:00:24. > :00:33.It is six months since the last SNP conference. And a lot has changed.
:00:34. > :00:36.Five months ago Scotland voted to give the SNP a third term in
:00:37. > :00:46.government, and the UK was in the midst of the EU referendum campaign.
:00:47. > :00:51.With this result. At the end of the count, 52% vote to leave, 48%, to
:00:52. > :00:58.remain. Quite an extraordinary moment. Few expected it and few
:00:59. > :01:03.anticipated that the SNP would be gathering to consider what the
:01:04. > :01:07.country would face as a result of Brexit. The right wing of the Tory
:01:08. > :01:16.party is in the ascendancy, seeking to hijack the EU referendum result.
:01:17. > :01:22.Brexit, it has now become Tory Brexit. Nicola Sturgeon used her
:01:23. > :01:27.speech to address some of the rhetoric from last week's Tory party
:01:28. > :01:34.conference and to send an unguarded message to two Reza May. If you
:01:35. > :01:39.think for one single second that I am not serious about doing what it
:01:40. > :01:45.takes to protect Scotland's interests, then think again.
:01:46. > :01:51.Delegates had gathered for the first time in the Clyde Auditorium at the
:01:52. > :01:55.Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, one of the few places again
:01:56. > :02:01.of to hold an SNP conference these days. This is the biggest ever
:02:02. > :02:10.conference in the history of the SNP. But the bigger the party, the
:02:11. > :02:22.harder it is to manage. It will Sturgeon faced some of those
:02:23. > :02:26.tensions head on. There is not a day that passes anymore without somebody
:02:27. > :02:30.advising me to hurry up with the referendum. And there is not a day
:02:31. > :02:37.that passes without somebody advising me to slow down. Welcome to
:02:38. > :02:41.my world. She offered a deft solution to those clamouring for
:02:42. > :02:46.action. I am determined that Scotland will have the ability to
:02:47. > :02:53.reconsider the question of independence and to do so for the UK
:02:54. > :03:05.believes the EU, if that is necessary to protect our country's
:03:06. > :03:08.interests -- the UK leaves the EU. I can today confirmed that the
:03:09. > :03:15.independence referendum will will be published for consultation next
:03:16. > :03:20.week. That pleased the packed hall. More on that later. To give you an
:03:21. > :03:27.idea of the scale of the conference, take a look at this. Four years ago
:03:28. > :03:31.this is the room the SNP held their conference in. Now it is only big
:03:32. > :03:37.enough to hold the press reporting on it. There were more than 100
:03:38. > :03:42.fringe meetings at the conference and in nearby hotels. And 50 stalls
:03:43. > :03:49.representing organisations who want to influence the politics of
:03:50. > :03:54.Scotland. But for some it is too big and too expensive. So there is an
:03:55. > :03:59.alternative event across the water. It is open to the public and it is
:04:00. > :04:03.free. The reason we are free is because we could not afford to be in
:04:04. > :04:08.the conference. That this is also a universal truth. When politics
:04:09. > :04:12.operates, the organisations and interests which are best able to
:04:13. > :04:16.remotely support them are the ones that are most easily hurt. If you
:04:17. > :04:19.are trying to produce socially relevant policy without a large
:04:20. > :04:25.budget it can be very hard to be heard above the hint of interest
:04:26. > :04:34.groups in politics. Politics in Scotland is clearly something more
:04:35. > :04:49.and more people are engaged in. And so to the conference, in the main
:04:50. > :04:54.hall. The surprise exit Stuart Hosie left a vacancy for deputy leader.
:04:55. > :04:56.Coming second was Tommy Sheppard, a relatively recent defection from
:04:57. > :05:06.Labour joined the party just two years ago, but the winner was the
:05:07. > :05:10.favourite, Angus Robertson. He has already steered the party through
:05:11. > :05:19.difficult terrain including the decision to change their policy on
:05:20. > :05:24.Nato. Like Miss Sturgeon he is keen to avoid losing a second
:05:25. > :05:29.independence referendum. Securing 45% support in the referendum was a
:05:30. > :05:36.great support but we must reach out to the 55% who voted no in 2014. I
:05:37. > :05:39.believe that the deputy leader has a big job to make this happen and I
:05:40. > :05:45.will work with Nicola Sturgeon to make this happen. There was almost
:05:46. > :05:50.unanimous agreement on Trident, Conservative politicians, and the
:05:51. > :05:56.Republican presidential contender. It is not British or UK nuclear
:05:57. > :06:02.weapons. It is American nuclear weapons. And nobody at all mentions
:06:03. > :06:08.that fact. Looking at America right now, you might have Donald Trump is
:06:09. > :06:14.president. We have it bad enough with Boris Johnson as Foreign
:06:15. > :06:22.Minister. Imagine both buffoons in charge of a Trident nuclear weapons.
:06:23. > :06:28.It is dangerous. We have lists of foreign workers, reminiscent of the
:06:29. > :06:32.rise of Nazism in the 1930s. A friend contacted me last night and
:06:33. > :06:37.said, I have just been asked by by human resources Department to
:06:38. > :06:42.provide a copy of my passport to check my eligibility to work in the
:06:43. > :06:48.UK. British jobs for British workers is one of the most deliberately
:06:49. > :06:53.divisive terms I have ever heard. First mooted by Gordon Brown, then
:06:54. > :07:07.Prime Minister, now chanted with gusto by his Better Together pals
:07:08. > :07:12.and the Tories. Then came education. We will extend the guarantee to EU
:07:13. > :07:26.students wishing to come to start in Scotland in the next year in
:07:27. > :07:36.2017-18. And unlike Labour and the Tories that is tuition free
:07:37. > :07:42.education. Tuition free education that we are guaranteeing, not the
:07:43. > :07:48.massive fees they impose on students, where ever they come from.
:07:49. > :07:55.But we will go further. We will guarantee their funding. What I
:07:56. > :07:57.demand is that the Tory Brexit government guarantees the right to
:07:58. > :08:04.stay here while they study, and to work after their studies. These
:08:05. > :08:08.people are not cards to be played. They are fellow human beings. To use
:08:09. > :08:16.them as negotiating chips is obscene. And at this party and this
:08:17. > :08:19.SNP government will have none of it. And a motion to devolve power to
:08:20. > :08:26.decriminalise cannabis for medicinal use. Good morning, conference. My
:08:27. > :08:30.name is Laura and I have been living with multiple sclerosis for nine
:08:31. > :08:34.years. The fact that I'm standing here giving you this speech means I
:08:35. > :08:38.am one of the lucky ones. It has become very clear to me over these
:08:39. > :08:41.last nine years that many people living with MS have been using
:08:42. > :08:46.cannabis to help with the symptoms of that condition, in fact it is one
:08:47. > :08:53.of the worst kept secrets at the hospital. All of these people risk a
:08:54. > :08:58.criminal record, unlike in Australia, Chile, Canada, Finland,
:08:59. > :09:04.France, Germany, Romania, and some US states. Some allow the raw plant.
:09:05. > :09:08.Others, a mouth spray. Nevertheless we as a developed Western nation are
:09:09. > :09:16.fast becoming behind the times, the odd ones out. Not everybody agreed.
:09:17. > :09:21.Nowadays people look for quick fixes as far as pain is concerned. And
:09:22. > :09:24.quick fixes as far as when the pain medication doesn't work. They
:09:25. > :09:29.basically go to stronger painkillers. I am afraid that this
:09:30. > :09:35.is what would happen with this particular medication. There are
:09:36. > :09:41.alternatives to basically pain medication, and a lot of doctors are
:09:42. > :09:46.basically prescribing that a fitness regime for getting you fit in all
:09:47. > :09:50.different ways, and we have MS patients who come to our centres to
:09:51. > :09:54.go through this regime, it actually increases the fitness to all your
:09:55. > :09:59.body and you decrease the amount of painkillers you are on. That is the
:10:00. > :10:05.way to go. Stop all these pain medications. Go to fitness regimes.
:10:06. > :10:15.I know that the MS card is being played. But it is not just MS it
:10:16. > :10:20.would be useful. I am sorry, but it is true. This is not just for MS
:10:21. > :10:24.patients. This is for everybody who is a doctor to legally prescribe
:10:25. > :10:30.this. It is not the answer, vote against this please. But they did
:10:31. > :10:31.not. The motion for the Scottish Government to make the change was
:10:32. > :10:50.carried unanimously. The keynote speech was packed policy
:10:51. > :10:55.announcement. Today I can announce a 4-point plan to boost trade and
:10:56. > :11:01.export by taking Scotland's message directly, and in our own voice, to
:11:02. > :11:06.the very heart of Europe. Firstly, we will establish a new board of
:11:07. > :11:11.trade in the Scottish Government. Secondly, we will set up a new trade
:11:12. > :11:17.envoy scheme. It will ask prominent Scots to help us boost our export
:11:18. > :11:30.efforts. Thirdly, we will establish permanent trade representation in
:11:31. > :11:34.Berlin, adding... APPLAUSE. Adding to our investment herbs in
:11:35. > :11:39.Dublin, London, Brussels. And fourthly, we will more than double
:11:40. > :11:44.the number of Scottish investment develop and staff working across
:11:45. > :11:47.Europe. Men and women whose job it will be to market Scotland is an
:11:48. > :11:56.open economy and a welcoming society. Friends, the difference
:11:57. > :12:02.between the Scottish and Westminster governments is this - they are
:12:03. > :12:12.retreating to the fringes of Europe. We intend to stay at its very heart,
:12:13. > :12:14.where Scotland belongs. Today we are launching a national parent
:12:15. > :12:21.consultation on how to do things differently. It proposes radical new
:12:22. > :12:28.approaches, prioritising choice and flexibility. First we will propose
:12:29. > :12:32.that parents can choose a nursery and a childminder that best suit
:12:33. > :12:37.their needs, and as long as the provider meet agreed standards, ask
:12:38. > :12:43.the local authority to fund it. In other words, the funding will follow
:12:44. > :12:49.the child, not the other way around. And secondly, as suggested by
:12:50. > :12:54.children in Scotland's childcare commission, we will propose that
:12:55. > :12:58.parents can opt to receive funding in a childcare account and then use
:12:59. > :13:06.it to purchase a suitable place directly. And an emotional plea for
:13:07. > :13:09.Scotland's children. Half of the risen population in Scotland are
:13:10. > :13:13.people who live in care when they were growing up. And worst of all,
:13:14. > :13:20.and this breaks my heart, a young was and who has been in care is 20
:13:21. > :13:28.times, 20 times more likely to be dead by the age of 25 than a young
:13:29. > :13:30.person who has not. Conference, this simply has too change and I am
:13:31. > :13:54.determined that it will change. So I am going to do what these young
:13:55. > :13:56.people have asked me to do. I am announcing today that we will launch
:13:57. > :14:08.an independent root and branch review of the care system.
:14:09. > :14:16.And a realigning of NHS priorities. By the end of this parliament we
:14:17. > :14:22.will increase spending on primary care services to 11% of the front
:14:23. > :14:31.line NHS budget, that is what doctors have said is needed and that
:14:32. > :14:38.is what we will deliver. And let me be clear what that means. By 2021 an
:14:39. > :14:45.extra ?500 million will be invested in GP practices and health centres.
:14:46. > :14:49.And it means that for the first time ever, half of the health budget will
:14:50. > :14:52.be spent not in acute hospitals, but in the community, delivering primary
:14:53. > :15:08.community and social care. Home and away, one family from
:15:09. > :15:13.Australia illustrated the party's concerns about the UK Government
:15:14. > :15:26.stance on immigration. Let me take you back to June 2000 and seven. --
:15:27. > :15:29.2011. The family arrived from Australia having satisfied all of UK
:15:30. > :15:34.immigration's criteria, for Catherine to study a degree in
:15:35. > :15:39.Scottish history and archaeology, with the promise that was interface
:15:40. > :15:40.at the time that after her studies Catherine would benefit from the
:15:41. > :15:53.post study work visa. Conference, something that should
:15:54. > :15:57.shame each and every one of us is that the UK Government chose to
:15:58. > :16:02.retrospectively remove that rates from Catherine and thousands of
:16:03. > :16:09.other students in our country. The debate brought the popular return of
:16:10. > :16:15.a familiar face. You're eating into my time.
:16:16. > :16:22.LAUGHTER To Kathleen and Greg, we are happy
:16:23. > :16:29.to have you with us today. Not just today, we are happy to have you with
:16:30. > :16:32.us as part of our society. Congratulations, you're in, for your
:16:33. > :16:37.parliamentary work and indeed to the minister who finally did the right
:16:38. > :16:42.thing. I am confident that nobody will be more sincere when I say to
:16:43. > :16:47.you that, Scotland, it is good to be here. I had been asked to spend just
:16:48. > :16:52.a couple of minutes to tell you what we've been through to try to be the
:16:53. > :16:57.personal face and what the Post said the work Visa means. I cant do that.
:16:58. > :17:02.I cannot convey in a couple of minutes what we've been through. I
:17:03. > :17:08.can tell you that we have had a win and we are still here on a 12 month
:17:09. > :17:14.Visa and that is in no small part due to about half a dozen people
:17:15. > :17:21.without whom we would not be here. Alex Salmond and Ian, thank you. Not
:17:22. > :17:27.like the issue hanging over every debate, every speech and every
:17:28. > :17:36.fringe event, has been Brexit. And in the rest to. One delegate asked
:17:37. > :17:39.what happened to the Scottish Government holds another
:17:40. > :17:45.independence referendum, but the UK Government refuses to grant it the
:17:46. > :17:50.legal status it did two years ago? The precedent has been set, a very
:17:51. > :17:56.important precedent, where mandates are relevant. I respected David
:17:57. > :18:03.Cameron's ability to hold the European referendum and I respected
:18:04. > :18:07.the result. Last week they said that the mandate of the people must be
:18:08. > :18:13.respected. It would be ironic if she said to the people of Scotland,
:18:14. > :18:17.Nicola Sturgeon who has been elected on a more overwhelming mandate than
:18:18. > :18:22.the Tories were, to turn round and say that we will not respect your
:18:23. > :18:27.mandate. She is the Democrat and there would have to be some form of
:18:28. > :18:31.agreement that respected the outcome of the will of the people of
:18:32. > :18:34.Scotland. If there is another referendum in short order, I think
:18:35. > :18:38.that should be at. And that should be the final one we have for at
:18:39. > :18:44.least a generation, to coin a popular phrase. The trigger for this
:18:45. > :18:49.is a vote in the Scottish parliament. That's what gives it
:18:50. > :18:52.legitimacy. If the Scottish parliament. Older referendum, then
:18:53. > :18:58.it is inconceivable, we keep using that word and there it happens, but
:18:59. > :19:02.it is inconceivable that the Westminster parliament would not
:19:03. > :19:10.accept that. Debate about the timing of indie rest to spilled onto the
:19:11. > :19:14.floor of the conference. I desire independence with all my very being,
:19:15. > :19:18.but I want to be very sure that when we go for the referendum that we win
:19:19. > :19:23.it and that all the arguments are in place. I don't want to see as rush
:19:24. > :19:31.enthusiastically in the another referendum, the Scottish Government
:19:32. > :19:36.seeking a soft Brexit may actually be achieved, but we will be out with
:19:37. > :19:42.the EU. We may have a deal that proves popular with the Scottish
:19:43. > :19:44.people out with the use, do we then rush forward to have another
:19:45. > :19:49.independence referendum? Even though the support of the Scottish people
:19:50. > :19:54.may not be with us, because they support the deal are Scottish
:19:55. > :19:59.Government could potentially secure. Somewhere more inpatient than
:20:00. > :20:03.others. I want to tell Theresa May now that the main means remain. I
:20:04. > :20:09.don't want to wait a few months down the line to give reassurance to a EU
:20:10. > :20:14.nationals in this country that reassurance that they are waiting
:20:15. > :20:18.for, that this party, this country, stands by them. Sending is motion
:20:19. > :20:24.back today, rejecting this motion back today, is a slap in the face to
:20:25. > :20:28.providing that reassurance to 170,000 people that want reassurance
:20:29. > :20:34.now! A difficult question hanging over delegates, should there be an
:20:35. > :20:41.independence referendum before or after the UK leaves EU? I'd like to
:20:42. > :20:48.see an independence referendum before the UK leaves Europe, because
:20:49. > :20:51.I'd like Scotland to stay in Europe later voted to do. I believe that
:20:52. > :20:58.independence is the right solution for Scotland, but obviously, we have
:20:59. > :21:01.to go for a referendum when Michael is confident we can win it, the last
:21:02. > :21:08.thing we want to do is have another one and lose. I think it is the best
:21:09. > :21:12.time, when we can win. People have voted yes to the referendum in
:21:13. > :21:16.September into theirs and 14 never one to experience what they got on
:21:17. > :21:22.the 19th of September. I personally wanted before it happens, because
:21:23. > :21:27.then we might have it doing a different ways to negotiate, slide
:21:28. > :21:30.rather have it before. When the Scottish Government publishes its
:21:31. > :21:35.referendum bill this week, ministers are going to face some tough
:21:36. > :21:40.constitutional questions. Speaking to the BBC at the conference, Nicola
:21:41. > :21:45.Sturgeon gave a strong indication of what her approach is going to be. It
:21:46. > :21:50.would be inconceivable given that the Tories have put us in this
:21:51. > :21:53.position, if the Scottish Parliament decided a new Scottish Parliament, I
:21:54. > :21:59.can decide when to propose a referendum, if the democratically
:22:00. > :22:05.elected parliament of a country that has two Passat legislation, if we
:22:06. > :22:08.decided it was the right thing to protect Scotland's interests and the
:22:09. > :22:14.Tories tried to block it, I think that would be absolutely
:22:15. > :22:16.inconceivable. In a fringe event, the deputy minister made clear that
:22:17. > :22:22.the second independence referendum would be very different to the
:22:23. > :22:26.campaign of the last one. The nature of the economic circumstances of
:22:27. > :22:31.Scotland I know very different to what they were on June 22. They have
:22:32. > :22:36.been fundamentally reshaped by the Brexit vote and I think we shaped by
:22:37. > :22:40.the appalling vacuum of leadership there has been since the EU
:22:41. > :22:45.referendum, that has just fuelled. All the stuff we endure June the
:22:46. > :22:49.Scottish independence referendum about uncertainty has been nothing
:22:50. > :22:58.compared to what the Tory Government has presided over it since the
:22:59. > :23:01.referendum result. It's a fundamental change of circumstances
:23:02. > :23:06.and context and the Scottish economy will be different as a result of
:23:07. > :23:11.that. We have to think about how we can strengthen the Scottish economy
:23:12. > :23:16.in light of that and to provide it with the foundations that are
:23:17. > :23:20.required to create a strong and viable independent country. As you
:23:21. > :23:26.mentioned being at the heart of the economic case for independence, do
:23:27. > :23:31.you regret the way the currency argument was pursued? I don't regret
:23:32. > :23:35.anything about the arguments I put forward. I have to honestly accept
:23:36. > :23:39.that they were not sufficiently compelling, because we did not win
:23:40. > :23:42.the referendum, which is why we have to be open-minded about how we
:23:43. > :23:45.perceive those arguments in the future. Will it have to be a
:23:46. > :23:50.different currency argument next time around? Edelmann could
:23:51. > :23:58.necessarily has to be. It was actually quite ironic. The currency
:23:59. > :24:06.argument annually action of George Osborne, many people said that was a
:24:07. > :24:11.sort of, you know, the key argument was the one that George Osborne put
:24:12. > :24:15.forward. I rather thought that George Osborne and his prosecution
:24:16. > :24:20.of that argument was actually one of the factors that drove people into
:24:21. > :24:26.our gardens, because they resented being shoved around by a Tory
:24:27. > :24:29.Chancellor. And where is he now? Well, years not in the Treasury.
:24:30. > :24:37.Isn't it funny how the world goes? There worth taking his views
:24:38. > :24:43.operatively and he is not there any more. But what are the economic
:24:44. > :24:52.concerns under independence? Because of the file in the price of oil.
:24:53. > :24:56.There were some worrying statistics. In 2016, there have been no major
:24:57. > :25:00.field approvals. So many of the jobs are related to the production of
:25:01. > :25:05.this industry. The day-to-day operations and if we don't see a
:25:06. > :25:09.investment come into this year and the next coming years, we will face
:25:10. > :25:15.the production collapse that at the start of this decade and again at
:25:16. > :25:22.the side of the next decade. But it is not all doom and gloom.
:25:23. > :25:25.Scotland's economy grew by a percentage in the latest figures
:25:26. > :25:29.were not all of this has been happening. This is tough and it is
:25:30. > :25:35.with a tough and there is a baked in Aberdeen, that bite has had in pacts
:25:36. > :25:40.as with the north-east of Scotland into Scotland as a whole and the UK
:25:41. > :25:46.as a whole. Don't let anyone tell us that our economy is dependent upon
:25:47. > :25:52.oil and gas, that we are a one trick pony, because if our one industry
:25:53. > :25:57.has gone through this kind of difficulty and our economy grew,
:25:58. > :26:09.then that has clearly been shown to be complete and utter nonsense. As
:26:10. > :26:15.conference drew to a close, the party leader said she has never been
:26:16. > :26:19.more confident of Scotland becoming independent. Be in no doubt,
:26:20. > :26:22.Scotland must have the ability to choose a better future and I will
:26:23. > :26:29.make sure that Scotland gets a chance.
:26:30. > :26:35.APPLAUSE And let us be clear about this as
:26:36. > :26:40.well, if that moment does arise, it will not be because the 2014 result
:26:41. > :26:50.hasn't been respected. It will be because the promises made to
:26:51. > :26:58.Scotland in 2014 had been broken. And above all, it will be because
:26:59. > :27:03.our country decides together that being independent is the best way to
:27:04. > :27:15.build a better, stronger, fairer future for all of us. You know, this
:27:16. > :27:21.year marks 30 years since I first joined the party of hours. I know
:27:22. > :27:27.what you're thinking, how is that even possible when she is still only
:27:28. > :27:36.25? Or maybe that is just what I'd like you to be thinking. In all
:27:37. > :27:39.those 30 years, I have never doubted that Scotland will one day become an
:27:40. > :27:48.independent country and I believe it today.
:27:49. > :27:54.CHEERING And I believe it today more strongly
:27:55. > :27:58.than I ever have before. The conference seems to have been
:27:59. > :28:05.dominated by a single question. Would there be a second independence
:28:06. > :28:11.referendum before Brexit or after? There is a genuine, decent,
:28:12. > :28:17.honourable, division of opinion on this. It is about the strategy to
:28:18. > :28:23.pursue. There are some who believe that the decision to go for Brexit
:28:24. > :28:31.overturns the result in 20 14, that the UK on offer then is no longer on
:28:32. > :28:36.offer. Some also believe that the opportunity to jump on that is a
:28:37. > :28:40.short window of time. Others believe there is an uncertainty created by
:28:41. > :28:48.Brexit and we should not add to that uncertainty by bringing about a
:28:49. > :28:52.referendum. Others also argue about being cautious. Some who favoured
:28:53. > :28:56.Scottish independence are not keen on the European Union. It is an
:28:57. > :29:03.enormously difficult dilemma for the SNP, for Nicola Sturgeon. As she
:29:04. > :29:06.said, welcome to her world, welcome to post exit. From us here at the
:29:07. > :29:08.conference in After mining the rich seam of
:29:09. > :29:11.Scottish Literature, ten books have been chosen, reflecting the vast
:29:12. > :29:17.range and some of the finest But only one can be Scotland's
:29:18. > :29:22.favourite book.