15/09/2011 Politics Scotland


15/09/2011

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Overthrew warm welcome from Holyrood, where MSPs have been

:00:21.:00:26.

talking rubbish, debating waste management, its impact on the

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environment and the issue of social care. Which of either of those

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topics will come up in questions to the First Minister? Let's cross to

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the chamber and find out. Iain Gray is already on his feet.

:00:45.:00:55.
:00:55.:01:05.

Will they listen, and drop his plan? No. LAUGHTER. I guess the

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First Minister only listens to those who tell him what he wants to

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hear, but it was very clear last week that one person he does listen

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to is the voice of economic sanity as he called them, an economist.

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The next day, the Economist was rare against economic nationalism,

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warning against a race to the bottom on tax and imploring us, and

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I quote, to "to leave behind the nationalist demons of our past ."

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Surely the First Minister will take the advice of the Economist and

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slay his own nationalist demons? saw the Labour press release last

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Saturday morning, and I kindly assumed Iain Gray could have

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nothing to do with such nonsense. To actually translate that quote,

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even for the Labour Party's standards, is extraordinary. Let's

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look at some of the people who back the SNP position on corporation tax.

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Sir Tom Hunter, one of Scotland's most successful business people,

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formerly a Major supporter, if I remember correctly, of the Scottish

:02:23.:02:27.

Labour Party. I certainly don't hold that against him with his

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substantial business record. Jim McCall, Scotland's currently most

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successful business person. But I suppose the person I would quote

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more than anyone else in terms of the firm support for the sensible

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policies being pursued by this government is Wendy Alexander. Iain

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Gray's predecessor. Can I quote from the committee which she

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chaired the. The committee --"the committee's unanimous view is that

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corporation tax should be a tool of UK government's regional policy and

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should be available as an option for the Scottish government to use

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also ." If only Iain Gray would follow the example of his

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predecessor, Wendy Alexander. course, my predecessor Wendy

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Alexander would happily make the point that she doesn't believe in a

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race to the bottom for corporation tax at all. The point she made was

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that if one part of the UK was given its, it would be a mistake

:03:39.:03:49.
:03:49.:03:53.

for others not to. And as for the Economist, he was very clear that

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the way forward in the future was fiscal integration, and not

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economic nationalism. And yes, he was writing in the context of

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Europe. Maybe is that why is the first -- the wider First Minister

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thinks his views do not matter this week. Perhaps the First Minister

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does not care about Europe any more. Because last week, the Cabinet

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Secretary for External Affairs said we might not be in the European

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Union at all if we were independent. So what about the First Minister?

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Does he still believe in independence in Europe since his

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cabinet secretary apparently does not? I know two people who believe

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that, one is Iain Gray and the other is the Daily Telegraph.

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Perhaps Iain Gray now sees the Daily Telegraph as the House

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journal of the Labour Party in Scotland. For the second week...

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Well, I don't know, I think the Daily Telegraph is friendlier to

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the Conservatives in Scotland than it is currently two the

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Conservatives in London, as far as I can determine. But I am quite

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sure they can shift allegiance quite firmly to the Labour Party in

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Scotland. For the second week in a row I have brought a copy of "your

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Scotland, your voice ." To the chamber full stop one section

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stated an independent Scotland would continue membership of the

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European Union. Can we have a brief question and a brief answer,

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please? The House journal of this chamber is the official record, and

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that is where the Cabinet secretary said that an independent Scotland

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perhaps did not need to be part of Europe. I didn't believe that could

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be the Scottish government's position so we asked for all the

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work undertaken by the SNP government on the case for

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independence and I have it here: On business investment, three pages,

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on joining the euro, two pages, on shedding the national debt, two and

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a bit pages. Frankly, kids in modern studies write longer essays

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and this and this is the case of looking at Scotland's future. On

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the case for independence, when you scratch the surface, there is

:06:14.:06:24.
:06:24.:06:27.

nothing there. First Minister. pages in this document! Obviously

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too long and detailed for Iain Gray. LAUGHTER. I will have to send him

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the summary. I know Iain Gray says hard things about the government

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week-by-week in the chamber, but I don't think he means them. I will

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tell you why that is. He used to sit next to Andy care who similarly

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attacked the government in vehement terms. A few days ago, remember him,

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he wrote in the Herald that people in the SNP are light more than the

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Labour Party. I would argue that Alex Salmond is the foremost

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politician, not just in Scotland but in the UK, he said."I spent a

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lot of time with John Swinney over the years did to my financial brief

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and have a great deal of time for him. He does a difficult job very

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well and works incredibly hard ." I know that when Iain Gray is retired,

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:07:35.:07:37.

he will be writing the same things. Question number two, Annabel Goldie.

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Can the First Minister contain himself? Kick it is extraordinary

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to watch such self satisfaction. Presiding officer, to ask the First

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Minister when he will next meet the Prime Minister. No plans in the

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near future. Last week, I asked the First Minister twice if he got his

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way, what would be his personal preference on a currency, the

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British pound or the euro? Twice he ducked the question and wouldn't

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tell us, no doubt too embarrassed to say what his personal preference

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is, and all we got was an endless stream of words on process. Let me

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try again: Does he believe that, given what is happening at the

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moment, an independent Scotland should join the euro-zone? First

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Minister. The position is as I set out last week. I am sorry I have to

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keep reading out... I assumed Annabel Goldie would, over the

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cause of the last seven days, take the opportunity to actually read

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the document Iain Gray haven't read, but the position this week of the

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Scottish government is exactly the same as last week -- Iain Gray has

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:08:59.:08:59.

not read. When he talks about himself you cannot shut him up, but

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he is asked a serious question, and he is uncharacteristically coy. It

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overwhelms them. Everybody listening knows the First Minister

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is not answering the question because he is squirming and

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embarrassed and will not admit his preference. It is pathetic. What a

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contrast with his colleague, MEP Alan Smith, who was asked the same

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question on Radio Scotland this morning, about whether he believed

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an independent Scotland should join the euro, to which he replied, "I

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do, and the euro will emerge stronger from this, the SNP's

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position on the euro has been robust and intellectually sound

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throughout ." So if the First Minister's MEP colleague can come

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clean, why can't Alex Salmond come clean? Why does he not just admit

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that he wants the euro? First Minister. I heard the interview

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this morning, and the MEP said exactly what is in this document,

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that Scotland would continue to operate through the Stirling system

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and to a decision to join the euro by the people of Scotland in a

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referendum when the economic conditions are right. I think that

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is a robust position. I think it is a robust position because it is

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remarkably similar to another political party's position. A quote

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from page 67 of the Liberal Democrat manifesto from last

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year:"we believe it is in Britain's long-term interest to be part of

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the euro and Britain should only joined when the conditions are

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right and it is supported by the position -- people of Britain in a

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referendum ." I find it extraordinary that Annabel Goldie

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should come here when she is in alliance with another party at

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Westminster, and attack a policy which seems to be extraordinary

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summer to the policy of the Liberal Democrats. I would have said the

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consistency of this government on the issue, it is a model of

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consistency compared to the Liberal Party's deep divisions. --

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extraordinarily similar to the policy of the Liberal Democrats. I

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don't know if Annabel Goldie supports her own party is part of

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the Coalition or the Liberal Democrats part, but until they have

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resolved that particular difficulty, it will be difficult to attack the

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consistency of the SNP's position. As I said to Annabel Goldie, I note

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the Conservative-Liberal Democrat government were proposing

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legislation on sell-by dates today. I don't think that was any specific

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reference to the sell-by date of the Scottish Conservative Party.

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Constituency supplementary, Christine Grahame. Thank you,

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presiding officer. Does the First Minister share my concern that the

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South of Scotland, not withstanding it doesn't receive as TB, is not on

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the eligibility list by Jeremy Hunt for local TV considerations. Can

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the First Minister advise what the government, if it is in

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communications with the Department of Culture and Media at Westminster,

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:12:24.:12:25.

about this? I tank Christine for the information and there will

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write to her. This is a serious issue which is deeply felt in her

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constituency. Willie Rennie. What issues will be discussed at the

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next meeting of the Cabinet? next meeting of the Cabinet will

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discuss an extraordinary letter, a threatening letter Mr Swinney has

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received from Danny Alexander. In response to what I thought was a

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reasonable request for the UK Government to consider delaying the

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onset of increased pension contributions in the public sector

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until after the period of pay freeze is over, we received the

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following reply: "if you decide not to take forward these changes, the

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Treasury will need to make corresponding adjustments to your

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budget. I would have to reduce the Scottish government's budget by

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�8.4 million for every month's delay." you can call that letter

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many things but it seems to me neither liberal nor democratic.

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Willie Rennie. Before the summer, the Scottish government said the

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Supreme Court were ambulance chasers, only visited Scotland for

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the Edinburgh Festival, and that a court in another land -- were a

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court in another land. Yesterday, an expert group's conclusion was

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welcomed that the Supreme Court has a role to play in Scotland and is

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well qualified to do that. Has he dropped his threat to cut the

:14:01.:14:11.
:14:11.:14:12.

cord's money? First Minister. welcomed the report. Within these

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arrangements, two significant proposals have been brought forward,

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firstly that the Supreme Court should any become involved as is

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the case under English jurisdiction, if given leave by the Court of

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Session to appeal, and secondly that those appeals should be on

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Points of human rights law, and should not affect the disposal the

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court makes in Scotland. I think within the context of the current

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constitutional arrangements, these are substantial steps forward. I

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know Willie Rennie would have noted Lord McCluskey's contribution to

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the recent debate in the House of Lords and his critique of the

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amendments coming forward from Jim Wallace, Lord Wallace, to the

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Scotland Bill. I hope Lord McCluskey and his committee have

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announced that this government can see the importance of maintaining

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the integrity of the criminal law system of Scotland. That is

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certainly a different tone, the inflammatory term, but the First

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Minister and the Justice Secretary adopted before recess. But the

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First Minister was at it again yesterday. That is why Lord Steel

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resigned from the presiding officer's panel. The Review

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supports the Supreme Court. It wants to widen access, and it says

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it is particularly qualified to do the job. We saw in the summer, the

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First Minister's toxic mix of prejudice and nationalism. Will he

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agree that that has no place in the future, and will he change his

:15:49.:15:59.
:15:59.:16:02.

I have to say that somebody who talks about a toxic mix of

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prejudice is hardly in a position to complain about other people's

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language. If that description were to be applied to anything I think

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public sector workers watching this broadcast today might apply it to

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the letter of Danny Alexander and find that attitude of huge

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importance and subscribe his political party to even lower

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support than it has now. Question number four. To as the First

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Minister what recent discussions the Scottish Government has had

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with the UK Government regarding change to the tax regime for a

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North Sea oil and gas? That industry supports 200,000 jobs and

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is expected to raise billions in tax revenue for the UK Exchequer

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this year. The Chancellor's decision to increase the

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supplementary charge has damaged investor confidence and means that

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a number of marginal fields are no longer financially viable. There is

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a statutory consultation period on any future changes to the North Sea

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fiscal regime which would restore much-needed confidence, that would

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insure concerns about future reforms could be identified and

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discussed before being implemented. I find the First Minister for his

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answer. Does he agreed with me that the Prime Minister's comments

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yesterday branding the 68 % of Scots to believe North Sea oil

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revenue should be allocated to Scotland as stupid, were

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disgraceful comments? With the Prime Minister's disparaging

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comments not be better reserved for his ministers. They have caused an

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immense amount of grief to the industry and those who work in it.

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I am not certain why a on the Labour benches there was the

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reaction there was given that my understanding was that Labour MPs

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in Aberdeen agreed exactly with the point of view that was being put

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forward by Kevin Stewart. I thought the Prime Minister's comments were

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misguided. They came on the same day of the press launch of the

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official history of North Sea oil. One of the findings in that the

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official history is that the wealth and potential and benefits and

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revenues from North Sea oil were consistently downplayed by

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successive Labour and Conservative regimes. Despite the Prime

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Minister's arrogance yesterday in describing the 68 % of Scots who

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believe, in my view quite reasonably, that after �300 billion

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of revenues have flown from Scotland to London, perhaps it is

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time for Scotland to get a turn in enjoying the wealth of its own

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national resources. Instead of that it is part of the consistent

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pattern of the Conservative and Labour parties trying to mislead

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the Scottish people about the wealth and strength of their own

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resources. It changes in the tax regime for oil and gas are so

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important to require a statutory consultation period, does the same

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principle applied to other fiscal changes? If so, it does the First

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Minister now regret the hasty abolition of transitional relief on

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non-domestic rates? I think most reasonable people would say the

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offer of domestic rates is the best in these islands by far. 80,000

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businesses benefit from the small business bonus scheme. I think one

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of the reasons the Labour Party performed so desperately poorly in

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the recent election, particularly in the north-east of Scotland, is

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that people looked at Labour candidates and could see no

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assurance or guarantee that the enormous benefit to business would

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continue if the misfortune of a Labour administration had come to

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pass. Fortunately, for Scotland, that misfortune was avoided. To as

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the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is

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on an independent Scotland joining the European free-trade

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association? For the second week in and all and for the third time in

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this very Question Time, I refer to You're Scotland You're Boyce will

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stop I stated an independent Scotland would continue membership

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:21:11.:21:13.

of the European Union. -- Voice. Isn't it time he reflected on the

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confusion he and his party are actually in it? In the past week we

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have heard three different SNP policy positions on Europe from the

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First Minister, and any p, and the cabinet secretary. So confusing is

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their position that last week SNP backbenchers seemed to be debating

:21:34.:21:44.
:21:44.:21:48.

a motion that miss his lob had chosen not to table. -- Hyslop.

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Given the events of the past week, I have to ask, is he sure his party

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has a policy on this? Sorry, I was somewhere else as that question

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:22:11.:22:12.

went on! The record will short that we were going through many

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alleyways and byways. I was trying to work out where this motion was

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meant to be. And I commend two things to Patricia Ferguson.

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Firstly, look back at the record from last week, I have it here.

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Many reasonable people would not take the interpretation of Fiona

:22:38.:22:48.
:22:48.:22:48.

Hyslop's reply to Margo MacDonald. My second piece of advice is that

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which I gave to her current party leader, please do not take the

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Daily Telegraph as the Bible for reporting on parliamentary debates.

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Has the First Minister received any response from the UK Government

:23:04.:23:09.

over its request for an automatic right to representation in EU

:23:09.:23:14.

negotiations to be included in the Scotland Bill? Certainly not a

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positive response, as yet. I think that should be included and I will

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tell you why, we were given a commitment, and understanding by

:23:25.:23:29.

the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, immediately after last

:23:29.:23:34.

year's General Election. All the mistakes which had been made in the

:23:34.:23:40.

past excluding ministers from Scotland were parts of the past.

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The new respect relationship would ensure that would not happen in

:23:44.:23:49.

future. William Gage even sent a letter around other ministers. Then

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we found, in a matter of months, that instruction, that request,

:23:55.:24:00.

that reasonable suggestion from the Foreign Secretary was blithely

:24:00.:24:07.

ignored by successive UK Government departments. S even the Prime

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Minister and Foreign Secretary cannot persuade UK Government

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departments, even on an issue like fishing for example, there are some

:24:17.:24:20.

70% of the quarter hour remaining in UK hands which lies in Scottish

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waters. Even an issue like fishing where Mr Loch Tay knows more than

:24:28.:24:37.

any UK minister, even on that issue we were denied given the

:24:37.:24:44.

circumstances of the Labour Party and now the Liberal/conservative

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coalition, I see no effort to protect Scotland's rights of access.

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It would be a lot simpler if Scotland where an independent

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country within the European Union! While I agree that last week the

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minister was quite correct to say the decision in relation to Europe

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would be taken on the decisions of the day, I wonder if he would say

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with reference to the conditions of the day now, the contemporary

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conditions, given the openly expressed determination of

:25:20.:25:24.

Chancellor Merkel, President Sarkozy, and the commission, to

:25:24.:25:28.

form a single economic Government eliminating the sovereignty of

:25:28.:25:38.
:25:38.:25:38.

member states. Isn't that a better bet for genuine Scottish

:25:38.:25:42.

Independence than the Franco model for the future of the EU which

:25:42.:25:47.

appears to be developing now? thigh followed through the logic of

:25:47.:25:51.

Margo MacDonald's position that would be that Britain could not be

:25:51.:26:00.

an independent country within the European Union. Just for the sake

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of argument, and given the occasional difficulty that Margo

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MacDonald can offer to Government ministers to answer her questions

:26:09.:26:13.

honestly, can I say the policy of the SNP Government is that an

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independent Scotland would continue membership of the European Union.

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Can I ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is helping

:26:22.:26:29.

the expansion of the Scotch whisky industry? During the first half of

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2011 whisky exports are up by 22%. During 20 elegant they have

:26:37.:26:47.
:26:47.:26:50.

contributed to 0.3 �6 billion to the economy. -- during 2011. --

:26:50.:27:00.
:27:00.:27:10.

2.36 billion. Whisky exports to China are now up 30%. I thank the

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First Minister for his response. He should have included the UK

:27:15.:27:19.

Government in those who were responsible for the deal with China.

:27:19.:27:24.

Is it not ironic that while this is happening the industry remains

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concerned that foreign countries to which we export, who may look for

:27:28.:27:33.

excuses to impose trade barriers, will use minimum pricing as an

:27:33.:27:38.

excuse. Banai as the First Minister how the Scottish Government will

:27:38.:27:44.

clear the issue of legality of minimum pricing policy but Brussels,

:27:44.:27:49.

before the bill is introduced, given the European Court long-

:27:49.:27:55.

standing rulings against minimum pricing in the past? My mum pricing

:27:55.:27:58.

could never be used as a justification for illegal

:27:59.:28:04.

discrimination. I am not the only person in Scotland to believe that,

:28:04.:28:08.

it is agreed on by the Liberal Democrats. I saw a good

:28:08.:28:15.

contribution to the official report from Jackson Carlow. I find myself

:28:15.:28:23.

reluctantly agreeing with Iain Duncan Smith will stop he has

:28:23.:28:27.

publicly backed alcohol minimum pricing, I believe we should

:28:27.:28:32.

respect the United and clear view of the health community, police and

:28:32.:28:38.

wider Scottish public and back the Government's policy. Now we come to

:28:38.:28:48.

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