Referendum Special

:00:19. > :00:26.Good afternoon. The referendum is over, but the dust has yet to

:00:27. > :00:29.settle, with a majority of Scots voting no to independence last

:00:30. > :00:37.Thursday, many on both sides of the debate are now asking what can we

:00:38. > :00:43.expect? Will it be devo max, Devo plus, a federal UK, or just nothing

:00:44. > :00:47.at all? At Holyrood, MSPs are about to hold a debate about the

:00:48. > :00:50.referendum result. We will cross to the chamber shortly. And it will be

:00:51. > :00:54.the first time Alex Salmond has addressed the parliament since his

:00:55. > :00:58.defeat and resignation last week. We will also go to the Labour Party

:00:59. > :01:03.conference in Manchester to hear what their leader, Ed Miliband, has

:01:04. > :01:06.to say, about more powers for the Scottish parliament and perhaps for

:01:07. > :01:10.the English regions as well. First, we will get the thoughts of our

:01:11. > :01:14.political leader Brian Taylor who is at Holyrood. What can we expect to

:01:15. > :01:18.hear this afternoon? It is intriguing, because it is quite

:01:19. > :01:21.difficult for them to get the tone right. I am sure the First Minister

:01:22. > :01:25.will be regretting the fact that the people of Scotland did not vote his

:01:26. > :01:30.way, but I think he will take comfort from the engagement, and the

:01:31. > :01:33.evident enthusiasm for the process, of the referendum, and also the

:01:34. > :01:37.dissipation of 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds. He will suggest that

:01:38. > :01:41.this should be extended to other elections. But in terms of the

:01:42. > :01:46.substance, in terms of the meat, I am sure he will say that he and the

:01:47. > :01:50.SNP and the supporters of independence more generally will, to

:01:51. > :01:54.borrow a phrase from his resignation statement, hold the foot to the fire

:01:55. > :02:08.of the unionist parties, in terms of obliging them to go as far as

:02:09. > :02:13.possible. How hard will it be for them to strike the right balance,

:02:14. > :02:16.accepting the result but keeping the dream of independence alive? It is

:02:17. > :02:19.difficult for both sides. The temptation is to rerun the

:02:20. > :02:24.referendum, to do a screaming match. I do not think that would do any

:02:25. > :02:30.good. I think it would make sense for them to be magnanimous, in terms

:02:31. > :02:33.of the perspective of the union. I'm sure that Alex Salmond and his

:02:34. > :02:38.colleagues will seek to work within the grain of the views the people of

:02:39. > :02:41.Scotland, while it will be understandable if they want to add

:02:42. > :02:44.some jibes about the suggestion that they believe there has already been

:02:45. > :02:48.backsliding from the union parties, something that is denied on their

:02:49. > :02:51.side. The parties of the union are outnumbered in the Scottish

:02:52. > :02:53.parliament, but they will be the ones who are feeling like winners

:02:54. > :03:01.today. What will they be doing to drive at home. I think there will

:03:02. > :03:06.probably take the perspective of Jim Murphy, that the union side won, but

:03:07. > :03:10.they should not be vanquished. Maybe the atmosphere of the chamber, the

:03:11. > :03:14.fact of the two antagonistic sides coming together again, will produce

:03:15. > :03:18.sparks of vitriol. But it would be sensible, I think, if they were

:03:19. > :03:25.perhaps able to contain that. But we will see. The no vote, of course,

:03:26. > :03:31.follows a promise of more powers for the Scottish parliament from UK

:03:32. > :03:36.party leaders. How important, then, is Ed Miliband's speech to his party

:03:37. > :03:42.conference this afternoon? It is a sign, it is an indication. You have

:03:43. > :03:45.the debate and discussion going on at the UK Parliament as well,

:03:46. > :03:50.whereby the Conservatives are saying, yes, they endorse the idea

:03:51. > :03:53.of more powers for the Scottish parliament, they signed up to it at

:03:54. > :03:57.the end of the referendum campaign, but they are suggesting there should

:03:58. > :03:59.be a process of English votes on English laws, something that causes

:04:00. > :04:02.problems for the Labour Party, because there could be a future

:04:03. > :04:06.Labour Prime Minister who requires the support of Scottish MPs to

:04:07. > :04:10.govern. And if there are English votes on English laws, that

:04:11. > :04:16.individual would perhaps be unable to enact legislation affecting 85%

:04:17. > :04:20.of the population. The Conservatives genuinely believing English votes on

:04:21. > :04:24.English laws, but it implicates David Cameron's backbenchers. It is

:04:25. > :04:28.entirely partisan. What they are doing is saying, that coming up to

:04:29. > :04:32.the general election, I, David Cameron, tried to give you, the

:04:33. > :04:35.people of England, English votes on English laws, and Ed Miliband

:04:36. > :04:39.stopped me, so you should vote Tory. I think there is very much a

:04:40. > :04:43.political agenda being issued here. And the man in the middle, Lord

:04:44. > :04:49.Smith of Kelvin, who has been tasked in trying to build a consensus, has

:04:50. > :04:51.been reminded of just how difficult that could be, with his intervention

:04:52. > :04:55.today, saying you cannot force an agreement between the parties. He

:04:56. > :05:00.has effectively got to produce a White Paper by November 30. The

:05:01. > :05:04.White Paper that was produced in 1997 followed years of discussions

:05:05. > :05:08.between the cross party conventions. The process took years.

:05:09. > :05:11.Now we are expecting him to jump forward on the basis of the despite

:05:12. > :05:18.proposals that the various parties have. Maybe the timescale will

:05:19. > :05:22.concentrate minds. Among others, Lord Smith is looking for support

:05:23. > :05:25.from the SNP. I am absolutely of the view they will give that support,

:05:26. > :05:29.not least because they are -- if they are involved in the process it

:05:30. > :05:33.drives up the common denominator to a slightly higher level than might

:05:34. > :05:37.otherwise be the case. But will that commitment from the SNP, for

:05:38. > :05:40.enhancing powers to the Scottish parliament, mark a departure from

:05:41. > :05:45.their commitment, ultimately, to independence? Or is it just an added

:05:46. > :05:50.extra? No, it doesn't. The statement of aims of the SNP is independence,

:05:51. > :05:55.and furthering the interests of the Scottish people. This comes under

:05:56. > :06:00.chapter two. Just finally, in terms of Ed Miliband and his speech, just

:06:01. > :06:05.how difficult a position is he in? Because, after all, he relies on

:06:06. > :06:09.Scottish MPs to get a majority at Westminster. He knows that devolving

:06:10. > :06:15.more power to Scotland is required. But there is a knock on effect from

:06:16. > :06:18.that? He may rely on Scottish MPs if it is relatively tight. Tony Blair,

:06:19. > :06:22.for example, had a majority in England as well. I think he has more

:06:23. > :06:26.of a problem in England. Of course he has a problem in Scotland, he has

:06:27. > :06:30.disturbed the haemorrhage of support that was apparent there in terms of

:06:31. > :06:34.the independence vote, stop that from happening at the general

:06:35. > :06:38.election. But he has got a problem in England, because of this

:06:39. > :06:41.challenge by the Conservatives on English votes on English laws. Too

:06:42. > :06:45.many English people that will seem like common sense, and Ed Miliband

:06:46. > :06:48.is not arguing against it, he's just taking longer to think about it. I

:06:49. > :06:53.think that could be a problem for him as well.

:06:54. > :06:57.Thank you, Brian. We will cross now to the parliament chamber. The First

:06:58. > :07:00.Minister, Alex Salmond, is about to speak. But first, the presiding

:07:01. > :07:05.officer. In fact, here is Alex Salmond.

:07:06. > :07:16.I think the presiding officer. I'm glad you decided to do time for

:07:17. > :07:20.reflection today, because the remarks he made, which I support and

:07:21. > :07:24.agree, they chime in exactly to the first point I was going to make in

:07:25. > :07:28.this statement. You rightly identify that last week's referendum was the

:07:29. > :07:34.most extraordinary, empowering and exhilarating experience. And huge

:07:35. > :07:39.credit to that is due to both sides in the referendum campaign. When we

:07:40. > :07:41.reflect on that, it is worth comparing it to our previous

:07:42. > :07:47.experience of constitutional referendums. In the vote of 1979, it

:07:48. > :07:52.was a botched job. The side which gained the most votes was unable to

:07:53. > :07:57.have its wishes put into effect. The 1997 was an altogether different

:07:58. > :08:00.experience. It was a great experience, actually. But we should

:08:01. > :08:06.remember that the turnout in that referendum, however successful, was

:08:07. > :08:13.60%. Last week, as you correctly identified, the turnout was 85%. The

:08:14. > :08:18.highest for any vote on this scale ever held on these islands. And in

:08:19. > :08:23.my estimation of the exception of the handful of miscreants, both

:08:24. > :08:24.sides of the debate conducted themselves in an extraordinarily

:08:25. > :08:29.democratic, civilised and engaged manner. And therefore, to every

:08:30. > :08:34.single campaigner and a voter, whatever your view and whatever your

:08:35. > :08:37.vote, I want to say thank you. This has been the greatest democratic

:08:38. > :08:42.experience in Scotland's history, and has brought us great credit,

:08:43. > :08:50.both nationally and internationally. APPLAUSE

:08:51. > :08:54.And that overwhelmingly positive side to the referendum experience is

:08:55. > :08:57.now generally recognised. It is a shame that a few largely

:08:58. > :09:02.metropolitan journalists concentrated on negatives and minor

:09:03. > :09:06.elements, because the true story to emerge from the referendum is that

:09:07. > :09:11.Scotland has had the most politically engaged population in

:09:12. > :09:16.western Europe. For both sides, that is a significant and positive fact

:09:17. > :09:21.to be reckoned with. We need to retain and encourage the people's

:09:22. > :09:25.engagement, vitality, spirit. Nothing is more important for the

:09:26. > :09:29.future than that. I will add a few caveats to that point towards the

:09:30. > :09:33.end of my speech, but right now I want to focus on that positive. So I

:09:34. > :09:37.will focus on two points in particular, which arise from this

:09:38. > :09:41.referendum. The first is this. There is not a shred of evidence for

:09:42. > :09:51.arguing that 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds should be allowed to

:09:52. > :09:54.vote. -- should not be allowed. Their engagement in this great

:09:55. > :09:58.constitutional debate was second to none. They proved themselves to be

:09:59. > :10:01.the serious, passionate and committed citizens we always

:10:02. > :10:04.believed they would be. Everyone in this chamber should be proud of this

:10:05. > :10:10.chamber's decision to widen the franchise. There is an overwhelming,

:10:11. > :10:14.indeed an unanswerable case, for giving 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds

:10:15. > :10:19.the vote in all future elections in Scotland and indeed across the

:10:20. > :10:26.United Kingdom. All parties in this Parliament, I think, should make a

:10:27. > :10:33.vow to urge Westminster to make this happen in time for next year's

:10:34. > :10:36.general election. The second question, which is one that is

:10:37. > :10:41.already asked by many people, is whether we move forward from here?

:10:42. > :10:44.From the moment the result of the referendum became clear section 30

:10:45. > :10:49.of the Edinburgh Rugby and came into effect. That means that both the UK

:10:50. > :10:53.Government and Scottish government are committed to accepting the

:10:54. > :10:55.outcome of the referendum and working together in the best

:10:56. > :11:01.interests of Scotland and the rest of the UK. I believe strongly in

:11:02. > :11:06.section 30. I put it into the Edinburgh agreement. It was the red

:11:07. > :11:10.line issue for the Scottish Government in the same way that the

:11:11. > :11:14.red line issue for the UK Government was not to have devo max on the

:11:15. > :11:18.ballot paper. And therefore, the Scottish Government will stick to

:11:19. > :11:22.section 30, the clause that we insisted in being in the agreement.

:11:23. > :11:25.And that means that the Scottish Government will contribute fully to

:11:26. > :11:29.a process to empower the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people.

:11:30. > :11:34.We will bring forward constructive proposals for doing exactly that. I

:11:35. > :11:40.have related this intention to the Prime Minister within minutes of the

:11:41. > :11:46.result being confirmed. -- re-laid. I welcome the appointment of Lord

:11:47. > :11:51.Smith. He is a trusted person who in recent months and recent years has

:11:52. > :11:54.given great service to Scotland, and to his oversight of the Commonwealth

:11:55. > :11:59.Games organising committee, which was outstanding and indeed

:12:00. > :12:02.exemplary. I should say that David Cameron it surprised me, and I

:12:03. > :12:06.suspect others in this chamber, with his statement on Friday morning,

:12:07. > :12:09.less than an hour after the outcome of the referendum was confirmed. He

:12:10. > :12:14.said in that statement that change in Scotland should be in tandem, and

:12:15. > :12:19.in case we didn't understand what that meant, he repeated, at the same

:12:20. > :12:24.pace as change in England and the rest of the UK. That condition, as

:12:25. > :12:29.all of us will know and recognise, would risk throwing the entire

:12:30. > :12:36.process into DeLay and confusion. -- into DeLay. It would directly also

:12:37. > :12:39.contradict the clear commitments made during the campaign. The

:12:40. > :12:44.briefing from Downing Street yesterday afternoon was very

:12:45. > :12:47.different from the Friday morning statement. That suggests that the UK

:12:48. > :12:50.Government is starting to understand the importance of meeting its

:12:51. > :12:55.commitments during the campaign. It is crucial that they do have that

:12:56. > :13:00.understanding. For this Parliament, we, all of us, have a responsibility

:13:01. > :13:05.to hold Westminster's feet to the fire to ensure that the pledges are

:13:06. > :13:07.met. That's not just the job for the Scottish Government, it is one for

:13:08. > :13:13.all parties in the parliament. Indeed, we might well argue there is

:13:14. > :13:18.a special obligation on the unionist parties. They promised devolution.

:13:19. > :13:22.It is essential they deliver. But all parties should understand, and

:13:23. > :13:27.understand this well, that's the true guardians of progress are not

:13:28. > :13:32.the political parties at Westminster or the political parties here in

:13:33. > :13:35.this chamber, or Lord Smith. They are the energised electorate of this

:13:36. > :13:40.nation, the community of Scotland who will not tolerate any

:13:41. > :13:44.equivocation or delay. I was struck yesterday by the statement of Graeme

:13:45. > :13:49.Smith, of the Scottish Trade Union Congress. And I suspect in that

:13:50. > :13:55.statement he captured the feelings of many, many people in Scotland.

:13:56. > :13:57.This is what he had to say. " The vast civic movement for meaningful

:13:58. > :14:02.and progressive change that has built up in the last two years is

:14:03. > :14:05.impatient for change, and will not accept minimalist proposals

:14:06. > :14:10.developed in a pre-referendum context, handed down on a take them

:14:11. > :14:13.all leave them basis. They are not going to be passive participants in

:14:14. > :14:18.the process, or tolerate political obfuscation or compromise. The

:14:19. > :14:21.sooner that politicians recognise this and get down to working with

:14:22. > :14:24.civil societies and the communities and the people of Scotland to

:14:25. > :14:32.deliver a comprehensive new devolution settlement, the better".

:14:33. > :14:35.What Graeme Smith said is absolutely correct. The referendum debate

:14:36. > :14:39.engaged people in every community of our country. Its final outcome

:14:40. > :14:45.cannot be a last minute detail -- deal between a small group of

:14:46. > :14:49.Westminster politicians. Lord Smith has already recognised the need to

:14:50. > :14:51.capture the energy of the referendum debate. All of us should support

:14:52. > :14:56.this commitment to genuine consultation. After all, one thing

:14:57. > :15:00.we now know is that proper consultation and debate energises

:15:01. > :15:03.people rather than distracting them. It is worth remembering that since

:15:04. > :15:09.the Edinburgh Rugby and was signed in 2012, the number of people

:15:10. > :15:16.unemployed in Scotland has reduced by 40,000. -- Edinburgh agreement.

:15:17. > :15:20.We now have record employment in Scotland. We have record female

:15:21. > :15:24.employment, and the fastest rising ever female employment in Scotland.

:15:25. > :15:27.The economy has come out of the Great Recession head of the rest of

:15:28. > :15:31.the UK. Scotland has outperformed every part of the UK aside from

:15:32. > :15:34.London and the south-east for foreign investment. Visitor spending

:15:35. > :15:39.has increased exports have grown, the Scottish has increased 30 new

:15:40. > :15:41.bills into this Parliament, and we have delivered the most successful

:15:42. > :15:47.Commonwealth Games in the history of the Commonwealth Games. I mention

:15:48. > :15:50.that, in passing, because in the last parliamentary debate before the

:15:51. > :15:55.referendum, Joe element expressed concern about the way in which

:15:56. > :15:59.Scotland has been paused on big decisions facing our country.

:16:00. > :16:02.Scotland was not on pause for the referendum. It was on fast forward

:16:03. > :16:12.on the economy, as every statistic indicates. Of course, this

:16:13. > :16:15.Parliament rightly has also occupied its attention on introducing

:16:16. > :16:20.measures to alleviate the effects of Westminster legislation, like the

:16:21. > :16:25.council tax reduction scheme, to help 500,000 of our fellow citizens,

:16:26. > :16:34.or the bedroom tax alleviation, to mitigate the impact of the bedroom

:16:35. > :16:38.tax. Asking ourselves as a country what sort of nation we want to be

:16:39. > :16:42.isn't something that is separate from good government. It is part of

:16:43. > :16:48.good government. Political confidence and economic confidence

:16:49. > :16:50.go together. All of us have a responsibility to maintain that

:16:51. > :16:55.political confidence and self belief, to enable an empowered and

:16:56. > :17:02.engaged electorate in delivering meaningful changes to devolution.

:17:03. > :17:05.Any improvement of the devolution settlement will require a consent

:17:06. > :17:09.motion here in this Parliament. There is a clear role for this

:17:10. > :17:14.Parliament in considering what new powers should be delivered. There

:17:15. > :17:18.will doubtless be a range of views and proposals. The Scottish

:17:19. > :17:22.Government's view of enhanced devolution settlement should pass

:17:23. > :17:27.rekeyed tests. It should enable us to make Scotland a more prosperous

:17:28. > :17:30.country, the jobs test. In particular, genuine job creating

:17:31. > :17:35.powers are important. They should allow us to build a fairer society.

:17:36. > :17:39.We need to address the underlying causes of inequality in Scottish

:17:40. > :17:42.society. And they should enable Scotland to have a stronger and

:17:43. > :17:48.clearer articulated voice on the international stage. The Labour

:17:49. > :17:51.Party, less than two weeks before the referendum, premised home rule

:17:52. > :17:57.for Scotland within the United Kingdom. -- promised. We have to

:17:58. > :18:00.ensure that the power is delivered to this Parliament match not just

:18:01. > :18:05.the rhetoric but also the ambitions of the people of Scotland. It is

:18:06. > :18:09.also vital that you economic powers do not in any way disadvantaged

:18:10. > :18:14.Scotland. The bow made by the unionist party leaders was

:18:15. > :18:17.absolutely clear that "because of the continuation of the allocation

:18:18. > :18:20.of resources, the powers of the Scottish Parliament to raise

:18:21. > :18:23.revenue, we can state categorically that how much is spelt on the NHS

:18:24. > :18:29.will be a matter for the Scottish parliament". But the delayed

:18:30. > :18:34.devolution motion released over the weekend failed to repeat that

:18:35. > :18:37.promise on the Barnett formula. The Barnett formula promise is

:18:38. > :18:44.essential, as the Unionists now acknowledged, until Scotland has

:18:45. > :18:47.control of all of our own resources. And so we need clarity, that UK

:18:48. > :18:54.parties will stay true to their promises and vows about Barnett. We

:18:55. > :18:57.need to ensure that the Scottish parliament is entrenched in

:18:58. > :19:00.legislation. But it can therefore never be abolished or diminished by

:19:01. > :19:04.Westminster. That was clearly promised by the referendum, but that

:19:05. > :19:08.again is missing from the Parliamentary motion at Westminster.

:19:09. > :19:11.And while making that important change, the United Kingdom

:19:12. > :19:13.government should finally give a statutory basis to the civil

:19:14. > :19:20.convention of legislative consent motion is. Overall, there is a great

:19:21. > :19:24.opportunity for this Parliament. We can work together to help the UK

:19:25. > :19:31.Government deliver its promise of significant extra powers for this

:19:32. > :19:35.chamber. We can do so in such a way that interests and engages the

:19:36. > :19:41.Scottish people. I did say earlier there were two caveats I want to add

:19:42. > :19:45.to the hugely positive nature of the referendum process. Both involve the

:19:46. > :19:50.criminal law, and therefore they are worth putting in this statement.

:19:51. > :19:55.There is the outstanding matter of the Treasury briefing of the evening

:19:56. > :19:59.of September ten. 45 minutes before The Royal Bank of Scotland board

:20:00. > :20:02.meeting finished. We need to establish the full circumstances and

:20:03. > :20:07.justification for this briefing, and how it can be anything other then

:20:08. > :20:15.contrary to section 52 of the criminal Justice act of 1993.

:20:16. > :20:18.Secondly, the scenes we saw in Glasgow around Saint Georges Square

:20:19. > :20:22.on Friday night cannot be tolerated. We expect to know that police

:20:23. > :20:25.Scotland will take proper and necessary action against those who

:20:26. > :20:31.indulged in prearranged thuggery against the peaceful demonstration.

:20:32. > :20:35.The full force of the law will be enabled, and be expected, to make

:20:36. > :20:50.sure that we eradicate such behaviour from Scottish life. The

:20:51. > :20:54.late Donald Dewar, in what I believe to be the finest speech of his life,

:20:55. > :21:00.spoke at the opening of this Parliament in 1999. He reflected at

:21:01. > :21:03.one point on the discourses of the Scottish Enlightenment, as an echo

:21:04. > :21:08.from the past which has helped to shape modern Scotland. What we have

:21:09. > :21:16.seen in these last two years is a new discourse of Democratic

:21:17. > :21:19.Enlightenment. Scotland now has the most politically engaged population

:21:20. > :21:25.in Western Europe, and one of the most engaged of any country anywhere

:21:26. > :21:30.in the democratic world. This land has been a hub of peaceful,

:21:31. > :21:34.passionate discussion, in the workplace, at home, in cafes, pubs,

:21:35. > :21:37.and on the streets of Scotland. Across Scotland, people have been

:21:38. > :21:40.energised, in cafes, pubs, and on the streets of Scotland. Across

:21:41. > :21:44.Scotland, people have been energised,, and I expect in the

:21:45. > :21:51.experience of anyone in this chamber. We have seen a generational

:21:52. > :21:53.change, in attitudes towards independence and greater

:21:54. > :21:57.self-government, and also in how politics should be carried forward.

:21:58. > :22:03.We have a new body politic, Nu spirit abroad in the land, which is

:22:04. > :22:09.speaking loud and clear. All of us must realise that things will never

:22:10. > :22:13.be the same again. Whenever we are travelling together, we are a better

:22:14. > :22:17.nation today then we were at the start of this process. -- wherever

:22:18. > :22:22.we are travelling. We are more informed, more enabled, and more

:22:23. > :22:25.empowered. As a result of that, our great national debate, in my

:22:26. > :22:30.estimation, will help us make a fairer, more prosperous and more

:22:31. > :22:33.democratic country, and in all of that, all of Scotland will emerge as

:22:34. > :22:45.the winner. APPLAUSE

:22:46. > :22:59.Thank you. I now call on Joanne Lamont.

:23:00. > :23:02.Thank you. We might want to reflect that it is a good idea to give me 18

:23:03. > :23:07.minutes on a regular basis. That is for another day. To the First

:23:08. > :23:10.Minister, we will have an opportunity to speak at a later

:23:11. > :23:14.stage about his contribution to Scotland as First Minister. We

:23:15. > :23:17.recognise it is a very significant day for him. But we will have the

:23:18. > :23:20.opportunity properly to talk about the massive contribution Alex

:23:21. > :23:24.Salmond has made to the life of Scotland, and I look forward to that

:23:25. > :23:27.opportunity, but I also recognise it is a very significant time in his

:23:28. > :23:36.career, and we should reflect on that. There can be no doubt that

:23:37. > :23:41.last Thursday was a big moment in Scotland's story. All of us in here

:23:42. > :23:45.have been passionate in the positions we have taken, whether it

:23:46. > :23:50.has been for yes or for no. We have argued it long and hard. But the

:23:51. > :23:55.reality now is that the people of Scotland have decided. They have

:23:56. > :24:01.decided that they wished to remain inside the United Kingdom. And that

:24:02. > :24:06.means that it cannot be politics, it can never go back to where it was

:24:07. > :24:09.before. We know that the debate over Scotland's future provoked lots of

:24:10. > :24:13.energy and passion, and people were genuinely weighing up the arguments,

:24:14. > :24:18.testing the facts, and coming to the conclusions which they felt were

:24:19. > :24:22.best for their families. A huge turnout, and the arguments and

:24:23. > :24:25.debates we heard all around us, the activist -- activism from all young

:24:26. > :24:28.people, proved that politics is still relevant to people's lights

:24:29. > :24:34.when many feel disconnected from the democratic process. I am immensely

:24:35. > :24:40.proud of the young people in my party who carried themselves with

:24:41. > :24:43.dignity, voted with passion and commitment, and made their arguments

:24:44. > :24:47.for staying inside the United Kingdom. And I know that on the

:24:48. > :24:51.other side, people feel the same way about young people who were engaged

:24:52. > :24:54.in their argument. I was immensely proud and emotional on the day of

:24:55. > :25:01.the election, to travel with my family, with my son in particular,

:25:02. > :25:06.at 17, taking the opportunity to vote in Scotland's future. It was a

:25:07. > :25:10.momentous occasion for him, and I would certainly agree with the First

:25:11. > :25:13.Minister, that the question of votes at 16 is something that should be

:25:14. > :25:20.embraced. We are committed on this site to votes at 16. Votes at 16 has

:25:21. > :25:22.been our policy for years, and we wanted to happen, and I do not

:25:23. > :25:28.believe there is any good reason why it should not happen right now. The

:25:29. > :25:31.First Minister referred to the question of the civil motions and

:25:32. > :25:36.the entrenchment of this Parliament. Again, I am happy to agree with him,

:25:37. > :25:41.because these guarantees change that is fairer, faster and what the

:25:42. > :25:45.Scottish people demand. I welcome his statement on the statutory basis

:25:46. > :25:48.for the civil convention and legislative consent motions. It was,

:25:49. > :25:53.of course, first mentioned by Labour in our devolution commission

:25:54. > :25:57.proposals. Our devolution commission report stated, "we recommend that

:25:58. > :26:02.civil convention should be given a statutory basis to reflect the Riata

:26:03. > :26:09.of the Scottish Parliament's permanence and irreversibility. --

:26:10. > :26:14.reality. So we do, I think, agree on these questions. But of course, we

:26:15. > :26:18.also know that this debate has not been without these consequences.

:26:19. > :26:22.Energy and passion was sometimes misplaced, and became aggressive. I

:26:23. > :26:25.have to say to the First Minister, I do not think you can simply describe

:26:26. > :26:33.this as the behaviour of AQ miscreants. On both sides, we should

:26:34. > :26:37.respect -- reflect on behaviour that was intimidating, and was aimed at

:26:38. > :26:41.silencing people. I, for my part, will do all I can to make sure that

:26:42. > :26:46.anybody on my side of the debate is left in no doubt that that behaviour

:26:47. > :26:52.was entirely unacceptable. APPLAUSE

:26:53. > :26:58.I simply ask the First Minister to do the same. It cannot be that we

:26:59. > :27:04.believe that laying siege to the BBC for over four hours, insulting staff

:27:05. > :27:08.as they were going about their business, was the behaviour of AQ

:27:09. > :27:11.miscreants. I don't think anybody in here really thought that was

:27:12. > :27:15.appropriate behaviour, and I do think it is a matter you should

:27:16. > :27:20.distance yourself from. Of course, the debate, by its nature, was

:27:21. > :27:23.divisive. It was from many people putting so much energy and effort

:27:24. > :27:28.into their respective campaigns. There were always going to be a lot

:27:29. > :27:31.of disappointed Scots. We all have a responsibility to heal that divide,

:27:32. > :27:37.rather than foment any lingering creepiness of bitterness. Much has

:27:38. > :27:40.been made on the yes side of the 1.6 million Scots who supported the

:27:41. > :27:44.cause. It is an amazing achievement to get that many people in a country

:27:45. > :27:49.of this size to vote for any proposition. But we should recognise

:27:50. > :27:52.the achievement of the no side, which gained 2 million votes of

:27:53. > :28:01.support from our fellow Scots, who believed that we are stronger as

:28:02. > :28:05.part of the United Kingdom. We didn't presume a single vote, and to

:28:06. > :28:09.receive this clear endorsement for the United Kingdom has changed

:28:10. > :28:13.Scottish politics forever. The constitutional question has hung

:28:14. > :28:18.over this country all of my life, and I give absolute credit to the

:28:19. > :28:21.First Minister for giving the people of Scotland the opportunity to

:28:22. > :28:25.answer it. While he might not have got the result he was looking for,

:28:26. > :28:28.we can all agree that the United Kingdom is now the settled will of

:28:29. > :28:35.the Scottish people. APPLAUSE

:28:36. > :28:40.No longer will I United Kingdom be the consequence of a deal struck by

:28:41. > :28:43.the privileged few. It is now the choice of the many, expressed in a

:28:44. > :28:50.fair and democratic way in which we can all have confidence. It should

:28:51. > :28:56.market a new phase in Scottish politics, now that the issue has

:28:57. > :29:02.been firmly settled. -- mark a new phase. I don't speak for the 45%. I

:29:03. > :29:06.don't speak for the 55%. I speak for the 100% of people in this country

:29:07. > :29:13.who want politics to be about their lives, their concerns, their

:29:14. > :29:18.families and their future. I have been advised on many occasions that

:29:19. > :29:21.it is not a good look to give the electorate a row when they disagree

:29:22. > :29:27.with you, and I think I should reflect on that now. It cannot be.

:29:28. > :29:31.We have to reflect. We cannot allow the idea that somehow people were

:29:32. > :29:38.robbed, that people were tricked, that if only we could have persuaded

:29:39. > :29:40.the over 55s we could have won. That language is a language which

:29:41. > :29:48.continues the division that we saw too often in the period before.

:29:49. > :29:54.These figures on over 55s in themselves are simply not true, but

:29:55. > :29:57.the main point is this. Before Parliament, we had a number of

:29:58. > :30:01.impassioned debates on the yes side, who said that only by voting

:30:02. > :30:06.for yes can we do certain things. We cannot spend the next two years,

:30:07. > :30:12.having moved from "if you vote yes, this will happen" to "if you had

:30:13. > :30:17.voted yes, that would have happened". We cannot leave the

:30:18. > :30:22.politics of the place in that shape. We need to move on. While the

:30:23. > :30:29.referendum was divisive, a consensus emerged among all of the key figures

:30:30. > :30:35.on a number of areas. We don't need anybody to hold our feet to the fire

:30:36. > :30:39.and make it this -- in making this Parliament work. We don't need

:30:40. > :30:42.anybody to hold our feet to the fire in getting the powers for this

:30:43. > :30:47.Parliament that will make it stronger still inside the United

:30:48. > :30:52.Kingdom. I give my commitment that we will bring powers over taxation,

:30:53. > :30:56.over welfare and we'll align them with the powers that are already

:30:57. > :31:00.here to create jobs and enterprise and give people skills, to use our

:31:01. > :31:05.procurement policies, to give people a living wage. Bring both of these

:31:06. > :31:13.powers together to make sure that we have a Parliament that delivers to

:31:14. > :31:17.the people of Scotland. APPLAUSE

:31:18. > :31:19.This one side of the argument has been about strengthening the

:31:20. > :31:23.Parliament and the people of this country will hold us to that

:31:24. > :31:29.commitment. But the other side of the argument, the other side,

:31:30. > :31:34.prosecuted both by "yes" and "no", that the issues were on the

:31:35. > :31:39.doorsteps with people concerned about the future and careers and

:31:40. > :31:43.jobs and rights in the workplace. These are the other sides of the

:31:44. > :31:47.bargain and we all together need to deliver on these in the next two

:31:48. > :31:50.years. APPLAUSE

:31:51. > :31:53.We all know that childcare is a problem for many families and we

:31:54. > :31:58.have a responsibility to help them. We will work with the government

:31:59. > :32:01.where we can build a consensus on delivering those policies. We all

:32:02. > :32:06.agree that our NHS should be free at the point of need and protected from

:32:07. > :32:10.private profit. We will work with the government if they want to do

:32:11. > :32:13.these things. But we do need honesty from the Scottish government about

:32:14. > :32:18.what they're currently planning for the NHS and in other areas too. So

:32:19. > :32:25.that we can help work in that process. If I might be forgiven to

:32:26. > :32:29.say one area, where I'm sure people can agree, is something for example

:32:30. > :32:33.like land reform. Because it's been part of a radical agenda for Labour.

:32:34. > :32:36.If we were to see social change within the communities, then land

:32:37. > :32:41.reform can deliver that. There is a will within this Parliament to

:32:42. > :32:45.change the concentrated pattern of landownership across Scotland. We

:32:46. > :32:53.have received the recommendation from the group and between now and

:32:54. > :32:58.2016 we can and must look at how to enact that. We must introduce

:32:59. > :33:05.radical changes and address the fact that 423 people own 50% of privately

:33:06. > :33:09.owned land in Scotland. Devolution has taken us along, but it's a

:33:10. > :33:13.journey that's not complete. It's about political will and I will work

:33:14. > :33:20.with people right across the chamber who are willing to do that. This

:33:21. > :33:23.highlights areas where we can come together over the next period to

:33:24. > :33:28.make a radical difference to people's lives. Because there is

:33:29. > :33:34.less than two years left of this Parliament, before we go to the

:33:35. > :33:37.people again in May 2016. As the First Minister highlighted, I

:33:38. > :33:42.previously described Scotland as being on pause as we debated the

:33:43. > :33:47.referendum. Everyone must agree that the enormity of the referendum

:33:48. > :33:54.debate has resulted in less focus on other areas such as education and

:33:55. > :33:58.health. And, indeed, the long list of things that the First Minister

:33:59. > :34:02.highlights as being successes are for me proof, proof, that devolution

:34:03. > :34:08.inside the United Kingdom has worked for the people of Scotland.

:34:09. > :34:12.APPLAUSE I want to work more with him on

:34:13. > :34:15.these big questions. How do we give people a living wage? How do we

:34:16. > :34:24.protect our Health Service? How do we address the needs of your young

:34:25. > :34:28.people who don't make it through university, to give them the

:34:29. > :34:32.opportunity to take up the jobs created by the Scottish government?

:34:33. > :34:36.Perhaps now, with the constitutional question settled, we can go back to

:34:37. > :34:40.debating these issues on Thursday -- and Thursday's legacy can be this.

:34:41. > :34:45.We start to discuss what it can do, rather than what it can't. I so

:34:46. > :34:51.agree with the Presiding Officer that we need to open up our panel

:34:52. > :34:56.and Graeme Smith that we must again see our Parliamentary process, the

:34:57. > :34:59.walls breached bivelyic Scotland and the trade unions and that our

:35:00. > :35:03.committees listen to them, but that each and every one of us go out and

:35:04. > :35:10.listen to what people in our communities are saying. Let this

:35:11. > :35:13.place again be a lively energised place where we don't presume we know

:35:14. > :35:17.the answers, but have the confidence to listen to the people who do,

:35:18. > :35:21.because despite being on opposing sides, I believe that the two

:35:22. > :35:25.million no to voters and the 1.6 million "yes" voters have much in

:35:26. > :35:28.common. I was struck that many on both sides were asking the same

:35:29. > :35:34.questions, but coming up with different ways to get to the answer

:35:35. > :35:38.we all want. I have already become the process of meeting with,

:35:39. > :35:44.speaking to, phoning, contacting people that I know voted yes. I have

:35:45. > :35:47.done that. Because I respect the fact although we may have come to a

:35:48. > :35:52.different conclusion, but they were driven by the very same things that

:35:53. > :35:57.brought me and many other people into politics. I don't fear engaging

:35:58. > :36:03.and working with anyone who has the interests of Scotland at heart, who

:36:04. > :36:08.genuinely wants to wrestle with the issue of equality and who is as

:36:09. > :36:11.troubled as anyone in here is about the existence of food banks and the

:36:12. > :36:15.young people, their life chances are determined by the time they're

:36:16. > :36:19.three. This is the time for all of us on all sides of that debate, to

:36:20. > :36:24.look and search for the things that we have shared in common, so that we

:36:25. > :36:29.can address that cry from the people of Scotland that they wanted real

:36:30. > :36:34.change. Because, we know, they all shared a desire for change, whether

:36:35. > :36:39.yes or no and a belief that we can do better than this. They all

:36:40. > :36:45.displayed a renewed confidence in this Parliament let's now use it to

:36:46. > :36:49.deliver the change we need. No-one believes that Scottish politics can

:36:50. > :36:55.go back to business as usual. Nor should we let it. And I promise you

:36:56. > :37:00.that while I enjoy shouting at people as much as anyone, it cannot

:37:01. > :37:05.be the only default position of anybody. If we want to respond to

:37:06. > :37:10.the awakening that the First Minister described, it cannot be

:37:11. > :37:14.that any of us, any of us, goes back to business as usual. We know that

:37:15. > :37:18.the people of Scotland have said it and we also know the message that

:37:19. > :37:24.drove that debate was what is happening in our communities is not

:37:25. > :37:29.good enough. Let us find a way, let us find a way together to respond to

:37:30. > :37:35.that challenge. Because, the eyes of the world have moved on. Scotland

:37:36. > :37:39.seemed like the centre of the universe as the world's media

:37:40. > :37:44.descended on us and the debate was being discussed all over the globe.

:37:45. > :37:50.I don't ni chi fan le ma of us real -- think any of us realised that

:37:51. > :37:54.that debate would open up and the interest would be prompted at the

:37:55. > :38:00.world. We know we were interesting for a time, but we recognise that

:38:01. > :38:05.things move on. However, the eyes of Scotland are still trained on us

:38:06. > :38:10.now. They look to us to bring about the change they need, a change in

:38:11. > :38:14.our politics and a change in their lives. Let us not lapse into the old

:38:15. > :38:20.debates of the past and be found wanting. Let's now, together, take

:38:21. > :38:25.on the challenge laid down to us by the people of Scotland to see this

:38:26. > :38:39.strong Scottish Parliament standing strong inside the United Kingdom.

:38:40. > :38:44.APPLAUSE Thank you. Eight minutes. Thank you. I would like to thank the

:38:45. > :38:49.First Minister for advanced sites of the statement and -- sight of the

:38:50. > :38:54.statement and I would like to add a few more words. I was eight years

:38:55. > :38:59.old when Alex Salmond was first elected an MP and 11 when he first

:39:00. > :39:03.led his party, so he has been a dominant force in Scottish politics

:39:04. > :39:08.for the entirety of my political awareness. He's also changed

:39:09. > :39:11.Scotland through his time in both Parliament and government and I

:39:12. > :39:18.think anyone in the chamber recognises that. There we go.

:39:19. > :39:22.APPLAUSE Scotland has just had the biggest,

:39:23. > :39:26.broadest conversation about the future of our country and it was a

:39:27. > :39:33.conversation that saw schoolchildren line up with grandparents and half

:39:34. > :39:36.the world want to join in. It saw David Bowie, and Kermit the Frog

:39:37. > :39:42.declare for one side with Billy Bragg and Brian cox and Grounds

:39:43. > :39:46.Keeper Willie on the other and find common cause with many people. It

:39:47. > :39:52.was a conversation that as a nation we needed to have. A conversation

:39:53. > :39:56.that energised Scotland like no other and engaged us too. And I

:39:57. > :40:00.agree with the First Minister that the story of this referendum was

:40:01. > :40:06.participation. The number of people who turned out to vote, the number

:40:07. > :40:09.who turned out to help, who got involved, having never previously

:40:10. > :40:13.posted a leaflet or knocked a door, the number who thought this

:40:14. > :40:18.discussion, this decision, was too important for them to sit this one

:40:19. > :40:23.out. And the number of young people, having their first taste of

:40:24. > :40:27.front-line politics. I have met on both sides, teenagers who were

:40:28. > :40:34.passionate, informed, articulate and who will, without doubt, be our next

:40:35. > :40:37.generation of MPs, MSPs and ministers and I know that these

:40:38. > :40:41.young people have added to the debate and proven by their

:40:42. > :40:46.intelligence and contact that we must look at the franchise across

:40:47. > :40:50.the whole of the UK. This was a conversation that has been in large

:40:51. > :40:57.part a credit to our nation and a conversation that that same nation

:40:58. > :41:01.needed to open up. It has energised Scotland, but divided Scotland too.

:41:02. > :41:06.Now, after every vote has been cast, every ballot has been counted, it is

:41:07. > :41:12.time for the country to come back together. To accept that the

:41:13. > :41:16.majority has spoken. That over two million people came together to back

:41:17. > :41:23.one proposition against the other. It is time for the country to move

:41:24. > :41:27.forward with common cause. And for that to happen it's going to require

:41:28. > :41:32.leadership. It's going to require an acknowledgement from those at the

:41:33. > :41:36.top that was a free, fair, open and decisive ballot. It was the Scottish

:41:37. > :41:40.government that set the question. It was the Scottish government that set

:41:41. > :41:44.the date. The Scottish government who set the franchise. And the

:41:45. > :41:48.elected leadership of the Scottish government who put taxpayers' money

:41:49. > :41:54.at the machinery of the government's Civil Service behind trying to

:41:55. > :42:02.secure a "yes" vote. I am glad that the First Minister mentioned the

:42:03. > :42:06.Edinburgh Agreement's, because both signatures are there in text. The

:42:07. > :42:10.two governments look forward to a referendum that is legal and fair,

:42:11. > :42:13.producing a decisive and respected outcome. The two government are

:42:14. > :42:16.committed to continue to work together constructively in the light

:42:17. > :42:20.of the outcome, whatever it is, in the best interests of the people of

:42:21. > :42:23.Scotland. That's what they signed up to and Scotland demands no less and

:42:24. > :42:28.I'm glad that the First Minister says he will honour that commitment.

:42:29. > :42:31.I know that it's hard. Before we broke up for the final campaign

:42:32. > :42:35.period, we had a debate in this chamber and I laid out how I would

:42:36. > :42:41.feel if the upcoming ballot didn't go my way. I said that I would grief

:42:42. > :42:46.for what I -- grieve for what I would feel that I lost. I understand

:42:47. > :42:52.that is how many are feeling who voted for independence. Hearts and

:42:53. > :42:57.grief and loss, but that pain is not healed by people crying foul and

:42:58. > :43:03.that grief is mot ministered to by talk of a conspiracy. To truly come

:43:04. > :43:06.back together and move on, we need acknowledgement that the process was

:43:07. > :43:11.not flawed and not just the mechanics of the process, but the

:43:12. > :43:16.process itself. The act of asking all citizens who are of age to

:43:17. > :43:22.decide which constitutional future they choose. That direct democracy

:43:23. > :43:26.with all votes weighing the same is the correct way to decide our

:43:27. > :43:29.future. Since Friday, we have had three senior nationalist, including

:43:30. > :43:34.the First Minister himself, saying that there are other ways to

:43:35. > :43:38.unilateral declare independence and we need those at the top to accept

:43:39. > :43:44.that result, because without that we cannot move on and move on we must.

:43:45. > :43:50.This Parliament and the members in it need to get back to the job that

:43:51. > :43:54.we were elected to do. We need to have a broad discussion about

:43:55. > :43:58.educational reform. We need to know the impact of cutting 140,000

:43:59. > :44:02.college places on the skills base of the future workforce. We need to

:44:03. > :44:06.have a full review of our Health Service. We need to know where the

:44:07. > :44:12.IFS says health spending has been going up in England, but falling

:44:13. > :44:15.here. We need to know about the 450 million worth of further cuts this

:44:16. > :44:21.Government is planning to the Health Service. Cuts that it wanted to keep

:44:22. > :44:24.from the public and that an NHS whistleblower felt so strongly about

:44:25. > :44:30.that they risked their job to let the public know. We need an update

:44:31. > :44:33.on the Police Service, one that routinely stops and searches

:44:34. > :44:39.children and sees officers armed and on the streets without the consent

:44:40. > :44:43.of the public, to change that policing nature. We also need to

:44:44. > :44:47.know that with independence taken off the table for a political

:44:48. > :44:54.lifetime, this Government is going to stop the politics of grievance

:44:55. > :44:59.and try to make devolution work. I have five pages of quotes here from

:45:00. > :45:02.members on the benches where they say only with independence. Only

:45:03. > :45:06.with industry pence can we boost business. Keith Brown, February

:45:07. > :45:14.2014. Only with independence will we see the interests of Scotland's

:45:15. > :45:21.people put at the top of the agenda. Annabel Ewing. Only with

:45:22. > :45:28.independence can we help women back into work, Nicola Sturgeon and only

:45:29. > :45:44.with independence will we transform childcare. Order. Order. Presiding

:45:45. > :45:47.Officer, this Government has spent seven years telling the country all

:45:48. > :45:53.about things that it can't do and now it has just 18 months to tell us

:45:54. > :45:57.the things that it can. One of those things that it can do is help

:45:58. > :46:02.deliver more powers for the Scottish Parliament. Because, this referendum

:46:03. > :46:07.was never about no change. Change is coming. It's about whether that

:46:08. > :46:14.change should happen within our outwith the United Kingdom. For

:46:15. > :46:17.months, SNP members have attacked proposals for further devolution,

:46:18. > :46:21.the ways to make the Parliament more responsible and better and deliver

:46:22. > :46:25.more for the people of Scotland. Yet, we are committed, the three

:46:26. > :46:28.pro-UK party leaders and we came together in June to make that

:46:29. > :46:36.commitment to further powers. We added to it in August under the

:46:37. > :46:41.watchful gays of Donald Dewar -- gaze of Donald Dewar. I want this

:46:42. > :46:46.Parliament to have to look Scotland's taxpayers in the eye and

:46:47. > :46:50.I am intent on making that happen. The chair of this process, Lord

:46:51. > :46:53.Kelvin was announced by the Prime Minister on Friday. I met with him

:46:54. > :46:57.this morning. A Church of Scotland paper will be read by the next month

:46:58. > :47:01.and engagement of the people of Scotland will start therefore. Draft

:47:02. > :47:06.legislation will be prepared by the start of the year. This process is

:47:07. > :47:10.real. It is happening and it will change the powers of this

:47:11. > :47:14.Parliament. And the SNP needs to make a decision, is it going to

:47:15. > :47:21.continue sniping from the sidelines or is it going to get on board and

:47:22. > :47:27.work in good faith to develop our democracy here in Scotland? The

:47:28. > :47:31.referendum was held. Millions voted. The outcome was decisive and it must

:47:32. > :47:36.be respected. We need to get back to the jobs that we were elected to do,

:47:37. > :47:43.making this devolved Parliament work for the people of Scotland.

:47:44. > :47:50.APPLAUSE Six minutes. Thank you. The First

:47:51. > :47:54.Minister and I spent only one year together in the Westminster

:47:55. > :48:00.Parliament, but even just in that one short year I could see that he

:48:01. > :48:04.had tremendous political skills. Even though I can recognise in this

:48:05. > :48:08.political world that in opponents they have such skills, even if we

:48:09. > :48:13.don't agree with their political beliefs and that is no more the case

:48:14. > :48:19.than with the First Minister. I'm sure we'll get another opportunity

:48:20. > :48:23.at a later stage to wax a wee bit more lyrical about his achievements.

:48:24. > :48:27.This has been the democratic experience of my lifetime. Never in

:48:28. > :48:30.my 30 years of politics have I seen anything like this. When was it the

:48:31. > :48:35.last time that voters marched up to you in the middle of the high street

:48:36. > :48:39.and demanded a 20-page document from you to read? When window cleaner was

:48:40. > :48:44.arguing about the technical aspect of the European Union membership and

:48:45. > :48:50.the Panama currency arrangements and it was even a topic among the German

:48:51. > :48:56.tourists in Fort William, but the most inspiring aspect I found was

:48:57. > :49:01.that the 16-year-old voter, who was voting for the first time ever, did

:49:02. > :49:06.so with great pride, confidence and knowledge and I agree with the First

:49:07. > :49:10.Minister, when he said that all 16 and 17-year-olds should get the

:49:11. > :49:15.vote. They've carried themselves extremely well in this referendum.

:49:16. > :49:21.They have given opportunities for 16 and 17-year-old right across the UK.

:49:22. > :49:24.We should be endorsing that. The people of Scotland deserve the

:49:25. > :49:30.widest and highest praise for rising to the occasion. They made Scotland

:49:31. > :49:35.shine last week. We must treat that pride with care. We have a

:49:36. > :49:41.responsibility to respect the decision backed up by two million

:49:42. > :49:46.votes. The highest-ever endorsement for a political decision ever made

:49:47. > :49:49.in Scotland. The First Minister is fond of expressing great confidence

:49:50. > :49:55.in the ability of the Scottish people. To my great disappointment

:49:56. > :49:59.over the weekend, that confidence evaporated. The First Minister

:50:00. > :50:06.should not question the judgment of the people just because they didn't

:50:07. > :50:11.agree with him. Within hours of the result and agreeing to participate

:50:12. > :50:14.in the process for more powers, onfully -- on Friday, the First

:50:15. > :50:18.Minister was activity seeking to undermine it with a range of bogus

:50:19. > :50:26.distractions, claims and allegations. Today, he claims that

:50:27. > :50:32.he accepts the result, but his complete statement betrays that

:50:33. > :50:37.claim. With a new leadership in the SNP I have perhaps some hope that

:50:38. > :50:42.that will change. This morning, I was pleased to meet Robert Smith, to

:50:43. > :50:46.take him through my party's proposals for a more powerful

:50:47. > :50:50.Scottish Parliament inside the United Kingdom. Members have known

:50:51. > :50:57.he has been tasked to lead the effort. It's a tight timetable, but

:50:58. > :51:01.I am confident that agree can be reached. Members will know that

:51:02. > :51:06.Liberal Democrats published our proposals two years ago under the

:51:07. > :51:10.chairmanship of Sir Menzies Campbell. It reflected the desire of

:51:11. > :51:16.people in Scotland, we believe, that they wanted change, but change

:51:17. > :51:20.within the United Kingdom. We propose that this Parliament raises

:51:21. > :51:23.the majority of the money that it spends, those missing powers and

:51:24. > :51:28.give us control of the purse strings and therefore control of our destiny

:51:29. > :51:32.on the doe mess sick side. If we wanted to do something different

:51:33. > :51:36.from Westminster, we could. If we want tax cuts for those on low and

:51:37. > :51:41.middle incomes, we can choose to do that. If we want to invest more in

:51:42. > :51:47.childcare we could raise the extra funds to pay for it. And that can be

:51:48. > :51:51.done within a federal structure, where the big risks and rewards in

:51:52. > :51:56.an uncertain world can be shared across the whole United Kingdom. We

:51:57. > :52:02.say that the whole of income tax, including the rates and bands should

:52:03. > :52:07.be decided here. Add in other taxes and we give the powers that tackle

:52:08. > :52:12.inequality and address wealth to this Parliament. We propose to

:52:13. > :52:16.assign the revenues from co-operation tax, so we --

:52:17. > :52:21.corporation tax, so we can grow the economy here and we argue for

:52:22. > :52:26.borrowing powers, so we can invest and save for the long-term future of

:52:27. > :52:31.the country. And we think more can be done to integrate services for

:52:32. > :52:37.people looking for work if the power over the work programme resided here

:52:38. > :52:41.too. A federal settlement will give this institution permanency. What

:52:42. > :52:46.the Liberal Democrat plans will do is equip every part of the United

:52:47. > :52:51.Kingdom. First and certainly in Scotland, with a nimble government,

:52:52. > :52:54.able to respond effectively to issues in Scotland with the

:52:55. > :53:00.financial resources and clout to make that happen. It's a positive

:53:01. > :53:04.agenda. I hope the SNP engage constructively and positively as

:53:05. > :53:10.well. Not with some back-door attempt to rerun the referendum. Not

:53:11. > :53:14.with some back-door attempt to put forward three tests that send exact

:53:15. > :53:18.-- that sound exactly like the three tests that the First Minister set

:53:19. > :53:23.for independence. But with positively proposals for change that

:53:24. > :53:28.reflect the biggest-ever democratic endorsement this country has ever

:53:29. > :53:33.seen. We also need to see, not just powers transferred from Westminster

:53:34. > :53:37.to here, but powers transferred down into communities as well. It is

:53:38. > :53:41.quite striking the difference in the votes and different parts of the

:53:42. > :53:45.country. The most sceptical parts were often the most remote parts

:53:46. > :53:51.from this Parliament. We need to push power down to communities so

:53:52. > :53:56.they can have a bigger say. In conclusion, the result on Friday was

:53:57. > :54:01.clear, legal and decisive. I'm sure no-one in this chamber will dispute

:54:02. > :54:04.that. Two million people decided we were better together. As the First

:54:05. > :54:08.Minister said last week, the question of industry pence has been

:54:09. > :54:13.-- independence has been concluded for a generation and possibly a

:54:14. > :54:19.lifetime. It has been laid to rest. Our task is now to build a better

:54:20. > :54:27.Scotland, that makes the hopes and ambitions of people in Scotland. The

:54:28. > :54:35.55% as well as the 45%. They've high hopes and we have our work cut out

:54:36. > :54:37.to meet them. Thank you. APPLAUSE

:54:38. > :54:42.Six minutes, Mr Harvey. Thank you. We have been back in the chamber

:54:43. > :54:46.something just under 55 minutes and it seems that we can all make

:54:47. > :54:50.statements about bridge building and finding common ground, but it seems

:54:51. > :54:54.as though perhaps we may discover we mean slightly different things by

:54:55. > :54:58.it. I would like to echo the thanks expressed by several speakers

:54:59. > :55:02.already to the many campaigners and activists, the many people, who have

:55:03. > :55:06.become politicised throughout this process. I have found it an

:55:07. > :55:12.energising experience and privilege to take part in this historic

:55:13. > :55:17.debate. And this high level of public participation. I know there's

:55:18. > :55:22.been bad behaviour on both sides, as Johann Lamont said and as the First

:55:23. > :55:26.Minister recognised. I condemn bad behaviour on both sides, whether

:55:27. > :55:31.I've seen it on-line, in public meetings, on George Square or

:55:32. > :55:37.outside the BBC. But I have found it far easier throughout this entire

:55:38. > :55:42.debate to find examples of inspiring, compelling, creative and

:55:43. > :55:44.inclusive behaviour. APPLAUSE

:55:45. > :55:48.On Sunday, a few days after the vote, when I was frankly still

:55:49. > :55:52.catching up on sleep, as many were, I had the chance to speak at a day

:55:53. > :55:57.for the UN international day of peace. What excellent timing that

:55:58. > :56:02.was. I talked about some of the examples that I had found of the

:56:03. > :56:07."yes" campaigner knocking on doors, who found an elderly gentleman who

:56:08. > :56:12.was basically getting up on voting because he had mobility problems and

:56:13. > :56:24.he didn't know if he could get to the polls and she called him the

:56:25. > :56:26.beTer together team -- beTer together -- Better Together

:56:27. > :56:30.campaigner who organised getting thiple there and the friends and

:56:31. > :56:34.families who did find they were voting in different ways, but that

:56:35. > :56:40.had not dented the bonds of friendship and love between them.

:56:41. > :56:42.That I believe has been the empathy and goodwill shown by the vast

:56:43. > :56:47.majority of people taking part in this debate and it's been a

:56:48. > :56:52.privilege. My own party has, all through this, had a range of views.

:56:53. > :56:57.A large majority of us campaigning enthusiastically for a "yes" vote,

:56:58. > :57:01.but very many of us finding that we need to demonstrate that it's

:57:02. > :57:06.possible to disagree in the spirit of friendship, because that's what

:57:07. > :57:12.was happening inside our party. There were many reasons why we

:57:13. > :57:19.didn't endorse devo max or the inbetween options. I don't see any

:57:20. > :57:22.variant of devo next that doesn't increase the need to represent

:57:23. > :57:29.ourselves on the world stage, that doesn't increase the need to take

:57:30. > :57:33.the furthest steps on. It may be a long-term debate now as to whether

:57:34. > :57:36.that is the direction that Scotland goes, but some process in this

:57:37. > :57:43.direction is now going to happen and we need to find the opportunities

:57:44. > :57:49.and avoid the pitfalls. The Smith Commission very clearly is not going

:57:50. > :57:55.to have the time to undertake the depth of public engagement that I

:57:56. > :57:58.believe Scotland deserves to have. And that those newly politicised

:57:59. > :58:03.people around Scotland deserve to be able to take part in. We have to

:58:04. > :58:06.find a way to avoid it being just another party political stitch-up

:58:07. > :58:10.though, whether it's large parties or small parties, if this is a deal

:58:11. > :58:17.done inside the political bubble, then it will fail to give effect to

:58:18. > :58:22.that ground swell appetite and enthusiasm for genuine democratic

:58:23. > :58:26.reform. There is a risk of rush and we all know that vast legislation

:58:27. > :58:30.can sometimes be bad and the timescale has been committed to. We

:58:31. > :58:36.need to hold those promises to account. But we also need to make

:58:37. > :58:40.sure that the detail is right. And there is a connection about UK

:58:41. > :58:48.reform. Clearly, the two timescales cannot be alined. But also they

:58:49. > :58:54.cannot -- allined, but also they cannot be separate. A committee is

:58:55. > :58:57.looking among other aspects of the remit, at the next stages of

:58:58. > :59:01.devolution in Scotland. The timetable as well as the impact on

:59:02. > :59:07.devolution throughout the rest of the UK or decentralisation. There

:59:08. > :59:12.will have to be some alignment of the Parliamentary processes too.

:59:13. > :59:18.Fundamentally though, my concern is about the idea of a transfer not of

:59:19. > :59:22.genuine economic powers, the ability to run different economic policy for

:59:23. > :59:26.Scotland's different circumstances, but instead the transfer of a

:59:27. > :59:30.responsibility to implement somebody else's economic policy and at the

:59:31. > :59:33.moepT that means making Westminster's cuts on their behalf.

:59:34. > :59:38.That is a concern that we must avoid. Westminster has an innate

:59:39. > :59:42.resistance to change. We only need to look at the time it's taken to

:59:43. > :59:46.debate the future of the House of Lords to see that. Against that

:59:47. > :59:50.resistance to change, we see an appetite in Scotland among voters

:59:51. > :59:54.for the change that's needed not only to a broken political system,

:59:55. > :00:00.but to the broken economic system that has been propping it up. There

:00:01. > :00:06.are other areas to look at decentralisation from the voting

:00:07. > :00:07.system to equality law, transport, energy and decentralisation within

:00:08. > :00:16.Scotland. The First Minister said quite

:00:17. > :00:19.rightly that this now leaves us with the most politically engaged

:00:20. > :00:23.population in western Europe. Power, we're going to have to accept,

:00:24. > :00:27.should not ever be corralled by politicians. It can be taken from

:00:28. > :00:30.us, and will be a healthier, stronger and more democratic country

:00:31. > :00:35.when all of a sudden a healthy respect and awareness of the ability

:00:36. > :00:40.of an electorate to exercise that power, and to take power from us at

:00:41. > :00:44.any given moment. The generational change, as well, which the First

:00:45. > :00:48.Minister spoke of, is exciting. I say that knowing that my own

:00:49. > :00:52.party's youth wing is bigger than my entire party was five days ago, and

:00:53. > :00:58.that is an exciting and terrifying prospect. Votes at 16, the new

:00:59. > :01:02.engagement of people who have not been politically engaged before, and

:01:03. > :01:05.potentially the prospect of new political and constitutional

:01:06. > :01:11.relationships within these islands, all of these things leave me, in the

:01:12. > :01:14.absence of Independence, I have to admit, with some mixed feelings.

:01:15. > :01:18.Mixed feelings, which of course brings me to the First Minister.

:01:19. > :01:21.And, as others have said, we will have the opportunity to debate our

:01:22. > :01:27.feelings about Mr Salmond's contribution later. But I can only

:01:28. > :01:29.acknowledge that I can think of nobody else in the Scottish

:01:30. > :01:32.political landscape, whether I have been on the same side of this debate

:01:33. > :01:36.or on the other side of different debates with him, nobody else in the

:01:37. > :01:40.political landscape who has done more to advance the case for

:01:41. > :01:43.democratic, radical reform of the Constitution of these islands, and

:01:44. > :01:48.although I have not always voted with him on budgets or other votes,

:01:49. > :01:57.I pay tribute to Jim for that. -- tribute to him.

:01:58. > :02:04.We now move to open debate. Speeches of six minutes.

:02:05. > :02:07.Thank you, presiding officer. I, too, would like to pay tribute to

:02:08. > :02:14.the First Minister, and to the campaign leaders across the board

:02:15. > :02:17.for the referendum campaign itself. More importantly, I would like to

:02:18. > :02:26.pay tribute to the tens of thousands of folk who slogged away for months

:02:27. > :02:30.to try to achieve their vision of a Sarah -- fairer, more socially just

:02:31. > :02:33.Scotland. My SNP colleagues and myself worked side-by-side with

:02:34. > :02:40.members of the Green Party, radical independence campaign, and labour

:02:41. > :02:44.for Indy. We were joined under the Yes Aberdeen umbrella by swathes of

:02:45. > :02:48.people who had never taken part in the campaign before. People like

:02:49. > :02:53.Dale, who canvassed and leafleted morning, noon and night said that he

:02:54. > :02:57.could see his vision come to fruition. People like ten-year-old

:02:58. > :03:02.Elenor, who supplied our Yes have with cookies. And people like

:03:03. > :03:05.98-year-old Mrs Margaret Coral, who is wise words went viral on Facebook

:03:06. > :03:12.and Twitter, even though she didn't know what they were. The fact that

:03:13. > :03:15.so many folks who had never been involved in politics before joined

:03:16. > :03:21.us in our efforts was truly inspiring. Having new people working

:03:22. > :03:24.alongside veteran campaigners from various political campaigns could

:03:25. > :03:30.very well have been fraught, but it wasn't, as everyone shared the same

:03:31. > :03:33.hope and vision. They conveyed that hope and vision to people and

:03:34. > :03:38.communities throughout Aberdeen, inspiring others to register to vote

:03:39. > :03:44.for the first time, to vote for the first time, and to participate in

:03:45. > :03:48.campaigning for the first time. The truly amazing thing about the

:03:49. > :03:52.referendum campaign is the amount of participation that took place. I am

:03:53. > :03:56.proud that we witnessed record turnouts across the country, and

:03:57. > :04:01.even more gratified that the gaping chasm that normally exists between

:04:02. > :04:06.turnout in rich areas compared to poorer areas narrowed. That is

:04:07. > :04:11.something that would have made the late Brian Adam very happy, as he

:04:12. > :04:14.worked hard to improve turnout and trust in politicians and the poorer

:04:15. > :04:24.areas of Aberdeen during his many years on the council and in this

:04:25. > :04:29.Parliament. Trust is now a key in ensuring that people who have been

:04:30. > :04:32.disenfranchised remain enfranchised. We should entrust our young people

:04:33. > :04:36.to make decisions and should give them the vote in every election. The

:04:37. > :04:43.vast bulk of young folk studied the debate and made their choices from a

:04:44. > :04:48.very informed position. The folk who voted no did so for many reasons.

:04:49. > :04:53.Somewhere scared into doing so, like a number in Aberdeen's Polish

:04:54. > :04:57.community, who were told they would be deported if there was a yes vote,

:04:58. > :05:03.or senior citizens who were told that they wouldn't get a pension in

:05:04. > :05:07.an independent Scotland. That trust, that faith, was shattered by fear,

:05:08. > :05:15.and it is a poor politician who has to rely on here to win. -- rely on

:05:16. > :05:19.fear. Others voted no because of the vow of more powers, and that thou

:05:20. > :05:28.must now be kept by those on the low side. -- no side. When I joined the

:05:29. > :05:31.SNP half a lifetime ago, I signed and membership card which pledged me

:05:32. > :05:34.to campaign for an independent Scotland and the furtherance of

:05:35. > :05:38.Scottish interests. I will continue to campaign for an independent

:05:39. > :05:41.Scotland, but until the day that the people of Scotland decides that is

:05:42. > :05:46.the right way forward, I will do everything in my power to further

:05:47. > :05:51.all Scottish interests. I will lobby and campaign, to ensure that powers

:05:52. > :05:55.over tax and social Security are decided in this place, so that we

:05:56. > :06:01.can enact a fair wage policy, and protect our most vulnerable, their

:06:02. > :06:06.carers and their families. I will continue to argue that we should

:06:07. > :06:11.have control over our economy, and all of our resources, including our

:06:12. > :06:17.vast wealth, our oil wealth. So that we can create jobs and opportunity,

:06:18. > :06:21.and I will continue to fight against the abhorrence that is tried I will

:06:22. > :06:29.always believed that we should put nurses before nukes, teachers before

:06:30. > :06:33.Tridents, and before bombs. The promise of devo max was what enticed

:06:34. > :06:37.a number of votes -- folks to vote no. Devo max, which politicians

:06:38. > :06:41.stopped from being on the ballot in the first place. They did everything

:06:42. > :06:45.in their power to stop that going on that referendum ballot paper.

:06:46. > :06:53.Scotland is now watching to see if the promises, though thou, is kept

:06:54. > :06:56.by no politicians. Democracy and participation have grown in Scotland

:06:57. > :06:59.over these past few weeks and months. The people of this country

:07:00. > :07:07.now recognise that they themselves have power. That genie is now well

:07:08. > :07:13.and truly out of the bottle. Woe betide any politician or political

:07:14. > :07:17.party that does not recognise that Scotland and our people have changed

:07:18. > :07:27.forever. Thank you, presiding officer. Thank you very much. We

:07:28. > :07:30.now: Neal Finlay. Before taking an oath in this

:07:31. > :07:34.Parliament, I made a statement that I believe the people of Scotland

:07:35. > :07:38.should be citizens, not subjects, and I hoped firmly that my

:07:39. > :07:42.allegiance should first and foremost be to them. Well, I believe in that

:07:43. > :07:47.principle even more strongly now following events of last Thursday.

:07:48. > :07:51.The sovereign will of the majority is to remain as part of the United

:07:52. > :07:53.Kingdom, and I have spoken to friends and constituents and

:07:54. > :08:01.relatives, and I know it is painful for those who worked very hard for a

:08:02. > :08:06.yes vote to acknowledge. But the facts are that the majority of the

:08:07. > :08:13.electorate voted no. Not by a tiny margin. I imagine a 400,000, more

:08:14. > :08:17.Scots voted no then yes. An entire 10% of the electorate. Presiding

:08:18. > :08:23.Officer, there are some who question why people on the left, like me,

:08:24. > :08:27.voted no. For me, I didn't take a knee jerk position, nor a narrow

:08:28. > :08:30.party political decision. It was a decision made for clear and

:08:31. > :08:38.principled reasons. I voted no because I want to see a fairer, more

:08:39. > :08:41.equal society. Ending 0-hour contracts, addressing the abuse of

:08:42. > :08:47.agency working, blacklisting, fair pay, dignity at work, and building a

:08:48. > :08:50.caring public service and maintaining the NHS that we all

:08:51. > :08:55.want. These are the issues that motivate me, and have always vote --

:08:56. > :09:02.motivated me, and are central to my political philosophy. I am grateful

:09:03. > :09:06.for the integration edge intervention. Does continued

:09:07. > :09:12.austerity, with 60% of the cuts to come and Labour Party has signed up

:09:13. > :09:17.to 90%, going with your agenda? Given that the 6 billion black hole

:09:18. > :09:22.budget -- ?6 billion black hole that we would have had in the budget, I

:09:23. > :09:26.believe we would have had turbo-charged austerity if we had an

:09:27. > :09:30.independent Scotland. These things are central to my political

:09:31. > :09:34.philosophy. It is why I have always been a member of a trade union. It

:09:35. > :09:37.is why I have always used my time in this Parliament to campaign on these

:09:38. > :09:43.and other issues, which affect everyday people's real lives. I want

:09:44. > :09:46.to see change as much as anybody inside or outside this market caused

:09:47. > :09:54.-- Parliament. I want to see change for mothers in Liverpool as much as

:09:55. > :09:57.Leith. I fundamentally believe you do not create change by dividing

:09:58. > :10:01.along national lines. The greatest force we have for change is the UK

:10:02. > :10:04.labour movement and trade movement. It is the labour movement which has

:10:05. > :10:10.led and delivered the greatest advances for working people we have

:10:11. > :10:13.ever seen. The right to vote, the NHS, the minimum wage and the

:10:14. > :10:16.welfare state and this very Parliament, they were not delivered

:10:17. > :10:19.because political elites handed these things down to us, but because

:10:20. > :10:23.working people have campaigned for and demanded them. It is that

:10:24. > :10:27.commitment to the collective advancement of working people that

:10:28. > :10:30.makes me a socialist and not a nationalist. I want powers to

:10:31. > :10:34.redistribute wealth from rich to poor, not to provide tax cuts for

:10:35. > :10:39.the biggest tax dodging corporations. The Scottish

:10:40. > :10:44.Government said they wanted a fairer, more equal Scotland, yet

:10:45. > :10:49.they only redistributed policy in the White Paper was a 3% tax cut for

:10:50. > :10:54.corporations. That is not the way to create a fairer society. And I

:10:55. > :10:57.accepted the council tax freeze puts money in people's pockets, but it

:10:58. > :11:03.also rewards those with the most expensive houses, whilst the

:11:04. > :11:10.services the poor rely on our cut as council budgets are reduced. It is

:11:11. > :11:16.not progressive. In our NHS, we see crises brewing by the day, at

:11:17. > :11:19.recruitment, accident and emergency, GPs, bed blocking, and a budget that

:11:20. > :11:26.is due to be slashed by ?500 million, as exposed during the

:11:27. > :11:29.campaign. The First Minister may laugh at that, but I am sure those

:11:30. > :11:37.sitting in hospital are not laughing at it. And yet we are told the

:11:38. > :11:39.government is protecting the NHS. We saw 130,000 places cut, in a

:11:40. > :11:44.deliberate policy which is stifling the life chances of our young

:11:45. > :11:50.people. And yet despite all of this, the government betrays these policy

:11:51. > :11:54.choices as progressive claims, claims which went unchallenged by

:11:55. > :12:00.anybody else in the yes camp. Forgive me for giving way. It sounds

:12:01. > :12:05.as if Neil Findlay is trying to fight a 216,000 devolved election

:12:06. > :12:08.campaign without any additional powers to this Parliament. Why don't

:12:09. > :12:11.you actually use the last few minutes of your speech to support an

:12:12. > :12:19.additional power to this Parliament, which would give us more social

:12:20. > :12:22.justice? Why don't you and your party pursue a progressive policy

:12:23. > :12:27.agenda with the powers you have now? Then you can have your new powers.

:12:28. > :12:31.Presiding Officer, on both the node and the yes side, many of us want

:12:32. > :12:35.similar things. We want a fairer and more just Scotland, and a caring

:12:36. > :12:41.Scotland. We simply disagreed on the best way to achieve that goal. The

:12:42. > :12:45.task now is to convince those in power that being all things to all

:12:46. > :12:50.people changes little. We need progressive action to address the

:12:51. > :12:55.inequality in our society. In conclusion, I think there are two

:12:56. > :12:59.distinct lessons from Thursday for us all. One, people want economic

:13:00. > :13:04.and societal change. And two, the majority don't believe you have to

:13:05. > :13:08.break up the country to achieve such change. Finally, can I say gently to

:13:09. > :13:12.the First Minister, I know that he is hurting, but can you imagine what

:13:13. > :13:16.would have happened and what he would have said if there had been a

:13:17. > :13:20.yes vote, and any of the no parties had said, that if they had received

:13:21. > :13:24.a majority of the following election, they would unilaterally

:13:25. > :13:30.reversed that democratic referendum decision? That would have been a

:13:31. > :13:33.constitutional outrage. So can I ask the First Minister to reflect on his

:13:34. > :13:38.comments of yesterday, and consign his plans for constitutional coup

:13:39. > :13:45.d'etat to the wastepaper bin marked "very bad and dangerous ideas"?

:13:46. > :13:48.Because I know, sir, that the people have spoken. They want a fairer

:13:49. > :13:51.Scotland. The test of this government will be whether it is

:13:52. > :13:55.willing to use the powers it has two tech progressive decisions to

:13:56. > :13:57.improve the lives of the poorest in society. Those with the broadest

:13:58. > :14:02.shoulders should carry the greatest burden. Progressive politics, with

:14:03. > :14:09.redistribution at its core, must win the day. Annabelle Ewing, to be

:14:10. > :14:12.followed by Stuart Stevenson. Thank you, presiding officer. What a

:14:13. > :14:16.privilege it is to be called to speak in this debate this afternoon,

:14:17. > :14:19.and what a time it is to be alive in Scottish political life. Because

:14:20. > :14:23.although on the night, or on the morning of Friday the 19th of

:14:24. > :14:26.September, it became clear that the people of Scotland had said no, what

:14:27. > :14:30.we witnessed during a referendum campaign was engagement with the

:14:31. > :14:35.democratic process at a level unprecedented in these modern times.

:14:36. > :14:39.And with the turnout, as we have heard, of 85%, and 97% voter

:14:40. > :14:43.registration, I think it is fair to say that the systems of Scotland

:14:44. > :14:46.have now come alive. They have raised expectations about the level

:14:47. > :14:52.of political debate and involvement future democratic contests. I hope

:14:53. > :14:57.that all parties live up to those raised, heightened expectations.

:14:58. > :15:04.Indeed, as I was going around to polling places, I have never seen

:15:05. > :15:09.such enthusiasm on the part of so many voters. People who may not have

:15:10. > :15:12.voted before, but they felt that their vote with simpering not make

:15:13. > :15:17.any difference, still came out to vote in great numbers. People who

:15:18. > :15:21.had never been involved in political campaigning before, standing at the

:15:22. > :15:24.church or school gates, urging their neighbours to vote yes. Young people

:15:25. > :15:29.dancing in the streets, and car horns tooting. Underlying this

:15:30. > :15:35.fantastic, joyous display of engagement in democracy was, I would

:15:36. > :15:39.say, one key emotion. That of hope. Hope that by voting, people could

:15:40. > :15:42.bring about improvements to the lives of themselves, their families,

:15:43. > :15:46.their communities and their country. Hope that by using their sovereign

:15:47. > :15:50.power between 7am and 10pm on polling day, they could usher in

:15:51. > :15:54.themselves, through their own actions, a more prosperous and

:15:55. > :15:56.fairer Scotland. Nowhere was this enthusiasm and engagement and hope

:15:57. > :16:02.clearer to see then among the young people of Scotland. What a credit

:16:03. > :16:05.and inspiration the 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds are to their country,

:16:06. > :16:10.because their involvement was truly wonderful to behold. Sadly, some of

:16:11. > :16:13.them may not realise that it is not within the gift of this Parliament,

:16:14. > :16:18.the Scottish Parliament, to extend their voting rights to any other

:16:19. > :16:21.election. Like much else to do with our daily lives here in Scotland,

:16:22. > :16:25.that power over the voting age still lies with Westminster. I do hope,

:16:26. > :16:29.therefore, that there will be cross-party support in Scotland for

:16:30. > :16:33.the SNP's call to extend the franchise to 16-year-olds and

:16:34. > :16:36.17-year-olds across the board. Indeed, what politician could look

:16:37. > :16:39.young people in the eye and tell them that though they were deemed

:16:40. > :16:43.mature enough to vote for the future of their country, they are somehow

:16:44. > :16:49.not eligible to vote in the coming Westminster and subsequent

:16:50. > :16:53.elections? What is clear is that we are all going into the future

:16:54. > :16:57.together. The 45% as well as the 55%. We are all about the business

:16:58. > :17:01.of working together for a better Scotland, and in the best interests

:17:02. > :17:06.of the Scottish people. That is why it is so vitally important that we

:17:07. > :17:09.come here in our Scottish Parliament, hold Westminster to

:17:10. > :17:13.account, for the last-minute promises the Unionist parties made

:17:14. > :17:19.to people who, in all good faith, relied on those promises when they

:17:20. > :17:23.came to vote, some 25% of all though voters, by all accounts. That is why

:17:24. > :17:28.it is so important to ensure that the powers the Unionist party --

:17:29. > :17:33.Unionist parties promised as being meaningful to our daily lives in

:17:34. > :17:35.terms of job creation, tackling poverty, protection of the

:17:36. > :17:39.vulnerable and giving our care is a better life, and in terms of

:17:40. > :17:43.ensuring and its national platform for a distinct of Scottish voice, it

:17:44. > :17:47.is vital that we ensure that all these powers are now delivered, and

:17:48. > :17:53.as per the timetable, that they promised. It has to be said,

:17:54. > :18:00.presiding Officer, that the last 72 hours or so have not been good in

:18:01. > :18:04.those concerns, amongst those eligible to vote in Scotland, who

:18:05. > :18:07.has been watching very carefully that the so-called vow to Scotland

:18:08. > :18:13.will not be honoured. I would have to say, in that regard, that over

:18:14. > :18:16.the same short period of 72 hours, the SNP, and I know it is the case

:18:17. > :18:21.with the Greens and other parties, have seen our vast increase in

:18:22. > :18:24.mental -- membership. In the case of the SNP, I believe, the figures keep

:18:25. > :18:28.changing from minute to minute, but I believe we have doubled our

:18:29. > :18:33.membership since Thursday, and we have seen our membership grow to

:18:34. > :18:36.some 51,000 people or more. What a credit to the engagement of the

:18:37. > :18:39.people of Scotland. People are energised, and they are now taking

:18:40. > :18:44.ownership of their own future, and quite rightly so. In conclusion,

:18:45. > :18:49.presiding officer, I would simply wish to say that are truly

:18:50. > :18:53.remarkable First Minister, Alex Salmond, has taken Scotland into a

:18:54. > :18:58.new era. An era of self belief and of confidence. An era of people

:18:59. > :19:01.rightly understanding that they are entitled to be ambitious for their

:19:02. > :19:08.country, and they are entitled to have hope for their lives, and their

:19:09. > :19:12.family lives, and that they can indeed be better. For my part,

:19:13. > :19:18.presiding officer, and for the 71% of the 16 and 17-year-olds who voted

:19:19. > :19:26.yes, the dreams of a better future for Scotland are very much still

:19:27. > :19:31.alive. Thank you, presiding officer. Stewart Stevenson, to be followed by

:19:32. > :19:35.Jackie Baillie. Thank you, presiding Officer. This

:19:36. > :19:42.is the fifth referendum in which I have campaigned, starting with the

:19:43. > :19:50.1975 EEC referendum. Like other referenda, it has been an

:19:51. > :19:54.opportunity to work across the chasm of the established party political

:19:55. > :19:59.structures. In 1975I campaigned on behalf of the SNP against the

:20:00. > :20:06.economic community. I had my own private use. When I went and voted,

:20:07. > :20:09.I voted against my party. I voted for the proposition. I am not sure I

:20:10. > :20:16.have told many people that, but I think this is a good time for us all

:20:17. > :20:20.to recognise that political parties have not control of their members or

:20:21. > :20:26.supporters or a monopoly of wisdom, and I know, because I have been one

:20:27. > :20:30.of them who has crossed that line. Now, in referenda, we build new

:20:31. > :20:35.teams to fight campaigns. And I want to just spend a couple of minutes

:20:36. > :20:40.talking about the First Minister's own abilities in regard to building

:20:41. > :20:47.teams. I first met the First Minister in the mid-19 70s, when, as

:20:48. > :20:50.a student, he was the editor of the Free Student Press. I am not going

:20:51. > :20:54.to say anything that may pre-empt what he will write in his biography

:20:55. > :20:59.in due course. It is all in the public record. This is just to

:21:00. > :21:03.remind him. The Free Student Press was a great effort. It was a paper

:21:04. > :21:07.that went to every student in Scotland once a term, paid for by

:21:08. > :21:12.advertising and contributed to by many. I mysteriously found myself

:21:13. > :21:18.part of the team in a tiny way, providing some photographs. He drew

:21:19. > :21:24.me into a team as he drew others. The 1979 referendum campaign was one

:21:25. > :21:30.where Alex essentially orchestrated across the party campaign in West

:21:31. > :21:34.Lothian, and SNP campaign in West Lothian, and he ran the Labour

:21:35. > :21:40.campaign in West Lothian as well. How many men can run three campaigns

:21:41. > :21:45.and not run -- not break sweat? That is magnificent. And indeed, in the

:21:46. > :21:50.Ascherson's book in the 1979 referendum, he picked out the West

:21:51. > :21:55.Lothian campaign as by far the most effective of any of them during that

:21:56. > :22:03.referendum. Now, in 1987, he defeated the incumbent Tory. At the

:22:04. > :22:06.time that he did so, we were looking at a constituency where unemployment

:22:07. > :22:21.was in the worst quintile in Scotland. Unemployment was a very

:22:22. > :22:25.significant problem. When Alex left office, the constituency was in the

:22:26. > :22:28.best quintile for employment. The First Minister was absolutely

:22:29. > :22:31.correct to focus on the needs for real powers that generate

:22:32. > :22:38.employment. And of course, how was it done in Banff and Buchan, to move

:22:39. > :22:42.from the worst quintile to the best? Every time there was a fight for the

:22:43. > :22:45.jobs, the First Minister was at the front of the fight. That is what he

:22:46. > :22:50.has done throughout his political career, and I know he will continue

:22:51. > :22:55.to do so. He is a man who takes on immense challenges, and there was no

:22:56. > :22:58.greater challenge than the challenge of the Peterhead fishing boat the

:22:59. > :23:03.Sapphire. The Sapphire sank within sight of the harbour mouth. The

:23:04. > :23:10.families who had lost their loved ones, because all on board were

:23:11. > :23:14.lost, sought to have that boat lifted and the recovery of their

:23:15. > :23:17.relations. It was an impossible task that no one else would have

:23:18. > :23:23.contemplated doing. Somehow, within a matter of days, we had millions of

:23:24. > :23:31.pounds worth of effort committed to the raising of the Sapphire, and at

:23:32. > :23:36.a quarter past eight, on the 14th of December, 1997, the Sapphire was

:23:37. > :23:43.brought in by the Tak lift seven barge into Peterhead harbour. That

:23:44. > :23:47.was an achievement of great moment, and it was an achievement, building

:23:48. > :23:52.a team, drawing people in, but fundamentally it was an achievement

:23:53. > :23:57.focused on giving comfort to people, to individuals. Nothing to do with

:23:58. > :24:04.party politics, and everything to do with doing the right thing by

:24:05. > :24:06.people. Our First Minister is very robust in how he deals with

:24:07. > :24:13.perceived weakness and failure, and rightfully so. But when people need

:24:14. > :24:21.support, in extra mess, he is first in the queue to be delivering it. He

:24:22. > :24:25.built a team in 2007 that delivered the first-ever SNP government, a

:24:26. > :24:31.team of individuals, without including themselves a single minute

:24:32. > :24:35.of missing serial -- ministerial time between the lot of them. He

:24:36. > :24:39.turned us all into a very effective team. In 2011 he earned the right to

:24:40. > :24:46.lead, for the first time, a majority government. In 2014, from a position

:24:47. > :24:52.a couple of months ago, around 30%, we ended up at 45%. Not alone, but

:24:53. > :24:57.by building a team, across political parties, and people of the party.

:24:58. > :25:05.That is the effort that he put into it. We are looking today, of course,

:25:06. > :25:11.at a no vote, that was victorious, that might yet to be seen to be a

:25:12. > :25:14.pyrrhic victory. Today's Australian newspaper, in its leading article,

:25:15. > :25:21.says that Scottish Nationalists need not despair. They have lost a

:25:22. > :25:26.battle, but not necessarily the war. Presiding Officer, one of the great

:25:27. > :25:31.Chinese philosophers said that the greatest of the greatest leaders,

:25:32. > :25:34.that people will say, we did it ourselves. If there is a message

:25:35. > :25:44.from this referendum, the people will say, we did it ourselves. Alex

:25:45. > :25:49.Salmond Milli helped. -- merely. I call on Jackie Baillie, to be

:25:50. > :25:51.followed by Mark McDonald. Thank you, presiding officer. There

:25:52. > :25:56.will be much written and spoken about the referendum. Much of it we

:25:57. > :26:00.will agree with, other views will no doubt be contested. As we interpret

:26:01. > :26:04.and reinterpreted the result, I find myself agreeing with at least one

:26:05. > :26:09.thing that Jim said. That is that from 15 hours, from 7am to 10pm, the

:26:10. > :26:13.people of Scotland were indeed sovereign. Their voices, their

:26:14. > :26:15.views, their votes, were all that mattered. And whether it was the

:26:16. > :26:23.queues at the polling stations the first thing in the morning, or the

:26:24. > :26:26.steady stream of people throughout the day leading to a huge turnout,

:26:27. > :26:29.it was an incredible day. And the people of Scotland said, quite

:26:30. > :26:36.decisively, no thanks to separation, by a margin of 55% to 45%. I thank

:26:37. > :26:40.all of them for voting. I am, however, astonished, but perhaps I

:26:41. > :26:43.should not be surprised, that a mere 24 hours later the sovereign will of

:26:44. > :26:49.the people of Scotland were simply brushed aside and Alex Salmond was

:26:50. > :26:53.declaring UDI. One cannot help but think that despite his resignation,

:26:54. > :26:57.he is axillary intent on causing maximum difficulty for his deputy,

:26:58. > :27:01.because you cannot on the one hand talk about respecting the result and

:27:02. > :27:06.then deny the democratic will of the people and set out plans to simply

:27:07. > :27:10.assert independence will stop now, as the heir apparent, Nicola

:27:11. > :27:14.Sturgeon needs to be very clear. Does she respect the will of the

:27:15. > :27:18.Scottish people? Does she respect the result? Will she get on with the

:27:19. > :27:20.business of government, or does she deny that democratic will of the

:27:21. > :27:25.people, and simply assert independence? I know her voice has

:27:26. > :27:30.left her. When her voice does return, I look forward to her

:27:31. > :27:35.answer. Let me turn to the YouGov survey, because I do want to debunk

:27:36. > :27:38.some of the myths around it. The first is that the age profile of

:27:39. > :27:42.those who voted, somehow, is instructive. Well, it is

:27:43. > :27:46.instructive, because it is not true that there was a majority for no

:27:47. > :27:53.only amongst the people aged over 65. In fact, there was a majority in

:27:54. > :27:59.every age group, from 16 to over 65, with the exception of 25-39 age

:28:00. > :28:03.ranges. So in four out of five age groups, the majority voted no. There

:28:04. > :28:07.have been some frankly reprehensible things said about those over 65,

:28:08. > :28:12.which I hope the SNP will distance themselves from. The second myth is

:28:13. > :28:16.that women were increasingly voting yes. The gender gap showed that by a

:28:17. > :28:21.margin of 16%, more women were voting no. And the third myth is

:28:22. > :28:26.that the Labour vote was haemorrhaging to the yes camp. Yet

:28:27. > :28:32.the truth is that whilst 27% of Labour voters did vote yes, 22% of

:28:33. > :28:37.SNP voters actually voted no. So let's have no more selective telling

:28:38. > :28:43.of the referendum story. I think it would do you well to listen to this.

:28:44. > :28:47.The people of Scotland voted. The people of Scotland voted no. The

:28:48. > :28:51.settled will of the Scottish people is to remain in the United Kingdom.

:28:52. > :28:57.That was that democratic decision, and we should respect it, not

:28:58. > :29:01.diminish it. That is -- that said, I think this has been, without a

:29:02. > :29:04.doubt, an exciting and energising time in Scottish politics. I am

:29:05. > :29:08.genuinely pleased that the engagement and levels of interest

:29:09. > :29:12.across our communities. And whether it has been during the organise

:29:13. > :29:16.debates we have had with each other, or doorstop conversations, I am

:29:17. > :29:20.struck by how much we agree on. Our vision for Scotland is a shared one.

:29:21. > :29:24.In terms of the outcomes that we seek to achieve, social justice,

:29:25. > :29:28.fairness, equality, there is much more that unites us than divides us.

:29:29. > :29:34.It is our job, in this Parliament, to work with civic Scotland,

:29:35. > :29:37.indeed, all sections of this country, to heal the divisions. And

:29:38. > :29:41.what better way of doing so than by focusing on what we can achieve by

:29:42. > :29:45.working together? I know that there are many things we agree on across

:29:46. > :29:49.this chamber. We have debated these issues often enough in the last few

:29:50. > :29:53.months. The fundamental difference, though, is that I believe this comes

:29:54. > :29:58.about through political determination and will, not

:29:59. > :30:01.constitutional change. Some of our greatest achievements, like votes

:30:02. > :30:06.for women, the creation of the NHS, legislating for the minimum wage,

:30:07. > :30:09.have taken campaigning and political struggle, and such economic and

:30:10. > :30:16.social policy advances are not arrived at by simply changing the

:30:17. > :30:19.bottle. The frame for my politics has always been social justice.

:30:20. > :30:22.Tackling child poverty, providing the best start in life,

:30:23. > :30:26.opportunities for families to prosper and succeed. These are the

:30:27. > :30:29.very areas that I want us to work together on across the chamber, and

:30:30. > :30:47.we will face a number of domestic policy challenges. Health, which is

:30:48. > :30:51.the responsibility of this Parliament. When we learnt from a

:30:52. > :30:58.leaked paper that the SNP's proposals were to slash ?450 million

:30:59. > :31:01.from front-line services, including services at a hospital in my area

:31:02. > :31:06.and in another leaked paper, 10% savings to be made over the next two

:31:07. > :31:11.years from the newly formed health and social care partnerships in

:31:12. > :31:14.greater Glasgow and Clyde alone. I was encouraged that the Cabinet

:31:15. > :31:26.Secretary said none of this was true and I look forward to supporting him

:31:27. > :31:30.in ensuring those cuts don't happen. The people in Scotland voted "no".

:31:31. > :31:34.We will remain in the United Kingdom and we need to respect that. But

:31:35. > :31:39.it's clear that of all the people that voted, whether "yes" or "no",

:31:40. > :31:43.they share a desire for change. It is therefore our responsibility in

:31:44. > :31:55.this place to set our divisions aside and to unite together to

:31:56. > :31:59.deliver that change. APPLAUSE

:32:00. > :32:05.When I arrived at my local polling station on Thursday morning, it was

:32:06. > :32:09.around 7. 45 and usually when I arrive there it's usually empty and

:32:10. > :32:14.usually there have only been a very small handful of people voting on

:32:15. > :32:17.their way to work. I arrived to find a bustling polling station at that

:32:18. > :32:24.time in the morning and was advised by the staff on the polling station

:32:25. > :32:29.that they had had a queue out the gates waiting to go and vote. As I

:32:30. > :32:35.arrived at the came pain rooms and spoke to -- campaign rooms, and

:32:36. > :32:39.spoke to my fellow campaigners, that was the same at other stations and

:32:40. > :32:45.including those where normally the polling stations staff have to find

:32:46. > :32:50.ways to keep themselves entertained during long fallow periods. On this

:32:51. > :32:55.day, during this vote, they were very much stressing about the

:32:56. > :32:59.possibility of a serious rush around about tea-time. One Ning that we

:33:00. > :33:05.should do -- one thing we should do is to pay tribute to those people

:33:06. > :33:09.who staffed the polling stations and who assisted with the vote itself,

:33:10. > :33:13.because many people who arrived at those polling stations had never

:33:14. > :33:16.cast a democratic ballot before and required assistance and support and

:33:17. > :33:20.required the patience and perseverance of those staff and we

:33:21. > :33:24.should pay tribute to them and their work for ensuring that the vote was

:33:25. > :33:27.able to be carried out without any fuss or significant delays and

:33:28. > :33:37.without people finding that they were unable to get access to the

:33:38. > :33:40.polling stations. Also, in terms of participation, the point has been

:33:41. > :33:45.made around the narrowing of the gap between the poorest communities and

:33:46. > :33:51.the wealthy community. I think my colleague Kevin Stewart mentioned

:33:52. > :33:57.the late Brian Adam and one of the things Brian would have been proud

:33:58. > :34:01.about, was the turnout, but the voting of "yes" which would have

:34:02. > :34:07.given him a smile. The other thing which struck me during the campaign

:34:08. > :34:11.was the people who campaigned. I've been involved in local politics in

:34:12. > :34:16.Aberdeen, not for as long as some of them over there, but over a decade

:34:17. > :34:23.now and I know the familiar faces and the people who you can rely on

:34:24. > :34:26.to turn up an election campaign to knock on doors and do the jobs

:34:27. > :34:30.needed to be done. There were a lot of faces in the campaign that I had

:34:31. > :34:34.never seen before. A lot of people who were not involved in politics,

:34:35. > :34:42.whether with the SNP or any other party. I want to mention and again

:34:43. > :34:50.Kevin Stewart mentioned the Aberdeen branch of Women for Independence.

:34:51. > :34:55.They were led by a lady called Gillian Martin, who is a constituent

:34:56. > :34:59.of the First Minister, who became inspired to get more involved

:35:00. > :35:04.following the passing of Malcolm McDonald and she posted on her blog

:35:05. > :35:08.at the time saying what would Margot do and decided she would get

:35:09. > :35:13.involved? Gillian and her team were a force of nature. They were holding

:35:14. > :35:19.information meetings across the north-east and they were manning a

:35:20. > :35:24.stall or womening a stall in the city centre to pass out information

:35:25. > :35:27.to voters to talk andance questions from voters as they -- and answer

:35:28. > :35:31.questions from voters as they passed by. They were getting people who had

:35:32. > :35:37.never been involved or engaged to become involved and engaged in the

:35:38. > :35:42.process. Another group who surprised me were people who I knew myself,

:35:43. > :35:45.some of the playground mums at the school where my daughter is part of

:35:46. > :35:49.the nursery, who were telling me about the work they were doing

:35:50. > :35:53.within their friend groups and the playground itself, within their

:35:54. > :35:57.families to talk to people about independence, to talk about the

:35:58. > :36:01.opportunities they thought would bring and came out and started door

:36:02. > :36:07.knocking and getting involved in the campaign proper. If you had said to

:36:08. > :36:11.these people six months prior to the vote they would be actively involved

:36:12. > :36:15.in a campaign they would probably not have believed you and the same

:36:16. > :36:19.goes for the people who didn't get involved, but got involved in terms

:36:20. > :36:23.of the debates and public meetings, people who I know from the school

:36:24. > :36:27.days, who I saw in the audience, who if you had said to us at school not

:36:28. > :36:30.only they would be in the audience, but I would be speaking at a public

:36:31. > :36:34.meeting would probably not have believed it. One other thing on

:36:35. > :36:40.that, because when the First Minister was out campaigning with us

:36:41. > :36:47.not long before the vote he was handed a letter from a young girl,

:36:48. > :36:53.Molly, aged eight and three quarters and she thanked him for fighting for

:36:54. > :36:59.her future. And I would point out to the First Minister he said her

:37:00. > :37:04.ambition was to go to university and her mum says she wants to grow up to

:37:05. > :37:08.be Nicola Sturgeon, so perhaps you can pass that on. One other group

:37:09. > :37:14.who deserve mention are Scotland's carers and certainly a large number

:37:15. > :37:19.of carers who took the opportunity to get involved and to put down the

:37:20. > :37:23.marker for the kind of things they wanted to see in the future for

:37:24. > :37:29.Scotland and a declaration was signed by well over 100 carers

:37:30. > :37:33.supporting a "yes" vote. Not just supporting a "yes" vote in and of

:37:34. > :37:39.itself, but looking for greater control of welfare for Scotland and

:37:40. > :37:44.greater control of the powers that influence and effect the lives of

:37:45. > :37:50.carers and those that they care for. Greater powers on welfare was hinted

:37:51. > :37:54.at during the speech that Johann Lamont gave and I think what carers

:37:55. > :38:00.would like to see and the ones who have got in touch with me, is more

:38:01. > :38:07.detail around what are the welfare powers and taxation powers we'll see

:38:08. > :38:11.in Scotland, because we have had the promise of more powers and we need

:38:12. > :38:15.flesh on the bone and we have to understand what those powers are and

:38:16. > :38:21.how we can use those to transform lives for Scotland's carers and the

:38:22. > :38:25.people in general. The people of Scotland are active and engaged in

:38:26. > :38:36.their hunger for change and we must ensure that's delivered.

:38:37. > :38:39.Annabel Goldie. All of us will have, as is already clear, different

:38:40. > :38:43.recollections of the referendum campaign and different reactions to

:38:44. > :38:49.the result. I think it's important within this Parliament of all places

:38:50. > :38:54.we are responsible about what we saw and -- say and careful in how we say

:38:55. > :39:01.it. It's true that the numbers of voters registered and the turnouts

:39:02. > :39:11.of 85% reflect the degree of engagement which is unprecedented.

:39:12. > :39:21.That is reassuring and welcome. I accept the single issue is the

:39:22. > :39:26.interest. I'm not going to dwell on the campaign like many. I've

:39:27. > :39:30.received numerous stories of conduct that was inappropriate and

:39:31. > :39:35.unimpressive. I did hear directly from "no" voters who were scared to

:39:36. > :39:39.display window posters or wear stickers. If they were justified in

:39:40. > :39:45.that apprehension that is certainly not the political climate I want to

:39:46. > :39:49.see in Scotland. Democracy is underpinned by freedom of opinion

:39:50. > :39:55.and freedom of expression. With respect for those who hold opinions

:39:56. > :40:00.with which you disagree. Depart from that with self-indulgent displays of

:40:01. > :40:05.veple on and contempt and democracy is deserved and our country

:40:06. > :40:11.diminished. For myself, I very much enjoyed the campaign. It was a

:40:12. > :40:15.positive experience and my front room windows and stickers remained

:40:16. > :40:21.in tact. What I do know is how the debate divided Scotland. As passions

:40:22. > :40:26.ran high, fistures ran deep in families, communities in the

:40:27. > :40:31.workplace and among friends. Let me turn to the result. Voters in

:40:32. > :40:34.Scotland decisively rejected industry pence and endorsed the

:40:35. > :40:43.partnership of the United Kingdom. That is a clear and democratic

:40:44. > :40:50.outcome. This is not about triumph and victory. This is about allowing

:40:51. > :40:54.Scotland to have her say on an issue of unparalleled importance, hearing

:40:55. > :40:57.what she said, accepting that verdict and moving on. The Edinburgh

:40:58. > :41:03.agreement was framed in the knowledge that one side or the other

:41:04. > :41:06.would be deeply disappointed. That is why the agreement as indicated by

:41:07. > :41:11.the First Minister and signed by both him and the fir minister,

:41:12. > :41:15.confirmed that both government would respect the outcome. We now have to

:41:16. > :41:21.implement the spirit of that agreement. We need to do that,

:41:22. > :41:25.because democratic will obliges up to do that, because it's the right

:41:26. > :41:29.thing to do, but most importantly of all, because for the sake of

:41:30. > :41:36.Scotland, we must move forward into a new era. I do not want to diminish

:41:37. > :41:40.what I know is a deep sense of disappointment and dismay felt by

:41:41. > :41:46.those in the SNP and all the other parties and people involved in the

:41:47. > :41:50."yes" campaign. We have to leave Holyrood for now. That debate

:41:51. > :41:56.continues this afternoon. And it resumes tomorrow. But, while MSPs

:41:57. > :42:00.look ahead to the prospect of more powers for the Scottish Parliament

:42:01. > :42:03.one man who would be in a position to deliver them, if he becomes Prime

:42:04. > :42:10.Minister, has also been making a speech today. He is of course, the

:42:11. > :42:14.Labour leader Ed Miliband and he's just finished in Manchester. He's

:42:15. > :42:19.been speaking about devolution and about the US-led air strikes which

:42:20. > :42:24.were launched overnight targeting Islamic State militants in Syria. I

:42:25. > :42:29.want to start by talking about somebody whose fromle Salford just

:42:30. > :42:37.down the road from here and that's Alan Henning, a British hostage

:42:38. > :42:43.taken by Islamic State. His wife, Barbara, made a moving appeal for

:42:44. > :42:47.his release over the weekend. Alan Henning is an aid worker simply

:42:48. > :42:54.trying to make life better for victims of conflict. I think it

:42:55. > :42:58.should tell us all we need to know about Islamic State and their murd

:42:59. > :43:04.Russ ways, that they take a decent British man like Alan Henning

:43:05. > :43:11.hostage. And it's not just British people that they're targeting. It's

:43:12. > :43:15.people of all nationals -- narmTS and reledge -- nationalalities and

:43:16. > :43:21.religions and it's why we have supported a coalition not based on

:43:22. > :43:25.military action, but muple action and political -- humanitarian action

:43:26. > :43:30.and political action, to counter the threat. This week, the President of

:43:31. > :43:37.the United States and the British Prime Minister are both at the UN.

:43:38. > :43:44.We support the overnight action against Islamic State. What needs to

:43:45. > :43:52.happen now is that the UN needs to play its part, a UN Security Council

:43:53. > :44:04.resolution to win the international support to counter that threat.

:44:05. > :44:09.APPLAUSE Friends, this country will never

:44:10. > :44:21.turn our back on the world and will never turn our back on the

:44:22. > :44:25.principles of internationalism. And those values and those values are

:44:26. > :44:38.reflected not just in our country, but in this party, in this hall, and

:44:39. > :44:41.in this great city of Manchester. APPLAUSE

:44:42. > :44:47.We need here in serious times, not just for the world, but for our

:44:48. > :44:52.country too. And our country nearly broke up. A country that nearly

:44:53. > :44:59.split apart is not a country in good health. I want to start by thanking

:45:00. > :45:03.all of Labour's team Scotland for the part they blade in keeping our

:45:04. > :45:14.country -- played in keeping our country together.

:45:15. > :45:23.APPLAUSE Let us thank them all. Gordon Brown,

:45:24. > :45:28.Alistair Darling... APPLAUSE Margaret Curran and Douglas

:45:29. > :45:32.Alexander, Jim Murphy Anna Sarwar, Johann Lamontment let us thank them

:45:33. > :45:45.all, because they helped save our country.

:45:46. > :45:51.I want to say to the people of Scotland directly, this Labour Party

:45:52. > :46:05.will show you over the coming years you made the right choice. Because

:46:06. > :46:11.we are better together. Here's the thing - all of us, all political

:46:12. > :46:18.leaders, all of us in this hall, have a responsibility to try to

:46:19. > :46:22.explain why 45% of people voted yes. 45% wanted to break up the country.

:46:23. > :46:27.We have to explain why the feeling we saw in Scotland is not just in

:46:28. > :46:33.Scotland, but is reflected across the country. And my story starts six

:46:34. > :46:37.days from the end of the referendum campaign. I was on my way to a

:46:38. > :46:43.public meeting. I was late, as politicians tend to be. And just

:46:44. > :46:48.outside the meeting I met a woman and I was supposed to go into the

:46:49. > :46:52.meeting, but I wanted to ask her how she was voting. I did that to

:46:53. > :46:59.everybody on the street. One vote at a time. And I said to her, how are

:47:00. > :47:04.you voting? She said she hadn't decided yet. She was Joss feen and

:47:05. > :47:08.cleaned in the building. I asked her what the company was like she worked

:47:09. > :47:13.for. She said decent, but the wages were rubbish. She hadn't decided

:47:14. > :47:17.because life was so incredibly tough for her. She didn't want to leave,

:47:18. > :47:21.but she thought it might be the best thing to do. I don't know how

:47:22. > :47:28.Josephine voted in the referendum, but I do know the questions she was

:47:29. > :47:36.asking. Is anyone going to make life better for me and my family? And

:47:37. > :47:40.here's the thing, it isn't just Joss feen's question, it's a question

:47:41. > :47:43.people are interesting -- Josephine's questions, it's a

:47:44. > :47:48.question people are asking across Britain. Is anyone going to build a

:47:49. > :47:52.better life for the working people of our country? That wasn't just the

:47:53. > :48:04.referendum question. That is the general election question.

:48:05. > :48:11.I'm not talking about the powerful and privilege and those who do well

:48:12. > :48:15.waver the weather. I'm talking about families like your, treading water

:48:16. > :48:20.and working harder and harder to stay afloat. For Labour, this

:48:21. > :48:25.election is about you. You've made the sacrifices. You've taken home

:48:26. > :48:30.lower wages year after year and paid higher taxes. You've seen your

:48:31. > :48:35.energy bills rise and NHS decline. You know this country doesn't work

:48:36. > :48:41.for you. My answer is that we can build a better future for you and

:48:42. > :48:45.your family and this speech is about Labour's plan to do it. Labour's

:48:46. > :49:01.plan for Britain's future. What do we need to have that plan

:49:02. > :49:05.for the future? We have to understand what people are saying to

:49:06. > :49:09.us right across the United Kingdom. I think across the country there is

:49:10. > :49:13.a silent majority who wanted the country to endure, but are telling

:49:14. > :49:19.us that things must change and they come from every walk of life. Like a

:49:20. > :49:24.young woman who works in a pub near where I live. She lives at the

:49:25. > :49:28.opposite end of the country from Joss feen, but separated by at least

:49:29. > :49:33.a generation, but they share a common experience. She couldn't

:49:34. > :49:41.afford to go to college, so she got a job in the pub kitchen nearby. She

:49:42. > :49:44.washed dishes. She has worked incredibly hard and worked her way

:49:45. > :49:52.up to be one of the chefs, but like for Josephine and her is incredibly

:49:53. > :49:58.tough. And by the way, she thinks politics it rubbish. Let's not

:49:59. > :50:04.pretend we don't hear that a lot on the doorsteps. What does she see,

:50:05. > :50:09.drift. She doesn't think we can solve her problems and we have to

:50:10. > :50:12.prove her wrong. It's not just that people like these two women are

:50:13. > :50:16.strug willing the problems of today and millions of others. I think

:50:17. > :50:22.there's something almost even more important about the country. People

:50:23. > :50:26.have lost faith in the future. You know, the other day I was in the

:50:27. > :50:30.park and I was trying to work on my speech and I wasn't getting

:50:31. > :50:33.anywhere, so I went to the park and there were two young women, who were

:50:34. > :50:47.in the park. They seemed excited to see me and they came over. It's not

:50:48. > :50:51.that funny! One of them actually said, so it is true you do meet

:50:52. > :50:58.famous people in the park and the other one said, yeah, it is and the

:50:59. > :51:02.first one said, no, offence we were hoping for Benedict Cumberbatch. One

:51:03. > :51:09.of them said something that stuck with me. She said this, "My

:51:10. > :51:14.generation is falling into a black hole." She said about her parents

:51:15. > :51:18.and they've had it so good and there's nothing left for us. She

:51:19. > :51:21.wasn't just speaking for herself. She was speaking for millions of

:51:22. > :51:27.people across our country. Millions of people who have lost faith in the

:51:28. > :51:31.future. Like Gareth, who is high up in a software company and got a

:51:32. > :51:35.five-year-old daughter and earning a decent wage, but can't afford to buy

:51:36. > :51:39.a home for himself and family. He's priced out by the rich. He thinks

:51:40. > :51:43.that unless you are one of the privileged few in Britain, the

:51:44. > :51:50.country's not going to work for you and your kids will have a worse life

:51:51. > :51:54.than you. So many people, friends, across the country feel this way.

:51:55. > :52:00.They feel the country doesn't work for them. And they've lost that

:52:01. > :52:05.faith in the future. Our task is to restore people's faith in the

:52:06. > :52:10.future. Not by breaking up our country, but by breaking with the

:52:11. > :52:15.old way of doing things. By breaking with the past. I'm not talking about

:52:16. > :52:19.a different policy. Or a different programme. I'm talking about

:52:20. > :52:23.something much bigger. I'm talking about a different idea, a different

:52:24. > :52:28.ethic for the way our country succeeds. You see, for all the sound

:52:29. > :52:31.and fury, in England, Scotland, Wales and across the United Kingdom,

:52:32. > :52:36.what people actually are saying to us is this country doesn't care

:52:37. > :52:39.about me. Our politics doesn't listen, our my doesn't work and

:52:40. > :52:41.they're not wrong, they're right and this Labour Party is going to put it

:52:42. > :52:59.right. Clear Friends, to do that we have

:53:00. > :53:05.got to go back to the very foundations of who we are and how we

:53:06. > :53:10.run things. We just can't carry on with the belief we can succeed as a

:53:11. > :53:16.country, with a tiny minority at the top doing well. Prop pert in one

:53:17. > :53:22.part of Britain, among a small elite, a circle that is closed to

:53:23. > :53:26.most, blind to the concerns of people sending the message to

:53:27. > :53:31.everyone but a few, you're on your own. Think about it for one moment.

:53:32. > :53:37.In our economy it's working people who are made to bare the burden of

:53:38. > :53:43.anxiety and insecurity. They've been told you're on your own. So many

:53:44. > :53:46.young people who don't have the privileges think their life is going

:53:47. > :53:55.to be worse than their parents. They've been old, you're on your

:53:56. > :53:58.own. So many small businesses are struggling against the bigger and

:53:59. > :54:02.they've been told you're on your own and the vulnerable have been cast

:54:03. > :54:09.aside, not listened to, even when they have a case. They've been old,

:54:10. > :54:13.you're on your own. And to cap it all, in our politics, it's a few who

:54:14. > :54:18.have the access, while everyone else is locked out. Taf been told, you're

:54:19. > :54:24.on your own. -- they've been told, you're on your own. No wonder people

:54:25. > :54:31.have lost faith in the future. That's why so many people voted to

:54:32. > :54:35.break up our country. Is it any wonder? The deck is stacked and the

:54:36. > :54:41.game is rigged in favour of those who have all the power. Friends, in

:54:42. > :54:43.eight months' time we are going to call time on this way of running the

:54:44. > :55:01.country. You're on your own. Because you're on your own doesn't

:55:02. > :55:10.work for you or your family. It doesn't work for Britain.

:55:11. > :55:19.Can we build a different future? Of course we can. But with a different

:55:20. > :55:24.idea for how we succeed. An idea in the end won the referendum. An idea

:55:25. > :55:31.I love, because it says so much about who we are and who we have it

:55:32. > :55:38.in ourselves to become. And an idea rooted in this party's character and

:55:39. > :55:43.our country's history. An idea that built our greatest institutions and

:55:44. > :55:51.got us through our darkest moment. An idea that is just one simple word

:55:52. > :55:56.- together. Together. Together we can restore faith in the future.

:55:57. > :56:00.Together we can build a better future for the working people of

:56:01. > :56:15.Britain. Together we can rebuild Britain. Friends, together we can.

:56:16. > :56:21.Together says it's not just a powerful few at the top, but the

:56:22. > :56:26.voice of everyone. Together says it's not the wealthy people who

:56:27. > :56:29.create the wealth of the country, it's everyone working and together

:56:30. > :56:34.says we can't succeed as a country with talents of a few, but use the

:56:35. > :56:41.talents of all. Together says that we can't have some people making the

:56:42. > :56:44.rules, everyone has to play under the same rules and we have a duty to

:56:45. > :56:49.look after each other when times are hard. Together, the way we restore

:56:50. > :56:56.faith in the future. Together, a different idea for Britain.

:56:57. > :57:01.The Labour leader, Ed Miliband there. We are almost out of time,

:57:02. > :57:08.but before we go, a reminder of the main points today. We have heard

:57:09. > :57:11.Alex Salmond. He told MPs that the referendum had been the greatest

:57:12. > :57:17.democratic experience in Scotland's history and he said there's now not

:57:18. > :57:20.a shred of evidence to show 16 and 17-year-olds should not be allowed

:57:21. > :57:26.to vote. But he accused David Cameron of going back on his

:57:27. > :57:31.commitment to enhance powers. Johann Lamont for Labour said voters had

:57:32. > :57:36.made up their minds after what she called a divisive debate and said

:57:37. > :57:40.the UK was a clear choice of the many, after a fair and democratic

:57:41. > :57:45.debate. The Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson said the referendum

:57:46. > :57:49.had been a credit to the nation and it was time for the SNP to accept

:57:50. > :57:54.that the majority had spoken and to move on. To make devolution a

:57:55. > :57:58.success for the people of Scotland. And the Liberal Democrat leader,

:57:59. > :58:03.Willie Rennie said last week's vote had been an inspiration but accused

:58:04. > :58:07.Alex Salmond of questioning the judgment of Scottish voters, who he

:58:08. > :58:11.said, want a more powerful Scottish Parliament within the United

:58:12. > :58:14.Kingdom. Meanwhile, in Manchester, Ed Miliband said Labour will show

:58:15. > :58:18.the people of Scotland over the coming years that they made the

:58:19. > :58:22.right choice last Thursday, because he said, the UK is better together.

:58:23. > :58:26.And he went on to ask can anyone build a better future for the

:58:27. > :58:30.working people of Britain? He said that's not just a referendum

:58:31. > :58:38.question, it is the general election question. Everyone looking to the

:58:39. > :58:42.future. That's it from us today. If you want to watch the full speech

:58:43. > :58:49.from Ed Miliband you can see it again on BBC Parliament at 5.00pm.

:58:50. > :58:52.Gary Roberts will be here tomorrow. We'll have the usual edition. From

:58:53. > :59:06.everyone here, have a very good afternoon.

:59:07. > :59:20.There are now even more ways to get involved

:59:21. > :59:21.and watch the inspirational programmes

:59:22. > :59:23.made by the BBC and the Open University.

:59:24. > :59:27.A world of almost limitless consumption.

:59:28. > :59:32.It makes you realise how important this place is.

:59:33. > :59:37.There are now even more ways to get involved

:59:38. > :59:38.and watch the inspirational programmes

:59:39. > :59:41.made by the BBC and the Open University.

:59:42. > :59:47.The world is much better than you think.