listen, and drop his plan? No. LAUGHTER. I guess the
:01:08. > :01:13.First Minister only listens to those who tell him what he wants to
:01:13. > :01:22.hear, but it was very clear last week that one person he does listen
:01:22. > :01:27.to is the voice of economic sanity as he called them, an economist.
:01:27. > :01:31.The next day, the Economist was rare against economic nationalism,
:01:31. > :01:38.warning against a race to the bottom on tax and imploring us, and
:01:38. > :01:43.I quote, to "to leave behind the nationalist demons of our past ."
:01:43. > :01:53.Surely the First Minister will take the advice of the Economist and
:01:53. > :01:56.slay his own nationalist demons? saw the Labour press release last
:01:56. > :02:03.Saturday morning, and I kindly assumed Iain Gray could have
:02:03. > :02:06.nothing to do with such nonsense. To actually translate that quote,
:02:06. > :02:12.even for the Labour Party's standards, is extraordinary. Let's
:02:12. > :02:18.look at some of the people who back the SNP position on corporation tax.
:02:18. > :02:23.Sir Tom Hunter, one of Scotland's most successful business people,
:02:23. > :02:27.formerly a Major supporter, if I remember correctly, of the Scottish
:02:27. > :02:32.Labour Party. I certainly don't hold that against him with his
:02:32. > :02:36.substantial business record. Jim McCall, Scotland's currently most
:02:36. > :02:42.successful business person. But I suppose the person I would quote
:02:42. > :02:50.more than anyone else in terms of the firm support for the sensible
:02:50. > :02:54.policies being pursued by this government is Wendy Alexander. Iain
:02:54. > :03:01.Gray's predecessor. Can I quote from the committee which she
:03:01. > :03:05.chaired the. The committee --"the committee's unanimous view is that
:03:05. > :03:08.corporation tax should be a tool of UK government's regional policy and
:03:08. > :03:17.should be available as an option for the Scottish government to use
:03:17. > :03:24.also ." If only Iain Gray would follow the example of his
:03:24. > :03:27.predecessor, Wendy Alexander. course, my predecessor Wendy
:03:27. > :03:32.Alexander would happily make the point that she doesn't believe in a
:03:32. > :03:39.race to the bottom for corporation tax at all. The point she made was
:03:39. > :03:49.that if one part of the UK was given its, it would be a mistake
:03:49. > :03:53.
:03:53. > :03:57.for others not to. And as for the Economist, he was very clear that
:03:57. > :04:03.the way forward in the future was fiscal integration, and not
:04:03. > :04:07.economic nationalism. And yes, he was writing in the context of
:04:07. > :04:13.Europe. Maybe is that why is the first -- the wider First Minister
:04:13. > :04:19.thinks his views do not matter this week. Perhaps the First Minister
:04:19. > :04:21.does not care about Europe any more. Because last week, the Cabinet
:04:21. > :04:25.Secretary for External Affairs said we might not be in the European
:04:26. > :04:30.Union at all if we were independent. So what about the First Minister?
:04:30. > :04:38.Does he still believe in independence in Europe since his
:04:38. > :04:43.cabinet secretary apparently does not? I know two people who believe
:04:43. > :04:47.that, one is Iain Gray and the other is the Daily Telegraph.
:04:47. > :04:53.Perhaps Iain Gray now sees the Daily Telegraph as the House
:04:53. > :04:58.journal of the Labour Party in Scotland. For the second week...
:04:58. > :05:02.Well, I don't know, I think the Daily Telegraph is friendlier to
:05:02. > :05:06.the Conservatives in Scotland than it is currently two the
:05:06. > :05:09.Conservatives in London, as far as I can determine. But I am quite
:05:09. > :05:14.sure they can shift allegiance quite firmly to the Labour Party in
:05:14. > :05:24.Scotland. For the second week in a row I have brought a copy of "your
:05:24. > :05:27.Scotland, your voice ." To the chamber full stop one section
:05:27. > :05:30.stated an independent Scotland would continue membership of the
:05:30. > :05:35.European Union. Can we have a brief question and a brief answer,
:05:35. > :05:38.please? The House journal of this chamber is the official record, and
:05:38. > :05:45.that is where the Cabinet secretary said that an independent Scotland
:05:45. > :05:49.perhaps did not need to be part of Europe. I didn't believe that could
:05:49. > :05:52.be the Scottish government's position so we asked for all the
:05:53. > :05:55.work undertaken by the SNP government on the case for
:05:56. > :06:01.independence and I have it here: On business investment, three pages,
:06:01. > :06:06.on joining the euro, two pages, on shedding the national debt, two and
:06:06. > :06:12.a bit pages. Frankly, kids in modern studies write longer essays
:06:12. > :06:14.and this and this is the case of looking at Scotland's future. On
:06:14. > :06:24.the case for independence, when you scratch the surface, there is
:06:24. > :06:27.
:06:28. > :06:36.nothing there. First Minister. pages in this document! Obviously
:06:36. > :06:41.too long and detailed for Iain Gray. LAUGHTER. I will have to send him
:06:41. > :06:46.the summary. I know Iain Gray says hard things about the government
:06:46. > :06:52.week-by-week in the chamber, but I don't think he means them. I will
:06:52. > :06:57.tell you why that is. He used to sit next to Andy care who similarly
:06:57. > :07:02.attacked the government in vehement terms. A few days ago, remember him,
:07:02. > :07:06.he wrote in the Herald that people in the SNP are light more than the
:07:06. > :07:11.Labour Party. I would argue that Alex Salmond is the foremost
:07:11. > :07:14.politician, not just in Scotland but in the UK, he said."I spent a
:07:15. > :07:19.lot of time with John Swinney over the years did to my financial brief
:07:19. > :07:25.and have a great deal of time for him. He does a difficult job very
:07:25. > :07:35.well and works incredibly hard ." I know that when Iain Gray is retired,
:07:35. > :07:37.
:07:37. > :07:41.he will be writing the same things. Question number two, Annabel Goldie.
:07:41. > :07:48.Can the First Minister contain himself? Kick it is extraordinary
:07:48. > :07:52.to watch such self satisfaction. Presiding officer, to ask the First
:07:52. > :07:58.Minister when he will next meet the Prime Minister. No plans in the
:07:58. > :08:03.near future. Last week, I asked the First Minister twice if he got his
:08:03. > :08:06.way, what would be his personal preference on a currency, the
:08:06. > :08:13.British pound or the euro? Twice he ducked the question and wouldn't
:08:13. > :08:17.tell us, no doubt too embarrassed to say what his personal preference
:08:17. > :08:21.is, and all we got was an endless stream of words on process. Let me
:08:21. > :08:26.try again: Does he believe that, given what is happening at the
:08:26. > :08:31.moment, an independent Scotland should join the euro-zone? First
:08:31. > :08:37.Minister. The position is as I set out last week. I am sorry I have to
:08:37. > :08:41.keep reading out... I assumed Annabel Goldie would, over the
:08:41. > :08:45.cause of the last seven days, take the opportunity to actually read
:08:45. > :08:49.the document Iain Gray haven't read, but the position this week of the
:08:49. > :08:59.Scottish government is exactly the same as last week -- Iain Gray has
:08:59. > :08:59.
:08:59. > :09:08.not read. When he talks about himself you cannot shut him up, but
:09:08. > :09:12.he is asked a serious question, and he is uncharacteristically coy. It
:09:12. > :09:15.overwhelms them. Everybody listening knows the First Minister
:09:15. > :09:21.is not answering the question because he is squirming and
:09:21. > :09:27.embarrassed and will not admit his preference. It is pathetic. What a
:09:27. > :09:30.contrast with his colleague, MEP Alan Smith, who was asked the same
:09:30. > :09:36.question on Radio Scotland this morning, about whether he believed
:09:36. > :09:40.an independent Scotland should join the euro, to which he replied, "I
:09:40. > :09:44.do, and the euro will emerge stronger from this, the SNP's
:09:44. > :09:47.position on the euro has been robust and intellectually sound
:09:47. > :09:52.throughout ." So if the First Minister's MEP colleague can come
:09:52. > :09:57.clean, why can't Alex Salmond come clean? Why does he not just admit
:09:57. > :10:02.that he wants the euro? First Minister. I heard the interview
:10:02. > :10:05.this morning, and the MEP said exactly what is in this document,
:10:05. > :10:09.that Scotland would continue to operate through the Stirling system
:10:09. > :10:12.and to a decision to join the euro by the people of Scotland in a
:10:12. > :10:17.referendum when the economic conditions are right. I think that
:10:17. > :10:22.is a robust position. I think it is a robust position because it is
:10:22. > :10:27.remarkably similar to another political party's position. A quote
:10:27. > :10:30.from page 67 of the Liberal Democrat manifesto from last
:10:30. > :10:35.year:"we believe it is in Britain's long-term interest to be part of
:10:35. > :10:38.the euro and Britain should only joined when the conditions are
:10:38. > :10:42.right and it is supported by the position -- people of Britain in a
:10:42. > :10:47.referendum ." I find it extraordinary that Annabel Goldie
:10:47. > :10:51.should come here when she is in alliance with another party at
:10:51. > :10:58.Westminster, and attack a policy which seems to be extraordinary
:10:59. > :11:02.summer to the policy of the Liberal Democrats. I would have said the
:11:02. > :11:06.consistency of this government on the issue, it is a model of
:11:06. > :11:13.consistency compared to the Liberal Party's deep divisions. --
:11:13. > :11:17.extraordinarily similar to the policy of the Liberal Democrats. I
:11:17. > :11:20.don't know if Annabel Goldie supports her own party is part of
:11:20. > :11:24.the Coalition or the Liberal Democrats part, but until they have
:11:24. > :11:31.resolved that particular difficulty, it will be difficult to attack the
:11:31. > :11:35.consistency of the SNP's position. As I said to Annabel Goldie, I note
:11:35. > :11:38.the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government were proposing
:11:38. > :11:46.legislation on sell-by dates today. I don't think that was any specific
:11:46. > :11:49.reference to the sell-by date of the Scottish Conservative Party.
:11:49. > :11:56.Constituency supplementary, Christine Grahame. Thank you,
:11:56. > :12:01.presiding officer. Does the First Minister share my concern that the
:12:01. > :12:08.South of Scotland, not withstanding it doesn't receive as TB, is not on
:12:08. > :12:10.the eligibility list by Jeremy Hunt for local TV considerations. Can
:12:10. > :12:14.the First Minister advise what the government, if it is in
:12:14. > :12:24.communications with the Department of Culture and Media at Westminster,
:12:24. > :12:25.
:12:25. > :12:29.about this? I tank Christine for the information and there will
:12:29. > :12:36.write to her. This is a serious issue which is deeply felt in her
:12:36. > :12:42.constituency. Willie Rennie. What issues will be discussed at the
:12:42. > :12:47.next meeting of the Cabinet? next meeting of the Cabinet will
:12:47. > :12:52.discuss an extraordinary letter, a threatening letter Mr Swinney has
:12:52. > :12:57.received from Danny Alexander. In response to what I thought was a
:12:57. > :13:01.reasonable request for the UK Government to consider delaying the
:13:01. > :13:04.onset of increased pension contributions in the public sector
:13:04. > :13:13.until after the period of pay freeze is over, we received the
:13:13. > :13:16.following reply: "if you decide not to take forward these changes, the
:13:16. > :13:22.Treasury will need to make corresponding adjustments to your
:13:22. > :13:27.budget. I would have to reduce the Scottish government's budget by
:13:27. > :13:36.�8.4 million for every month's delay." you can call that letter
:13:36. > :13:39.many things but it seems to me neither liberal nor democratic.
:13:39. > :13:42.Willie Rennie. Before the summer, the Scottish government said the
:13:42. > :13:47.Supreme Court were ambulance chasers, only visited Scotland for
:13:47. > :13:52.the Edinburgh Festival, and that a court in another land -- were a
:13:52. > :13:55.court in another land. Yesterday, an expert group's conclusion was
:13:55. > :14:01.welcomed that the Supreme Court has a role to play in Scotland and is
:14:01. > :14:11.well qualified to do that. Has he dropped his threat to cut the
:14:11. > :14:12.
:14:12. > :14:17.cord's money? First Minister. welcomed the report. Within these
:14:17. > :14:21.arrangements, two significant proposals have been brought forward,
:14:21. > :14:26.firstly that the Supreme Court should any become involved as is
:14:26. > :14:30.the case under English jurisdiction, if given leave by the Court of
:14:30. > :14:34.Session to appeal, and secondly that those appeals should be on
:14:34. > :14:38.Points of human rights law, and should not affect the disposal the
:14:38. > :14:42.court makes in Scotland. I think within the context of the current
:14:42. > :14:46.constitutional arrangements, these are substantial steps forward. I
:14:46. > :14:50.know Willie Rennie would have noted Lord McCluskey's contribution to
:14:50. > :14:54.the recent debate in the House of Lords and his critique of the
:14:54. > :14:59.amendments coming forward from Jim Wallace, Lord Wallace, to the
:14:59. > :15:02.Scotland Bill. I hope Lord McCluskey and his committee have
:15:02. > :15:07.announced that this government can see the importance of maintaining
:15:07. > :15:15.the integrity of the criminal law system of Scotland. That is
:15:15. > :15:18.certainly a different tone, the inflammatory term, but the First
:15:18. > :15:24.Minister and the Justice Secretary adopted before recess. But the
:15:24. > :15:29.First Minister was at it again yesterday. That is why Lord Steel
:15:29. > :15:33.resigned from the presiding officer's panel. The Review
:15:33. > :15:38.supports the Supreme Court. It wants to widen access, and it says
:15:38. > :15:44.it is particularly qualified to do the job. We saw in the summer, the
:15:44. > :15:49.First Minister's toxic mix of prejudice and nationalism. Will he
:15:49. > :15:59.agree that that has no place in the future, and will he change his
:15:59. > :16:02.
:16:02. > :16:06.I have to say that somebody who talks about a toxic mix of
:16:06. > :16:11.prejudice is hardly in a position to complain about other people's
:16:11. > :16:16.language. If that description were to be applied to anything I think
:16:16. > :16:23.public sector workers watching this broadcast today might apply it to
:16:23. > :16:26.the letter of Danny Alexander and find that attitude of huge
:16:26. > :16:34.importance and subscribe his political party to even lower
:16:34. > :16:37.support than it has now. Question number four. To as the First
:16:37. > :16:41.Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had
:16:41. > :16:48.with the UK Government regarding change to the tax regime for a
:16:48. > :16:56.North Sea oil and gas? That industry supports 200,000 jobs and
:16:56. > :16:59.is expected to raise billions in tax revenue for the UK Exchequer
:16:59. > :17:03.this year. The Chancellor's decision to increase the
:17:03. > :17:09.supplementary charge has damaged investor confidence and means that
:17:09. > :17:13.a number of marginal fields are no longer financially viable. There is
:17:13. > :17:18.a statutory consultation period on any future changes to the North Sea
:17:18. > :17:22.fiscal regime which would restore much-needed confidence, that would
:17:22. > :17:30.insure concerns about future reforms could be identified and
:17:30. > :17:37.discussed before being implemented. I find the First Minister for his
:17:37. > :17:40.answer. Does he agreed with me that the Prime Minister's comments
:17:40. > :17:45.yesterday branding the 68 % of Scots to believe North Sea oil
:17:45. > :17:49.revenue should be allocated to Scotland as stupid, were
:17:49. > :17:58.disgraceful comments? With the Prime Minister's disparaging
:17:58. > :18:05.comments not be better reserved for his ministers. They have caused an
:18:05. > :18:09.immense amount of grief to the industry and those who work in it.
:18:09. > :18:15.I am not certain why a on the Labour benches there was the
:18:15. > :18:21.reaction there was given that my understanding was that Labour MPs
:18:21. > :18:26.in Aberdeen agreed exactly with the point of view that was being put
:18:26. > :18:31.forward by Kevin Stewart. I thought the Prime Minister's comments were
:18:31. > :18:39.misguided. They came on the same day of the press launch of the
:18:39. > :18:44.official history of North Sea oil. One of the findings in that the
:18:44. > :18:49.official history is that the wealth and potential and benefits and
:18:49. > :18:54.revenues from North Sea oil were consistently downplayed by
:18:54. > :19:00.successive Labour and Conservative regimes. Despite the Prime
:19:00. > :19:04.Minister's arrogance yesterday in describing the 68 % of Scots who
:19:04. > :19:09.believe, in my view quite reasonably, that after �300 billion
:19:09. > :19:15.of revenues have flown from Scotland to London, perhaps it is
:19:15. > :19:19.time for Scotland to get a turn in enjoying the wealth of its own
:19:19. > :19:23.national resources. Instead of that it is part of the consistent
:19:23. > :19:26.pattern of the Conservative and Labour parties trying to mislead
:19:27. > :19:33.the Scottish people about the wealth and strength of their own
:19:33. > :19:37.resources. It changes in the tax regime for oil and gas are so
:19:37. > :19:43.important to require a statutory consultation period, does the same
:19:43. > :19:47.principle applied to other fiscal changes? If so, it does the First
:19:47. > :19:53.Minister now regret the hasty abolition of transitional relief on
:19:53. > :19:58.non-domestic rates? I think most reasonable people would say the
:19:58. > :20:03.offer of domestic rates is the best in these islands by far. 80,000
:20:03. > :20:07.businesses benefit from the small business bonus scheme. I think one
:20:07. > :20:11.of the reasons the Labour Party performed so desperately poorly in
:20:11. > :20:16.the recent election, particularly in the north-east of Scotland, is
:20:16. > :20:20.that people looked at Labour candidates and could see no
:20:20. > :20:24.assurance or guarantee that the enormous benefit to business would
:20:24. > :20:33.continue if the misfortune of a Labour administration had come to
:20:33. > :20:37.pass. Fortunately, for Scotland, that misfortune was avoided. To as
:20:37. > :20:40.the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is
:20:40. > :20:49.on an independent Scotland joining the European free-trade
:20:49. > :20:57.association? For the second week in and all and for the third time in
:20:58. > :21:01.this very Question Time, I refer to You're Scotland You're Boyce will
:21:01. > :21:11.stop I stated an independent Scotland would continue membership
:21:11. > :21:13.
:21:13. > :21:18.of the European Union. -- Voice. Isn't it time he reflected on the
:21:18. > :21:24.confusion he and his party are actually in it? In the past week we
:21:24. > :21:30.have heard three different SNP policy positions on Europe from the
:21:30. > :21:34.First Minister, and any p, and the cabinet secretary. So confusing is
:21:34. > :21:44.their position that last week SNP backbenchers seemed to be debating
:21:44. > :21:48.
:21:48. > :21:53.a motion that miss his lob had chosen not to table. -- Hyslop.
:21:53. > :22:01.Given the events of the past week, I have to ask, is he sure his party
:22:01. > :22:11.has a policy on this? Sorry, I was somewhere else as that question
:22:11. > :22:12.
:22:13. > :22:17.went on! The record will short that we were going through many
:22:17. > :22:24.alleyways and byways. I was trying to work out where this motion was
:22:24. > :22:28.meant to be. And I commend two things to Patricia Ferguson.
:22:28. > :22:38.Firstly, look back at the record from last week, I have it here.
:22:38. > :22:48.Many reasonable people would not take the interpretation of Fiona
:22:48. > :22:48.
:22:48. > :22:53.Hyslop's reply to Margo MacDonald. My second piece of advice is that
:22:53. > :23:01.which I gave to her current party leader, please do not take the
:23:01. > :23:04.Daily Telegraph as the Bible for reporting on parliamentary debates.
:23:04. > :23:09.Has the First Minister received any response from the UK Government
:23:09. > :23:14.over its request for an automatic right to representation in EU
:23:14. > :23:19.negotiations to be included in the Scotland Bill? Certainly not a
:23:19. > :23:25.positive response, as yet. I think that should be included and I will
:23:25. > :23:29.tell you why, we were given a commitment, and understanding by
:23:29. > :23:34.the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, immediately after last
:23:34. > :23:40.year's General Election. All the mistakes which had been made in the
:23:40. > :23:44.past excluding ministers from Scotland were parts of the past.
:23:44. > :23:49.The new respect relationship would ensure that would not happen in
:23:49. > :23:55.future. William Gage even sent a letter around other ministers. Then
:23:55. > :24:00.we found, in a matter of months, that instruction, that request,
:24:00. > :24:07.that reasonable suggestion from the Foreign Secretary was blithely
:24:07. > :24:10.ignored by successive UK Government departments. S even the Prime
:24:10. > :24:17.Minister and Foreign Secretary cannot persuade UK Government
:24:17. > :24:20.departments, even on an issue like fishing for example, there are some
:24:20. > :24:28.70% of the quarter hour remaining in UK hands which lies in Scottish
:24:28. > :24:37.waters. Even an issue like fishing where Mr Loch Tay knows more than
:24:37. > :24:44.any UK minister, even on that issue we were denied given the
:24:44. > :24:52.circumstances of the Labour Party and now the Liberal/conservative
:24:52. > :24:57.coalition, I see no effort to protect Scotland's rights of access.
:24:57. > :25:03.It would be a lot simpler if Scotland where an independent
:25:03. > :25:06.country within the European Union! While I agree that last week the
:25:06. > :25:10.minister was quite correct to say the decision in relation to Europe
:25:11. > :25:16.would be taken on the decisions of the day, I wonder if he would say
:25:16. > :25:20.with reference to the conditions of the day now, the contemporary
:25:20. > :25:24.conditions, given the openly expressed determination of
:25:24. > :25:28.Chancellor Merkel, President Sarkozy, and the commission, to
:25:28. > :25:38.form a single economic Government eliminating the sovereignty of
:25:38. > :25:38.
:25:38. > :25:42.member states. Isn't that a better bet for genuine Scottish
:25:42. > :25:47.Independence than the Franco model for the future of the EU which
:25:47. > :25:51.appears to be developing now? thigh followed through the logic of
:25:51. > :26:00.Margo MacDonald's position that would be that Britain could not be
:26:00. > :26:04.an independent country within the European Union. Just for the sake
:26:04. > :26:09.of argument, and given the occasional difficulty that Margo
:26:09. > :26:13.MacDonald can offer to Government ministers to answer her questions
:26:13. > :26:18.honestly, can I say the policy of the SNP Government is that an
:26:18. > :26:22.independent Scotland would continue membership of the European Union.
:26:22. > :26:29.Can I ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is helping
:26:29. > :26:37.the expansion of the Scotch whisky industry? During the first half of
:26:37. > :26:47.2011 whisky exports are up by 22%. During 20 elegant they have
:26:47. > :26:50.
:26:50. > :27:00.contributed to 0.3 �6 billion to the economy. -- during 2011. --
:27:00. > :27:10.
:27:10. > :27:15.2.36 billion. Whisky exports to China are now up 30%. I thank the
:27:15. > :27:19.First Minister for his response. He should have included the UK
:27:19. > :27:24.Government in those who were responsible for the deal with China.
:27:24. > :27:28.Is it not ironic that while this is happening the industry remains
:27:28. > :27:33.concerned that foreign countries to which we export, who may look for
:27:33. > :27:38.excuses to impose trade barriers, will use minimum pricing as an
:27:38. > :27:44.excuse. Banai as the First Minister how the Scottish Government will
:27:44. > :27:49.clear the issue of legality of minimum pricing policy but Brussels,
:27:49. > :27:55.before the bill is introduced, given the European Court long-
:27:55. > :27:58.standing rulings against minimum pricing in the past? My mum pricing
:27:59. > :28:04.could never be used as a justification for illegal
:28:04. > :28:08.discrimination. I am not the only person in Scotland to believe that,
:28:08. > :28:15.it is agreed on by the Liberal Democrats. I saw a good
:28:15. > :28:23.contribution to the official report from Jackson Carlow. I find myself
:28:23. > :28:27.reluctantly agreeing with Iain Duncan Smith will stop he has
:28:27. > :28:32.publicly backed alcohol minimum pricing, I believe we should
:28:32. > :28:38.respect the United and clear view of the health community, police and
:28:38. > :28:48.wider Scottish public and back the Government's policy. Now we come to