12/04/2014

:00:43. > :00:51.Good afternoon. Welcome to our coverage of the S NP conference. It

:00:52. > :00:59.is the last conference before the referendum. For the Nationalists,

:01:00. > :01:05.now is the time and now is the hour. Scotland can be independent.

:01:06. > :01:10.Scotland should be independent and Scotland must be independent.

:01:11. > :01:18.Celebrating 80 years, the party stands on brink of what could be an

:01:19. > :01:24.historic moment. Delegates are ready for the battle ahead. I will have

:01:25. > :01:28.interviews, reaction and all the latest from the conference in

:01:29. > :01:31.Aberdeen. Alec Salmond is due to make one of

:01:32. > :01:38.the most important speeches of his career so far. This is the hall

:01:39. > :01:44.where that will take place. We are expecting that just after three

:01:45. > :01:48.o'clock. One major theme is the SNP reaching out beyond its traditional

:01:49. > :01:58.support, hoping to gain that majority for independence.

:01:59. > :02:03.Glenn Campbell is at the conference. The conference is waiting to hear

:02:04. > :02:08.from Alex Salmond. His address both focus on independence and the

:02:09. > :02:12.referendum to come. Within days of a yes vote, and all party team of the

:02:13. > :02:22.go see it is could be sitting down with the UK government to hammer out

:02:23. > :02:29.the details of independence. But that referendum has to be one first

:02:30. > :02:39.of all. Alex Salmond opposing to -- will seek to look out and reach out

:02:40. > :02:45.to other parties. In the event of independence, the first government

:02:46. > :02:49.could be a Labour government or a coalition. It would not follow that

:02:50. > :02:54.the SNP would remain in power. He will also stress that the point of

:02:55. > :03:02.independence is that in Scotland, you would get the government U-boat

:03:03. > :03:10.war -- you vote for. It would not be the situation as now with the UK

:03:11. > :03:17.government is making decisions in key areas, a Conservative lead

:03:18. > :03:30.coalition government, which does not, and support in Scotland. --

:03:31. > :03:36.does not command. Brian Taylor is at the conference centre. There is a

:03:37. > :03:41.lot of passion, a lot at stake? Yes, if you look at the resolutions,

:03:42. > :03:50.I think I have not seen one yet that has not been carried, because that

:03:51. > :03:55.is not an ordinary sort of confidence. Every message is set to

:03:56. > :04:02.reinforce the independents offer. Everything is set to underline that

:04:03. > :04:06.pitch. Would you say that every message is reaching out to the

:04:07. > :04:14.people of Scotland, trying to garner undecided voters? Yes, the

:04:15. > :04:27.calculation is that the undecided two will decide. Nicola Sturgeon was

:04:28. > :04:37.making a direct pitch to Labour voters. Many of them will have

:04:38. > :04:43.switched to SNP in 2011, but they will still have an affiliation to

:04:44. > :04:51.Labour. So no attack on Labour at all. Quite the opposite. An attempt

:04:52. > :05:00.to suggest it was a decent thing to be a Labour supporter. Secondly, an

:05:01. > :05:03.argument that by voting for independence, they could rediscover

:05:04. > :05:10.the position of the Labour Party in Scotland. She was talking about a

:05:11. > :05:17.rival party doing well under independence. And also reaching out

:05:18. > :05:23.on the issues that were raised in the White Paper and are being pushed

:05:24. > :05:30.eagerly and assiduously by the SNP as a way of bringing onside those

:05:31. > :05:33.undecided voters. It is an unusual conference because

:05:34. > :05:40.it is not preaching to the unconverted. We are hearing reports

:05:41. > :05:45.of Alex Salmond talking about a team Scotland, a cross-party negotiating

:05:46. > :05:52.team after an independent support. There is a real consensual approach

:05:53. > :06:01.here. It is more than that, it is a strategy. On the doorsteps, we are

:06:02. > :06:10.still hearing that people are thinking it might be a vote for Alex

:06:11. > :06:22.Salmond. About voting for President Salmond. The hour trying to stay --

:06:23. > :06:25.stress that this is not the case. Team Scotland, the cross-party group

:06:26. > :06:33.in, is a way of stressing that this is not about the SNP alone, it is

:06:34. > :06:38.not about being consensual, it is a strategic way of playing down the

:06:39. > :06:41.involvement of the SNP in this. Cleaned out the domination of the

:06:42. > :06:48.SNP and the domination of Alex Salmond. He is a popular

:06:49. > :06:57.politician, but he is not popular with everyone. Not everyone would

:06:58. > :07:00.want him to govern for ever. He is playing down his dominance of

:07:01. > :07:04.Scottish politics deliberately in order to allow people to come

:07:05. > :07:09.forward and vote for independence, are giving it is not about

:07:10. > :07:14.entrenching them in power. Thank you. Here with me is Professor

:07:15. > :07:27.John Curtis of Strathclyde University. Let's get a snapshot of

:07:28. > :07:31.the polls at the moment. It is often said that the yes campaign have the

:07:32. > :07:36.momentum. What is the truth at the moment? There is no doubt that the

:07:37. > :07:43.yes side made progress during the winter. Every single one of the

:07:44. > :07:46.posters now have the yes side doing better than they did before

:07:47. > :08:01.Christmas. During the second half of last year, it was 39% yes, 61% now.

:08:02. > :08:09.But now we are looking at around 43% yes and 57% now. But there is a very

:08:10. > :08:17.considerable difference between the polls. In one poll, it was as low as

:08:18. > :08:33.36. But it is also quite as high as 47. Also, because some pollsters are

:08:34. > :08:40.coming up regularly with higher yes figures, the SNP and yes Scotland

:08:41. > :08:48.and other national list organisations at no commissioning

:08:49. > :08:54.polls from a panel base in expectation it will come up with

:08:55. > :09:04.higher figures. Certainly, clearly there is progress. But there is

:09:05. > :09:11.still a fair way to go for the yes side. The winning post may now be in

:09:12. > :09:18.sight however. You mention panel base. That was criticised in the

:09:19. > :09:25.Telegraph this week. Is that a fair comment? I spent quite a lot of time

:09:26. > :09:30.looking at the methodology. It is very difficult to identify any

:09:31. > :09:39.systematic relationship between the weight pollsters are doing up all

:09:40. > :09:54.and the results they are getting. -- a poll. YouGov has been coming in at

:09:55. > :10:03.about 39% in favour. Panel base doing much the same thing is coming

:10:04. > :10:07.up with 47%. It is difficult to see who is right and who is wrong. I

:10:08. > :10:11.would caution against being sceptical of the polls that do not

:10:12. > :10:17.agree with your point of view. I think there is reason for scepticism

:10:18. > :10:23.about all of the polls. We cannot see who is right and who is wrong.

:10:24. > :10:36.Brian was talking about Nicola Sturgeon's appeal to Labour voters.

:10:37. > :10:42.But that Kolbe listened to? There is no doubt that if you look at those

:10:43. > :10:50.who would vote... There are two things that are clear. Those who

:10:51. > :10:56.support Labour are certainly more likely to say they will vote yes

:10:57. > :11:04.than other voters. They are already indicating that they might switch.

:11:05. > :11:09.Already 50% of currently but voters are voting yes. There is also a

:11:10. > :11:14.relatively high proportion of undecideds among Labour voters. It

:11:15. > :11:22.is clear why the SNP think that Labour voters are crucial. It is the

:11:23. > :11:26.softest part of the union block. But there is another side to this. While

:11:27. > :11:32.it is true that Labour voters are relatively undecided, and relatively

:11:33. > :11:38.disloyal to their party's official point of view, so our SNP voters.

:11:39. > :11:50.Around 12% of voters who see the wood boat for Alex Salmond to moral

:11:51. > :12:02.are seeing they will vote no. Those two blocks at more or less of equal

:12:03. > :12:11.size. The SNP have to get some of their own flank on board as well as

:12:12. > :12:17.reach beyond the partisan divide. Thank you for that.

:12:18. > :12:21.Yesterday's star attraction was that keynote speech that brought out the

:12:22. > :12:26.hankies. Nicola Sturgeon pressed all the right buttons for delegates as

:12:27. > :12:31.she prepared them for the final campaign, encouraging everyone to

:12:32. > :12:39.increase their efforts. She said the parties stood on the brink of an

:12:40. > :12:42.historic moment. The best way, the only two build a wealthier, fairer

:12:43. > :12:50.and more confident Scotland is to equip ourselves with the full powers

:12:51. > :12:56.of independence. When Alex Salmond named the date of the referendum

:12:57. > :13:02.just over a year ago, I made a quiet but very firm promise to myself. I

:13:03. > :13:07.resolved that I will not wake up on the 19th of September wishing I had

:13:08. > :13:14.done more or worked harder. Let us all today make that same promise.

:13:15. > :13:18.Over these next months, we will redouble our efforts, we will work

:13:19. > :13:25.harder than we will ever have done before, they will go that extra mile

:13:26. > :13:30.because the prize is this, not the end of the journey, but the

:13:31. > :13:37.beginning of a better future. Scotland, an independent, three and

:13:38. > :13:49.equal member of the family of nations. -- free. Each and everyone

:13:50. > :13:54.of us has a vital part to play and play it we must. Make no mistake,

:13:55. > :14:02.the Westminster establishment is fighting hard as well. There will be

:14:03. > :14:15.no skier, no threat, no smear that they will not deploy. -- no scare.

:14:16. > :14:20.Just this week, we were warned by Lord George Robinson that

:14:21. > :14:25.independence would be cataclysmic and a boost to the forces of

:14:26. > :14:33.darkness. According to George, we are now a threat to the stability of

:14:34. > :14:37.the entire Western world. Which you have got to admit is no mean

:14:38. > :14:39.achievement for a party that was supposed to have been killed stone

:14:40. > :14:59.dead by devilish and -- devolution. Delegates, with friends like Lord

:15:00. > :15:07.George, it is no wonder the no campaign is in trouble. And it is in

:15:08. > :15:13.deep trouble. We have had the currency conversion. I don't often

:15:14. > :15:16.quote UK government ministers, but I am going to make a rear exception

:15:17. > :15:25.for the one who was Scott telling the truth. -- rare exception. Of

:15:26. > :15:32.course there would be a currency union. That one sent Alistair

:15:33. > :15:35.Darling into a tailspin. His response prompted a Downing Street

:15:36. > :15:45.source to see this, I do not know what brought processes he was going

:15:46. > :15:50.through, I say welcome to the club. It does speak volumes that the blame

:15:51. > :15:58.game in the no campaign has already started. The liberals see Labour is

:15:59. > :16:01.not working hard enough. Labour say no one believes the Liberals any

:16:02. > :16:07.more. I think we can all agree on that one. And the Tories, the

:16:08. > :16:11.lecture tour continues. But I can report today that the Prime Minister

:16:12. > :16:19.who promised to fight for the union with heart, head, body and soul is

:16:20. > :16:24.still struggling to locate that part of his anatomy that will allow him

:16:25. > :16:38.to agree to a debate with Alex Salmond. I joined the party in the

:16:39. > :16:43.late 1980s, motivated to do so by the damage I saw being done to the

:16:44. > :16:47.community I lived in by a Government Scotland did not vote for. That

:16:48. > :16:53.Government was eventually defeated by a Labour Party that had but --

:16:54. > :16:59.become little more than a pale imitation of the Tories replaced.

:17:00. > :17:04.And now, nearly 30 years later, the fabric of our society is again under

:17:05. > :17:11.threat from a Government that has no mandate in Scotland. The positive

:17:12. > :17:16.message at the heart of the Yes campaign is that it does not have to

:17:17. > :17:23.be this way. So let this ring out loudly, from our conference today.

:17:24. > :17:26.Scotland can be independent, Scotland should be independent, and

:17:27. > :17:48.Scotland must be independent. We are one of the wealthiest

:17:49. > :17:52.countries on this planet. No one now seriously disputes that fact. If we

:17:53. > :17:57.were independent today we would be the 14th richest country in the

:17:58. > :18:02.world. The UK would be 18. So the big question is not whether Scotland

:18:03. > :18:07.is wealthy enough to be independent, the real question is why so many

:18:08. > :18:12.people in this rich nation of ours do not feel the benefit of our great

:18:13. > :18:16.wealth, and friends, that is the burning question that should follow

:18:17. > :18:25.each and every Westminster politician every single day train

:18:26. > :18:28.now and September 18th. -- between. One of the most distressing

:18:29. > :18:36.developments of the past few years has been the rapid rise of food

:18:37. > :18:41.poverty in Scotland. In 2010, the country's biggest provider of food

:18:42. > :18:46.banks gave emergency food parcels to just over 4,000 people. By last

:18:47. > :18:54.year, that number had increased to more than 56 -- 56,000. So many

:18:55. > :18:58.children are now reliant on food aid, that one provider in Glasgow

:18:59. > :19:05.includes nappies in its emergency parcels. The thought of that makes

:19:06. > :19:10.me want to cry. One of the richest countries of the world, we have

:19:11. > :19:20.parents, many in work, who cannot afford the basics for their

:19:21. > :19:26.children. That is an utter scandal. -- in one of the richest countries

:19:27. > :19:32.of the world. Make no mistake, there is a direct

:19:33. > :19:37.causal link between the growing reliance on food aid and the Tory

:19:38. > :19:43.welfare cuts. The Tories actually seem quite proud of it. For them,

:19:44. > :19:50.cutting benefits for poor people is a moral crusade. Let us say this

:19:51. > :19:56.loudly and clearly to the Tories. Your morality is not our morality,

:19:57. > :20:03.and with a Yes vote in September we will put that yawned any shadow of a

:20:04. > :20:07.doubt. -- beyond any shadow of a doubt.

:20:08. > :20:14.To every Labour voter in the country, I say this. The Yes

:20:15. > :20:20.campaign is not asking you to leave your party. Instead, it offers you

:20:21. > :20:25.the chance to get your party back. A Labour Party free to make its own

:20:26. > :20:29.decisions, no no -- no longer dancing to a Westminster tune. For

:20:30. > :20:35.everyone with Labour in your heart, the message is clear. And not vote

:20:36. > :20:43.No to stop the SNP, the Yes to reclaim the Labour Party. -- do not

:20:44. > :20:50.vote No. To paraphrase a very special lady, a very special lady,

:20:51. > :20:56.more than 40 years ago, on September 18th this year we are going to stop

:20:57. > :21:09.the world, Scotland is going to get on.

:21:10. > :21:20.And then when we do, the next phase of our journey will begin. We will

:21:21. > :21:26.regain our strength, renew our resolve, and we will get on with the

:21:27. > :21:31.job of building a country that our children, our grandchildren, and

:21:32. > :21:40.their children will be proud to call home. A prosperous country. A fair

:21:41. > :21:43.country. A confident country. An independent country. Thank you very

:21:44. > :21:50.much. As many as are of the opinion, say "aye". To the contrary, "no".

:21:51. > :21:55.Nicola Sturgeon. In a moment we will speak live to the SNP's Treasury

:21:56. > :22:00.spokesman. Yesterday his colleague, the finance secretary denied there

:22:01. > :22:05.would be any deal on Trident to allow for a currency union if there

:22:06. > :22:07.was a Yes vote. Mr Swinney reiterated his opposition to the

:22:08. > :22:16.nuclear deterrent during a conference speech. We have remained

:22:17. > :22:21.true to the belief that you do not walk by on the other side in the

:22:22. > :22:25.SNP. You help people who face challenges in our society, that is

:22:26. > :22:38.the foundation of our social democratic ethos as a party. You

:22:39. > :22:43.have a duty to play a full and responsible role in the world. That

:22:44. > :22:51.is why this party will have no truck with nuclear weapons on Scottish

:22:52. > :22:55.soil or in Scottish waters. I am now joined by the SNP's Treasury

:22:56. > :23:03.spokesman and Deputy Leader of the Westminster group, Stuart Posey. We

:23:04. > :23:08.are hearing from your colleague Mr Swinney, a man who keeps a close eye

:23:09. > :23:13.on Scotland's books. Let us speak about the economy more generally.

:23:14. > :23:17.You have been criticising the UK economy and the Chancellor George

:23:18. > :23:22.Osborne in a statement today, but Mr Osborne's in Washington just now

:23:23. > :23:25.talking about -- speaking at the IMF conference and saying that people

:23:26. > :23:35.who criticise the economy and his plan work on brands of Lee wrong. --

:23:36. > :23:39.were comprehensively wrong. If you look at what George Osborne promised

:23:40. > :23:44.in 2010, when debt would begin to fall as a share of GDP, when the

:23:45. > :23:48.deficit would begin to reduce, it was always going to be this year and

:23:49. > :23:53.next year. In the statement he made in the Budget this year, all of

:23:54. > :23:58.those targets have been put back. The deficit is higher, borrowing

:23:59. > :24:03.will be higher. Debt will not fall as a share of GDP for some years

:24:04. > :24:09.yet. Every single target George Osborne said himself, he has failed.

:24:10. > :24:13.This has been a world economic crisis. Mr Osborne has failed, but

:24:14. > :24:19.he was pointing out that the UK will be the fastest-growing economy of --

:24:20. > :24:24.major developing nations -- over the nations this year. Given the depth

:24:25. > :24:28.of the UK recession, partly to do with the mismanagement of banking

:24:29. > :24:32.and partly to do with structural problems like too big a banking

:24:33. > :24:37.sector in the city of London, you would expect a bounce back at this

:24:38. > :24:42.point in the cycle. But it was still a catastrophically the recession, a

:24:43. > :24:47.very difficult downturn, and the decision -- the decisions the UK

:24:48. > :24:55.Government took to get out of it were the wrong ones. Mr Swinney also

:24:56. > :25:00.spoke about the currency negotiations and the issue of the

:25:01. > :25:04.unnamed UK minister saying there will be a currency union. What is

:25:05. > :25:09.your view on that? A second part of that equation was that there would

:25:10. > :25:18.be a negotiation on Trident. What is the deal there? The currency union

:25:19. > :25:23.makes sense for both countries. What would Stirling do if it did not have

:25:24. > :25:36.a hundred -- ?100 billion of Scottish exports receipted ins

:25:37. > :25:42.curling. -- Stirling. -- Stirling. Of course there will be a currency

:25:43. > :25:47.union. John Swinney and everyone else in this party is correct, there

:25:48. > :25:54.will be no deal done for currency on nuclear weapons. -- currency or

:25:55. > :25:59.nuclear weapons. But perhaps the point about the currency union is

:26:00. > :26:03.also very clear, Sir Nicholas MacPherson was up for the public

:26:04. > :26:08.administration committee at Westminster this week, saying that

:26:09. > :26:12.his advice that a currency union would not be a good idea was

:26:13. > :26:16.completely impartial, and he was making that advice public because he

:26:17. > :26:21.was concerned about your point, the SNP's point about the bluff and

:26:22. > :26:28.bluster. He was making it absolutely clear there would not be a currency

:26:29. > :26:33.union. I think the output from the Treasury has been extremely

:26:34. > :26:40.political. I believe it will continue to be so until we reach a

:26:41. > :26:45.Yes vote on September 18th. At which point all the scaremongering will

:26:46. > :26:52.disappear very quickly. But cynical is was saying... He was saying he is

:26:53. > :26:56.a career civil servant, and there is no way he would take any political

:26:57. > :27:00.guidance when making this kind of statement. His career's on the line

:27:01. > :27:07.here and he is not going to risk it for some political reason. He is

:27:08. > :27:12.also being criticised today by the ex-head of the UK civil service for

:27:13. > :27:16.saying these things, so I am not quite sure what is going on inside

:27:17. > :27:20.the Treasury. What I am certain about is that a currency union is in

:27:21. > :27:25.the best interest of both Scotland and the rest of the UK, and we now

:27:26. > :27:30.have UK minister saying there will be a currency union precisely

:27:31. > :27:36.because it makes sense. Do you perhaps agree that is still an issue

:27:37. > :27:40.for the Yes campaign when it comes to convincing undecided voters about

:27:41. > :27:47.these unanswered questions, a currency union, and perhaps concerns

:27:48. > :27:54.about pensions and defence? Can I correct you. Currency question has

:27:55. > :27:57.been answered. The answer is it is our currency, and we intend to use

:27:58. > :28:03.it because it is in the best interests of Scotland and the rest

:28:04. > :28:05.of the UK. Of course we need to consider -- continue to allay the

:28:06. > :28:11.fears and concerns built up by the No campaign, but I do not think we

:28:12. > :28:16.are doing a bad job given the convergence -- convergence in the

:28:17. > :28:20.polls. We are heading towards neck and neck with five months to go. But

:28:21. > :28:26.if these undecided voters, the currency vote -- question is not

:28:27. > :28:35.answered because they are hearing opposing arguments. I'm not sure

:28:36. > :28:39.that is true. The very first scare story of the No campaign started was

:28:40. > :28:46.we would not have a triple a credit rating. Since then it has been said

:28:47. > :28:51.Scotland would have the highest credit rating. Then they moved on to

:28:52. > :28:56.there would not be a currency union, and then we have UK minister saying

:28:57. > :29:01.of course there will be. -- UK ministers. I think as we move on

:29:02. > :29:05.over the next five months or so, all of these arguments will fall by the

:29:06. > :29:14.wayside. Thank you for joining us. Still with

:29:15. > :29:30.me here is John, the currency union is an interesting one. There -- this

:29:31. > :29:36.story keeps going on. It keeps going on in a wave and No campaign were

:29:37. > :29:49.not I -- anticipating. -- in a way that. There was on the same day as

:29:50. > :29:52.the announcement a quite substantial Treasury document, a Government

:29:53. > :29:57.white taper laying out the arguments, anomaly one would have

:29:58. > :30:01.anticipated the Chancellor would have spoken to it and that would be

:30:02. > :30:06.the end of the story. Normally advice from civil servants to

:30:07. > :30:08.ministers is not made public, and in the terms of Freedom of

:30:09. > :30:14.Information, such advice is in the protected. So in allowing this

:30:15. > :30:19.advice to be published, so Nicholas MacPherson was not adopting normal

:30:20. > :30:37.procedures -- so Nicholas Broome -- so Nicholas MacPherson. That said,

:30:38. > :30:42.if indeed what Nicholas MacPherson was trying to do was to make it

:30:43. > :30:46.clear that this was not a bluff, it has to be said the tactic failed.

:30:47. > :30:50.More than one opinion poll indicates that at least as many people in

:30:51. > :30:55.Scotland think it is a bluff is to not think it is, and there is not

:30:56. > :31:00.any evidence that undecided voters were particularly impressed by the

:31:01. > :31:04.currency statement. We are told by the No side, undecided voters will

:31:05. > :31:11.take fright the moment they are told they cannot hang on to the pound.

:31:12. > :31:20.They have not, and indeed more thought it was a bluff than thought

:31:21. > :31:27.it was not a bluff. the campaign for a yes vote is gathering pace. There

:31:28. > :31:34.is an almost evangelical approach with focus on the ground soldiers.

:31:35. > :31:42.This is what was envisaged by the SNP campaign director.

:31:43. > :31:47.There is growing momentum which is I think a reflection of a number of

:31:48. > :31:53.things. There are real problems with the negativity of no, and the

:31:54. > :31:58.attraction of the yes message. There is a huge gap between the efforts

:31:59. > :32:11.being put in by the yes side and the new campaign. -- no. The level of

:32:12. > :32:17.activism on the ground. The way we have worked in the past elections as

:32:18. > :32:21.the SNP, using cutting-edge technology identify potential swing

:32:22. > :32:30.voters and helping people conclude that the best vote is for the SNP,

:32:31. > :32:36.we are doing all that in the context of the referendum. But we are also

:32:37. > :32:45.using traditional techniques. We are holding meetings, and decided

:32:46. > :32:55.meetings to invite people in. They will hear a pitch from the SNP and

:32:56. > :32:58.from other people. The public are able to ask questions and we will

:32:59. > :33:03.see a move from people who are undecided to being supportive of

:33:04. > :33:07.yes. We are doing everything you would expect us to do in terms of

:33:08. > :33:11.cutting edge electioneering, but on the ground, we are doing public

:33:12. > :33:14.meetings in a way that has not been the case for decades in Scottish

:33:15. > :33:17.politics. That is helping people move on and decided to yes.

:33:18. > :33:26.politics. That is helping people move on and

:33:27. > :33:43.If you are still behind the no campaign in the pools, -- polls,

:33:44. > :33:47.have you got time? There is a plan. People are reaching out to voters to

:33:48. > :33:54.persuade them. We did that in 2011 as the SNP. 2014, the referendum, we

:33:55. > :33:59.are already working at a general election Temple to persuade people

:34:00. > :34:01.that is another dimension. We are working with groups of people who

:34:02. > :34:08.are not traditionally voters, who do not turn out, who may not even be

:34:09. > :34:11.registered. We are working very hard in urban parts of Scotland where

:34:12. > :34:15.there are large numbers of people who are not registered, who do not

:34:16. > :34:18.traditionally vote because amongst that group there is a high

:34:19. > :34:25.propensity of people who would be prepared to vote yes. At this

:34:26. > :34:31.conference, Nicola Sturgeon has appealed directly to Labour

:34:32. > :34:44.supporters to come in behind the yes campaign. Isn't that... To Britain

:34:45. > :34:50.campaign you have to build a coalition of people with all kinds

:34:51. > :34:53.of views and backgrounds. There are great number of people who vote

:34:54. > :34:57.Labour at election time, but who are also in favour of Scottish

:34:58. > :35:03.independence, or prepared to consider it. It makes sense to reach

:35:04. > :35:08.out. We need to build a coalition that will take us beyond 50% of the

:35:09. > :35:11.vote. It is right to say to people who support and political party,

:35:12. > :35:16.this is about how we govern ourselves as a nation and when an

:35:17. > :35:19.election takes place in an independent Scotland, there are

:35:20. > :35:26.other parties that could theoretically lead Scotland and that

:35:27. > :35:34.is right and proper. We hope to help people that by voting yes, it is

:35:35. > :35:44.about transforming how we govern ourselves and making decisions

:35:45. > :35:47.closer to home. One of your core messages is that independence would

:35:48. > :35:52.lead to the removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland. That is an

:35:53. > :35:59.area of policy which is close to your heart. Is that negotiable? In a

:36:00. > :36:09.White Paper, we have said that Trident will the Scotland as

:36:10. > :36:12.speedily and safely as possible. UK ministers are now saying that

:36:13. > :36:20.Trident will leave Scotland. Because that would be the wish of the

:36:21. > :36:26.Scotland people. As important as that, we will be able to have the

:36:27. > :36:31.defence capabilities that we require in Scotland, that will be based at

:36:32. > :36:38.Faslane and that will replace the nuclear fleet that the majority of

:36:39. > :36:43.people in Scotland do not want here. David Mandel has acknowledged your

:36:44. > :36:48.hard line on the removal of weapons. You talked about doing that within

:36:49. > :36:53.the first parliament after a yes vote. Is that timetable negotiable?

:36:54. > :36:56.I think it is important to understand it is also in the

:36:57. > :37:01.interests of decision-makers in London to see the removal of the

:37:02. > :37:07.Trident fleet taking place as quickly as is practicable it

:37:08. > :37:12.possible with the safety constraints that go hand in hand with that. It

:37:13. > :37:15.is possible but the submarines to leave Scotland and be based

:37:16. > :37:21.elsewhere. We want to see conventional defence capabilities

:37:22. > :37:29.based at Faslane. There is a confluence of interest on this, just

:37:30. > :37:39.as on the currency. The issues that six months ago were being

:37:40. > :37:45.scaremonger to buy the no side -- scare mongered by the no side. We

:37:46. > :37:54.were told it was impossible. Now we are hearing it is now in the

:37:55. > :38:00.calculations in London. Would you be happy to discuss the timetable?

:38:01. > :38:04.Everything will be discussed in the context of negotiations following a

:38:05. > :38:10.yes vote. Everything will be discussed as part of the

:38:11. > :38:20.negotiations. Is there a maximum length of time you would be prepared

:38:21. > :38:26.to allow? We want to see them removed quickly. But no absolute

:38:27. > :38:32.deadline? We want to see them removed as speedily and safely as

:38:33. > :38:35.possible. We have sought to have discussions with the UK government

:38:36. > :38:42.already. They have declined to do so. But we are reasonable. That is

:38:43. > :38:55.why we will talk about the timescale being speedy and safety. We require

:38:56. > :39:03.Faslane to be a conventional naval base to set out our own defence

:39:04. > :39:09.requirements. We wish to see Trident leave because of that. It is good to

:39:10. > :39:20.see UK government ministers agreeing. Read nuclear disarmament

:39:21. > :39:29.effectively disarmed the rest of the UK? It is up to the rest of the UK

:39:30. > :39:35.government... If I can just finished. It is up to the UK

:39:36. > :39:44.government to decide its own posture. All UK political parties

:39:45. > :39:53.have said they want to retain a nuclear dimensional. It is possible

:39:54. > :39:59.to locate nuclear bases on the south coast. That is an issue for

:40:00. > :40:04.politicians in London to answer. What we can answer from a Scottish

:40:05. > :40:10.perspective is that by voting yes, we will deliver on what the majority

:40:11. > :40:14.of people in Scotland want. The Trades Union Congress, the churches

:40:15. > :40:22.in Scotland, the majority of Scottish MPs, and MSPs who do not

:40:23. > :40:28.want to see the replacement for Trident programme go-ahead. With you

:40:29. > :40:34.welcome the rest of the UK abandoning Trident? With that suit

:40:35. > :40:40.you? What would suit Scotland is having a government that delivers

:40:41. > :40:43.what is required for Scotland. If you would let me and is the

:40:44. > :40:48.question. What we require for Scotland is a development of our

:40:49. > :40:52.democracy that allows us to make decisions about what happens in

:40:53. > :40:57.Scotland and that means that Trident will leave. It is not for me to say

:40:58. > :41:04.what the government of the rest of the UK will retain nuclear weapons.

:41:05. > :41:09.However, I am committed to nuclear disarmament. As is the UK

:41:10. > :41:13.government. I hope they would take those commitments seriously and will

:41:14. > :41:23.work towards disarmament of nuclear weapons.

:41:24. > :41:31.Thank you. On Saturday, 7th of April 1934, the

:41:32. > :41:38.Scottish National Party was formally established in Glasgow. There have

:41:39. > :41:42.been many birthday references taking place over the last couple of days.

:41:43. > :41:46.The roots of the party 's spring from the protest movement. It is

:41:47. > :41:49.fair comment to say that the party machine never used to be this

:41:50. > :41:55.slick. Our correspondent has been speaking to some veteran delegates.

:41:56. > :42:01.One of the key themes of this conference has been the 80 years of

:42:02. > :42:04.the fight for independence. Many delegates have been part of

:42:05. > :42:14.that for many years. I spoke to them. This is what they had to say.

:42:15. > :42:17.We have a wonderful country. I'm not a fanatic and I don't think

:42:18. > :42:22.everything in the garden will be rosy after independence. We will

:42:23. > :42:28.have to build on what we've got. But over the years, nothing has ever

:42:29. > :42:33.daunted me or made me doubt that Scotland will ever be able to stand

:42:34. > :42:44.on her own two feet. Have you ever given up hope? No. It had to come.

:42:45. > :42:54.Why did you know it would come? Very few nations on earth do not cover

:42:55. > :43:00.themselves. -- govern. I was at confidence the year the 79 group

:43:01. > :43:06.were expelled. We are all different people, but united in one cause.

:43:07. > :43:13.Some people are in labour, left wing, middle of the road. I don't

:43:14. > :43:18.care as long as we get independents. What ever we Scotland votes after

:43:19. > :43:23.then, is up to the Scottish nation. You do not feel you belong to a

:43:24. > :43:28.political party. It is a movement and everybody together. I have been

:43:29. > :43:34.at lunchtime session and the same thing is coming through all the

:43:35. > :43:51.time. It all about inclusiveness, it is easy to caricature it is being --

:43:52. > :44:00.-- as being all Jock Tamson's bairns. It is a faith in people. It

:44:01. > :44:07.is a belief. It's not a fairy story, it is a belief in yourself.

:44:08. > :44:15.Brian is standing by with some guests.

:44:16. > :44:18.I gather from reliable sources that Dundee United have won their

:44:19. > :44:24.semifinal, I'm rather pleased about that.

:44:25. > :44:32.I do it you are the senior member here. -- I think. Healing from

:44:33. > :44:43.delegates that have been around for a bit, there is a feeling of

:44:44. > :44:46.optimism, but is it falsely based? You're right, there is an optimism

:44:47. > :44:58.here. But not the sort you had in the past. This is about a slow

:44:59. > :45:05.growth in the polls. The thing that is interesting is that there is a

:45:06. > :45:09.steely determination about people. It is a lot stronger than in the

:45:10. > :45:17.past. You can hear it from older and younger people. This is going to

:45:18. > :45:22.be, for many of them, the last chance they will get. It is said you

:45:23. > :45:32.are campaigning at general election please, for months. I think that is

:45:33. > :45:35.right. One of the things that has struck me is the number of people

:45:36. > :45:39.who have not been involved in politics before who are involved in

:45:40. > :45:47.the campaign, not SNP members, but one is turning out to campaign. You

:45:48. > :45:56.stood in the by-election, and you lost. The SNP does not have it all

:45:57. > :46:00.before them. Another by-election defeat and the polls are still

:46:01. > :46:04.against you. Obviously, you have to take into consideration the

:46:05. > :46:13.circumstances in Cowdenbeath. In the polls, the SNP are performing

:46:14. > :46:19.fantastically. I think that is something we have found in

:46:20. > :46:23.Cowdenbeath. There are a lot of people who are not party affiliated,

:46:24. > :46:30.or who are Labour voters, but who will vote yes. I think we get a lot

:46:31. > :46:34.of confidence from that. In terms of the breadth and capacity of our

:46:35. > :46:38.campaign, and just the sheer whiteness and breadth of it, that

:46:39. > :46:55.gives us a lot of confidence cause it is not just us fighting for

:46:56. > :47:03.independence, it is everybody. Nicola Sturgeon's speech was to

:47:04. > :47:07.Labour supporters. What you have got here is a recognition that this

:47:08. > :47:20.campaign is not about the Scottish National Party, it is not about Alex

:47:21. > :47:24.Salmond being first minister, it is much wider than that, it is much

:47:25. > :47:29.deeper than that, and it is recognising that there are voices

:47:30. > :47:38.beyond the SNP, many in the Labour Party, recognising that the only way

:47:39. > :47:43.we are going to get what they require out of their country is a

:47:44. > :47:52.vote for independence. Actually they can in 2016 vote Labour again. The

:47:53. > :47:57.attentions to say the least. You had staff departures, you had

:47:58. > :48:05.difficulties about strategy. -- there are tensions. Are you papering

:48:06. > :48:10.over that now? We have to recognise there is a coalition of people,

:48:11. > :48:15.people from very diverse political views, but nevertheless want a Yes

:48:16. > :48:20.vote in September. And who are willing to find ways to have an

:48:21. > :48:24.effective coalition. We should be embracing the fact that Scotland is

:48:25. > :48:26.an inclusive, democratic and diverse country where we can have

:48:27. > :48:36.disagreements but still work together. Natalie, how do you work

:48:37. > :48:41.with people who disagree with you on the monarchy, the currency, those

:48:42. > :48:47.are kind of fundamental to the composition of debate? -- the

:48:48. > :49:00.constitutional debate. It is about democracy. We have a very broad

:49:01. > :49:09.spectrum of people who are out actively campaigning, and nobody is

:49:10. > :49:11.really campaigning on ideology but a Democratic platform. After

:49:12. > :49:17.independence we can then start setting out our stalls, but at the

:49:18. > :49:20.moment it is about giving people the opportunity in their hands to move

:49:21. > :49:25.forward. Let us talk about the currency. Your opponents, the

:49:26. > :49:28.Chancellor, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Shadow

:49:29. > :49:33.Chancellor said there is not going to be a currency union, the matter

:49:34. > :49:41.what you say. It is amazing how their message changed when the Yes

:49:42. > :49:45.got some are meant in the polls. Last year we had Alistair Darling

:49:46. > :49:52.saying it was logical, even George Osborne said it was unlikely.

:49:53. > :49:57.Suddenly we have them saying they are out. Yet when you look at expert

:49:58. > :50:02.after expert, you are hearing from them that actually people like the

:50:03. > :50:09.professor who said it would be tantamount to economic vandalism not

:50:10. > :50:12.to proceed... The pumice secretaries of the Treasury gave advice to the

:50:13. > :50:18.Chancellor saying it would not be in the rest of the UK's interests. --

:50:19. > :50:24.the permanent secretary. Where people can listen to politicians,

:50:25. > :50:28.they can make the own minds up but when you hear expert after expert

:50:29. > :50:35.saying that it we be economic vandalism, I think people listen to

:50:36. > :50:42.these arguments more. Do you get it on the doorsteps? It has backfired

:50:43. > :50:47.quite badly for the UK Government in that it has forgotten how resource.

:50:48. > :50:53.And could be. -- resourceful Scotland could be. Westminster

:50:54. > :50:58.minister let the cat out of the bag that the reality is that they are

:50:59. > :51:02.going to a currency because it is in their interest to do it, not just

:51:03. > :51:10.ours. But he said that would be a trade-off with retaining trident. We

:51:11. > :51:20.are very clear we do not want trident. Because we cannot afford

:51:21. > :51:24.it. I think what the ministerial sources say is that there is a

:51:25. > :51:33.bargain to be had. The bike and involves keeping Trident. But we

:51:34. > :51:37.also have other economic balances and we can have different trade-offs

:51:38. > :51:42.in terms of that and other things we could take shares of. Trident is not

:51:43. > :51:47.the one and only, it is that -- just the one that is out in the polls.

:51:48. > :51:51.What is more fundamental is that even the prior to the minister

:51:52. > :51:55.coming out on that, polls were taken and showing that people did not

:51:56. > :51:59.leave the UK Government on that. The important thing is that this

:52:00. > :52:02.minister has now confirmed that. So they have a credibility issue

:52:03. > :52:08.because people already suspected they were playing a political game.

:52:09. > :52:16.Alistair Darling says if there is going to be a yes vote, there should

:52:17. > :52:22.be a referendum. -- a Yes vote. Very briefly, we are coming up to Alex

:52:23. > :52:28.Salmond's speech and we gather he is going to say it is not about me, is

:52:29. > :52:31.that because you are getting on the doorsteps some sense that you might

:52:32. > :52:38.be entrenching the SNP and Alex Salmond as president? No, this is

:52:39. > :52:42.about nation-building. It is about creating a sense that we're pulling

:52:43. > :52:48.all of Scotland together, and in that sense it cannot be about one

:52:49. > :52:52.single political party or one single political leader. It has to be a

:52:53. > :52:59.broader campaign. Today I think he will be statesman-like, confident

:53:00. > :53:03.and talk to all of Scotland. We will get the Government we elect every

:53:04. > :53:07.time, not the Government other people like for us. Thank you very

:53:08. > :53:12.much to all three of you. I will hang back to studio.

:53:13. > :53:16.Professor John Curtice has been watching that with me. We are

:53:17. > :53:20.approaching Alex Salmond's speech, the speech is not about me, not

:53:21. > :53:27.about the party, it is about Scotland. But on the trusting point.

:53:28. > :53:32.It is a realisation that the 45% that the SNP got in the 2000

:53:33. > :53:40.Holyrood elect -- Holyrood election might have been enough to get an

:53:41. > :53:47.overall majority, and that is enough to put it a head in any immediate

:53:48. > :53:52.Holyrood race. The trouble is, in the referendum, you have to get 50%,

:53:53. > :53:57.and the real task that faces the SNP is how did they get from the 45% or

:53:58. > :54:02.so that they had of their own supporters to the 50% they need? I

:54:03. > :54:06.think the conclusion they have come to is to some degree to change the

:54:07. > :54:10.strategic focus of their campaign from the one that they gave us at

:54:11. > :54:15.the end of November with Scotland's future, the White Paper. A large

:54:16. > :54:21.section of the White Paper was about how the SNP would like to see how an

:54:22. > :54:26.independent Scotland would use the powers of independence, and to that

:54:27. > :54:31.extent it in courage to people to conflate the idea of independence

:54:32. > :54:34.with what the SNP were likely to do. -- encouraged. Now apparently

:54:35. > :54:41.there is an attempt to unhinge those ideas. But what we have also had

:54:42. > :54:45.repeatedly today is that there is going to be no second thoughts on

:54:46. > :54:51.Trident, yet of course it may well be true that in May 2016 the SNP in

:54:52. > :54:54.deed may not win the election, and we might have a Government in

:54:55. > :55:01.Scotland that would be willing to allow trident to stay. We have had a

:55:02. > :55:04.lot of quoting from the SNP today about how the opinion polls show

:55:05. > :55:07.that people do not necessarily believe George Osborne. We also had

:55:08. > :55:13.upon which found slightly more people in Scotland in favour of

:55:14. > :55:20.keeping Trident in an independent Scotland. So the truth is this

:55:21. > :55:25.emphasis on Trident, this reluctant to say there is any prospect of

:55:26. > :55:29.anything other than the SNP position being accepted, is actually

:55:30. > :55:32.something that they may need to save for that core audience, SNP

:55:33. > :55:36.supporters, but doesn't necessarily play with the wider public, yet

:55:37. > :55:41.apparently it is the wider public that the SNP are trying to appeal

:55:42. > :55:45.to. So I think that extent this talk about trident cuts across what is

:55:46. > :55:50.otherwise an attempt to reach out to a wider section of Scotland. We're

:55:51. > :55:58.waiting for Alex Salmond to speak, we will show the hall at the moment.

:55:59. > :56:10.At the moment a band are playing. Let us pause and let you hear some

:56:11. > :56:16.of this. Make history now and don't ignore.

:56:17. > :56:23.That this country is yours, this country is mine. Our future designed

:56:24. > :56:30.by the strength of your mind. Were you not rejoice that you have a

:56:31. > :56:42.choice, to be your nation's Scotland's voice. -- your nation's

:56:43. > :56:49.Scotland force. Delegates enjoying that band before

:56:50. > :56:55.Alex Salmond speaks, and it is quite unusual, this, for a party

:56:56. > :56:59.conference. It is in a way up Rally for the referendum. The truth is now

:57:00. > :57:02.that all the fees certainly Westminster parties at the UK

:57:03. > :57:09.conferences tend to use what I would say is popular music, what is

:57:10. > :57:14.interesting about what we have just seen of course is that we have got

:57:15. > :57:20.folk style music. I think there is no doubt that one of the things that

:57:21. > :57:24.is distinctive about those who have a strong sense of Scottish identity

:57:25. > :57:31.is the degree to which Scotland's folk culture has become an important

:57:32. > :57:35.way of expressing Scottish identity. Here we see that music used to try

:57:36. > :57:39.to express a strong nationalist message, and the revival of Scottish

:57:40. > :57:43.folk art in Scotland is part of what underlies the long-term rise in

:57:44. > :57:48.people's sense of Scottish identity in Scotland.

:57:49. > :57:53.Back to Brian, who is still at the whole and joined by couple of

:57:54. > :57:58.journalists. Thanks for joining us. We are

:57:59. > :58:03.expecting Alex Salmond shortly. What does he have to do? The SNP are

:58:04. > :58:08.actually in a holding pattern at the moment. There are still -- they are

:58:09. > :58:12.some weeks away so from launching their campaign, so the timing of

:58:13. > :58:18.this conference is a bit awkward. They have to keep the troops failing

:58:19. > :58:23.confident, it is a mass cuddle, that is what this conference is all

:58:24. > :58:26.about. Is there one resolution -- did they not have one resolution

:58:27. > :58:32.that a group hug would be a good idea? The real campaign we are all

:58:33. > :58:36.waiting for, but the SNP are preparing for, will not take place

:58:37. > :58:39.until the end of May. So this conference is actually quite static,

:58:40. > :58:43.there isn't a great deal really happening. Even the speeches are

:58:44. > :58:48.very, very much down to the main formula is the SNP pushing. I

:58:49. > :58:51.haven't seen one resolution that hasn't been carried by a claim,

:58:52. > :58:57.which is understandable given they are trying to promote a sole message

:58:58. > :59:06.of independence. It is different from the vote -- the debate on NATO

:59:07. > :59:10.year ago. This is about getting the love of the room going. In terms of

:59:11. > :59:15.what Alex Salmond is going to do, I think there are two main aims. One

:59:16. > :59:20.is to open up the independence debate, open up the cost outside the

:59:21. > :59:27.SNP, and that carries on very much from what Nicola was doing

:59:28. > :59:32.yesterday. The other thing is to delineate his campaign from the No

:59:33. > :59:37.campaign, presenting a massively positive, outward looking, what can

:59:38. > :59:46.we do to make Scotland a better place. Let us take this to elements

:59:47. > :59:54.in turn. Alex Salmond playing down his own role. Is that a deliberate

:59:55. > :59:57.strategy to try and... Yes, what that does is appeal to the

:59:58. > :00:00.independence movement's strength, and is one of its strengths at the

:00:01. > :00:11.moment is the fact that it is proving to be a political -- a

:00:12. > :00:14.political consultant senses. The problem is that it may not be

:00:15. > :00:21.enough, so they have to open this up even more and put aside party

:00:22. > :00:25.grievances, histories of conflicts and so on. A lot of labour activists

:00:26. > :00:29.will be looking at what Alex Salmond is saying today and feeling a great

:00:30. > :00:33.deal of anger and resentment about it, thinking those -- you guys were

:00:34. > :00:42.not playing consensual cross party politics before. Delegates out

:00:43. > :00:48.canvassing tell me they are still getting something on the doorsteps

:00:49. > :00:51.about entrenching that a vote for independence is a voter Alex

:00:52. > :00:54.Salmond, which is presumably one of the reasons they are stressing it

:00:55. > :01:02.would be a vote to allow a democratic vote for any other party?

:01:03. > :01:07.And the bee will hear that as well when we go out to talk to people on

:01:08. > :01:12.the street. People like the idea of independence, but they do not want

:01:13. > :01:22.Alex Salmond. And he does realise that. He is a marmite figure, you

:01:23. > :01:31.love or hate him. What about this strategy of including other

:01:32. > :01:39.parties? Do you think it is a strategy that stands a chance of

:01:40. > :01:51.making progress? It is essential we do it. The Liberal Democrats were

:01:52. > :01:55.here to weeks ago -- two weeks ago and they were saying that there are

:01:56. > :02:01.800,000 Labour voters who need to be attracted to the no vote. The SNP

:02:02. > :02:10.realise that they can bring those guys over. Is that possible? I think

:02:11. > :02:13.the problem is going to be that we cannot really tell what other

:02:14. > :02:18.external factors will come into play. All sorts of thing can go

:02:19. > :02:26.wrong for the UK government, for Ed Miliband. But we have not seen the

:02:27. > :02:30.Labour campaign yet either. Despite everything we have been reporting,

:02:31. > :02:42.it has not started yet. The SNP campaign, the yes campaign,

:02:43. > :02:44.it has not started yet. The SNP Labour and Conservative campaign

:02:45. > :02:52.will not start until after the European elections. It is the end of

:02:53. > :03:00.May before the electoral commission will designate... We are giving up

:03:01. > :03:06.towards the general election in 2015 as well. There is an issue about

:03:07. > :03:10.whether that will be the focus down south and the prounion politicians

:03:11. > :03:15.will be caught up on that and take their eye off the ball up here. The

:03:16. > :03:22.atmosphere here is genuinely buoyant. Yes, they realise this is

:03:23. > :03:32.possibly within their grasp. I think some of them are overconfident. But

:03:33. > :03:37.I think some of them are more realistic, now that there is a lot

:03:38. > :03:44.of work to be put in but that we can get there. Some have said they

:03:45. > :03:53.expected the currency to be a bigger hit against the independence

:03:54. > :03:57.argument. That is undoubtedly true. It did not work to the advantage of

:03:58. > :04:03.the no campaign quite to the extent the no campaign hoped it would.

:04:04. > :04:07.However, the opinion polls we are looking at at the moment may be

:04:08. > :04:17.artificially inflating the yes vote. We need to be more cautious.

:04:18. > :04:21.We will head back to the studio. We are expecting to hear from Alex

:04:22. > :04:27.Salmond very shortly. John Curtis, Alex Salmond has made

:04:28. > :04:33.many historic speeches. This is a pretty important one. Yes, because

:04:34. > :04:37.politicians don't usually get 45 minutes direct your time on

:04:38. > :04:44.television and get it so widely reported. This is his last chance

:04:45. > :04:49.before the referendum. The truth is much of the yes campaign has been

:04:50. > :04:55.spearheaded by Nicola Sturgeon. But it is Alex Salmond who is the person

:04:56. > :05:01.who is remarkably popular and whom we would expect to be taking the

:05:02. > :05:05.lead in this campaign from now on. We have begun to seek more of them.

:05:06. > :05:11.I suspect we will see more of him in the next five months. If I were

:05:12. > :05:15.running the yes campaign, I would be using Alex Salmond much more than

:05:16. > :05:20.they have done so far. If they are going to win it, they will have to

:05:21. > :05:30.use his undoubted continuing popularity. Nicola Sturgeon has just

:05:31. > :05:41.introduced him just now. You say he is a popular figure, but is a...

:05:42. > :05:46.Let's cross to the whole no. We are expecting to see Alex Salmond taking

:05:47. > :05:51.to the stage after being introduced by the deputy leader Nicola

:05:52. > :05:53.Sturgeon. He is being welcomed by the delegates and making his way to

:05:54. > :06:22.the podium. Needless to say the fact that the

:06:23. > :06:27.Scottish Grand National is on today tells you it is not me who decides

:06:28. > :06:34.the timing of the Scottish National Party conferences. I have no

:06:35. > :06:40.interest in photo bombing but I was thinking about the saltire lamb in

:06:41. > :06:50.Dingwall, we could squeeze in a visit next week. It is great to be

:06:51. > :06:59.in conference here in Aberdeen. We are here as ordinary members of the

:07:00. > :07:03.National party -- Scottish National party. But we are the most

:07:04. > :07:16.privileged members of that party in its entire history. This generation

:07:17. > :07:22.has the opportunity for -- forebears could only dream of. We are part of

:07:23. > :07:30.a greater movement, or and young men and women, artists, trade union

:07:31. > :07:36.members. I movement of glorious diversity, reflecting our country's

:07:37. > :07:39.spirit, dedicated to developing a better and fairer Scotland, to

:07:40. > :07:53.become an independent country. Make no mistake, the momentum is

:07:54. > :07:58.with this campaign. People are coming towards us. Political public

:07:59. > :08:04.meetings are being revived. Holes are being crowded across Scotland as

:08:05. > :08:10.they discuss our nation's future. The messages are amplified 100 times

:08:11. > :08:20.over through social media. The campaign momentum carries on. Can

:08:21. > :08:24.the no campaign match this? Not really. First of all, you would have

:08:25. > :08:31.to organise meetings and then get people to turn up. Last year, the

:08:32. > :08:34.BBC finally discovered that this grassroots campaign was underway and

:08:35. > :08:40.decided to cover both sides of the debate. But the no campaign

:08:41. > :08:47.struggled to find any grassroots campaign for them to film, or even a

:08:48. > :08:58.single grass root. It is like what happened a few weeks ago in London

:08:59. > :09:05.-- when the London and Scottish Cabinet met on the same day in

:09:06. > :09:12.Aberdeen. We met import less than Hall -- Portlethan Parish Hall with

:09:13. > :09:22.hundreds of people. The Westminster government cabinets met in private

:09:23. > :09:32.behind closed doors in rooms belonging to shell oil. Prime

:09:33. > :09:45.Minister, we can drum up a crowd for you in Scotland. All you have to do

:09:46. > :09:55.is sit yes to a debate. -- say yes. What can you possibly be frightened

:09:56. > :10:03.of? Just think how will your deputy did debating UKIP. Let's think about

:10:04. > :10:09.if the fourth and fifth parties in Scotland can have a television

:10:10. > :10:17.debate, why not the First Minister and Prime Minister? Let's at last

:10:18. > :10:18.have the debate in an open and democratic way and let's agree to do

:10:19. > :10:51.it now. Of course, not everyone is feart on

:10:52. > :10:59.the no side. Alistair Help Me Rhona Carmichael Is in there fighting on

:11:00. > :11:08.the no side. He was in Shetland, I safe distance from Nicola Sturgeon

:11:09. > :11:17.excavation mark after the debate with Mike McKenzie, the Shetland

:11:18. > :11:23.News reported, a show of hands reported that Mike McKenzie had

:11:24. > :11:33.succeeded in widening the vote in favour of independence from 22-1.

:11:34. > :11:37.Great is the truth and it will prevail. The problem for the no

:11:38. > :11:40.campaign is this. The more the people of Scotland here the case for

:11:41. > :11:45.now, the more likely they are to vote yes. And no wonder. They are

:11:46. > :11:47.the most negative, miserable, depressing and thoroughly boring

:11:48. > :12:03.campaign in history. They are already out of touch with

:12:04. > :12:11.the people and now the I fear they are losing touch with reality. Lord

:12:12. > :12:13.Robertson told startled Washington that the forces of darkness are

:12:14. > :12:24.getting ready to celebrate a yes vote. The forces of darkness. Darth

:12:25. > :12:34.Vader, Ming the merciless, the Klingons, Lex Luther. They are all

:12:35. > :12:41.watching this debate intensely. I am told the Daleks are not too happy.

:12:42. > :12:49.Word has reached them that Doctor Who is to be banned from an

:12:50. > :12:50.independent Scotland. That is the no campaign. Totally laughable and

:12:51. > :13:06.completely ludicrous. There is a serious point. We are

:13:07. > :13:13.engaged in a consensual consultative process which will be decided at the

:13:14. > :13:18.ballot box. It is not a unique process, but it is really something

:13:19. > :13:22.to be cherished. The referendum in Scotland is being held up to the

:13:23. > :13:26.world as an example of best practice. We should do everything in

:13:27. > :13:29.our power to keep it that way and each and every one of us carries

:13:30. > :13:34.that responsibility. People exercising the right to

:13:35. > :13:39.self-determination in a lawful, agreed, respectful, democratic

:13:40. > :13:42.manner is not a threat, but a noble thing. Big yes campaign is

:13:43. > :13:49.positive, uplifting, hopeful and must always stay that way. That is

:13:50. > :13:50.the basis on which we shall win this referendum and shall win our

:13:51. > :14:05.independence. There was something else that can my

:14:06. > :14:12.eye in the report on the Shetland debate. Local architect Ian

:14:13. > :14:18.Morgenstern said he had never been an SNP voter but would vote yes in

:14:19. > :14:23.September. Half his family are Geordies and on a recent trip south

:14:24. > :14:27.by his grandmother's views, he asked for their views. They said, of

:14:28. > :14:31.course you should vote yes. This touches on a fundamental truth. Many

:14:32. > :14:35.people who have never voted for our party will be voting yes. The

:14:36. > :14:40.referendum is not about this party or this First Minister, or even the

:14:41. > :14:45.wider yes campaign. It is about putting Scotland's future into

:14:46. > :14:50.Scotland's hands. I guess vote in September is not vote for an SNP

:14:51. > :14:56.government in 2016. It is a vote for a government in Scotland that the

:14:57. > :14:58.people of Scotland, pursuing policies the people of Scotland

:14:59. > :15:02.support, it is a vote for the government in charge of tax,

:15:03. > :15:12.immigration, European policy, oil and gas revenues. It might be the

:15:13. > :15:19.SNP, it might be labour, it might be a coalition. I can tell you what it

:15:20. > :15:20.won't be. It would be a government led by a party with just a single

:15:21. > :15:42.member of parliament in Scotland. It would be a Government dismantling

:15:43. > :15:45.the welfare state. The era of Tory Government -- Tory Government is

:15:46. > :15:48.unelected by the people of Scotland handing out punishments to the poor

:15:49. > :16:02.and disabled, these days will begun and gone for good. -- be gone.

:16:03. > :16:07.The Westminster establishment as you would expect is fighting hard to

:16:08. > :16:14.maintain its grip on Scotland. David Cameron's Government is opposing

:16:15. > :16:19.independence, members of the house of Lords have given us the

:16:20. > :16:23.unelected, distilled wisdom from underneath the ermine robes, all

:16:24. > :16:29.that design to tell Scots how impossibly difficult it would be to

:16:30. > :16:32.run our own country. -- designed. Backed up by a Labour Party

:16:33. > :16:43.leadership that has lost its way. That has lost touch with the values

:16:44. > :16:51.of Labour voters. Independence will be good for Scottish Labour. The

:16:52. > :16:54.Scot -- the Labour Party will have the chance to return to core

:16:55. > :16:58.values, many of which we in this party agree with, indeed any of

:16:59. > :17:04.which we share. But there is something that the SNP will never

:17:05. > :17:09.agree to, will never be a part of. Something we have campaigned us

:17:10. > :17:18.might we will campaign against. The leadership of the Labour Party, hand

:17:19. > :17:20.in glove with the Tories, and this is the difference. The Westminster

:17:21. > :17:26.establishment telling Scots what we cannot do, the Scottish National

:17:27. > :17:40.Party stressing what we can do, building Scotland art. -- building

:17:41. > :17:45.Scotland up. So let us look at the reality of

:17:46. > :17:49.Scotland's history. Scotland's contribution to humankind has been

:17:50. > :17:57.immense. Great in the net, philosophers, our commitment to

:17:58. > :18:00.science, innovators, educators. I am back from New York. There is

:18:01. > :18:14.enormous interest in Scotland, it helped us gain all -- over 1000 jobs

:18:15. > :18:16.this week alone. In the opinion of American

:18:17. > :18:23.historians, Scotland invented the modern world. Something of course we

:18:24. > :18:34.would not claim for ourselves, but nonetheless don't mind repeating as

:18:35. > :18:37.often as possible. But still today, modern Scotland. Now top

:18:38. > :18:42.universities per head than any other part of the country. Williams in

:18:43. > :18:46.creative industries, a world-class Food Drink industry, manufacturers

:18:47. > :18:52.exporting across the world, and a 5% of Europe's offshore wind and tidal

:18:53. > :18:58.potential, 60% of the EU's oil reserves, a Government 100% to

:18:59. > :19:03.committing to a better future. We will not tell -- let anybody tell

:19:04. > :19:16.the people of Scotland we are not good enough to run our own country.

:19:17. > :19:24.Friends, a short distance from the centre is a vibrant, busy Aberdeen

:19:25. > :19:28.harbour. It is full of vessels servicing Scotland's thriving oil

:19:29. > :19:33.and gas industry. They will be here for many, many decades to come, and

:19:34. > :19:39.oil and tax revenues will continue to flow for many decades to come.

:19:40. > :19:43.What a shock this thing must be for the opponents to independence,

:19:44. > :19:47.because in the 1970s they said no to self-government because they told us

:19:48. > :19:51.all that oil would be gone by now. In the 1980s they said the Tories

:19:52. > :19:56.were laying waste to the steel industry, the car industry in the

:19:57. > :20:00.coal mines. In the 1990s they were still saying no because they said we

:20:01. > :20:06.were not capable of running our schools and hospitals. That is the

:20:07. > :20:10.No campaign, wrong in the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, wrong again today.

:20:11. > :20:27.In September, it is time to say Yes. Scotland has not -- has got what it

:20:28. > :20:34.takes. Our Parliament working together to produce free personal

:20:35. > :20:39.care for the elderly. This party in Government has restored free

:20:40. > :20:43.education. We have kept Scottish Water in public hands, and there is

:20:44. > :20:48.no better example of why decisions about Scotland are best taken in

:20:49. > :20:53.Scotland than the future of our Scottish National Health Service. At

:20:54. > :20:55.Westminster the NHS has been softened up for privatisation. The

:20:56. > :21:01.Tories are forcing through costly, confusing, harmful top diarrhoea

:21:02. > :21:07.organisation. Nurses are being denied a pay rise they deserve. --

:21:08. > :21:13.top down organisation. We reject the free market in health, we have

:21:14. > :21:14.abolished description charges. Nurses in Scotland are getting their

:21:15. > :21:27.recommended pay rise. So let us be absolutely clear,

:21:28. > :21:32.conference, it is because we have control of the health service that

:21:33. > :21:33.we can give this pledge. Scotland's National Health Service will never

:21:34. > :21:50.be up for sale. Scotland is a wealthy country. We

:21:51. > :21:54.more than pay our way as an independent nation, we would be the

:21:55. > :21:59.14th most prosperous country in the developed world. The UK are at

:22:00. > :22:03.position 18. Is anybody meant to believe that the 14th most proper

:22:04. > :22:09.splits country cannot sustain itself as an independent country? 's

:22:10. > :22:13.prosperous country. The ratings agency, not known for their

:22:14. > :22:19.unbridled optimism on any country's prospects, said in February, even

:22:20. > :22:24.excluding North Sea output, even excluding North Sea output, Scotland

:22:25. > :22:36.would qualify for our highest economic assessment.

:22:37. > :22:41.And so in September the people of this wealthy country will face a

:22:42. > :22:46.choice between two futures. What future is to put our faith in

:22:47. > :22:50.Westminster. In a system where the five richest families are more

:22:51. > :22:53.wealth than the poorest 12 thousand's trough bod 5 million

:22:54. > :23:00.people. Where charities are warning of a poverty storm engulfing

:23:01. > :23:06.Scotland. -- 12.5 million people. Delegates, these are not reasons for

:23:07. > :23:08.putting our faith in Westminster or the Westminster system, these are

:23:09. > :23:26.reasons to get rid of the West as the system. -- the Westminster

:23:27. > :23:29.system. All of us know an independent Scotland will not get

:23:30. > :23:33.every decision right, there will be choice is to be made and challenges

:23:34. > :23:38.to be faced. The point is to be equipped with the powers we need to

:23:39. > :23:43.meet these challenges. Not to shrug our shoulders and accept Scotland as

:23:44. > :23:46.a region of a grossly unequal country, but to take

:23:47. > :23:50.responsibility, to build a more resilient economy, to create jobs

:23:51. > :23:54.and opportunities, and we can do this by capturing a sense of shared

:23:55. > :23:58.national purpose. A shared national mission to build a fairer and more

:23:59. > :24:02.prosperous country. By giving our company is a competitive edge in

:24:03. > :24:08.taxation, by re-industrialising Scotland, by building a lasting

:24:09. > :24:11.social partnership. But whether we succeed or fail in our ambition will

:24:12. > :24:16.be down to one factor, the talents and abilities of our people. So the

:24:17. > :24:20.days of wasting talent, denying opportunity, must end. And yet

:24:21. > :24:26.charities tell us that up to 100,000 more Scottish children are set to

:24:27. > :24:30.grow up in poverty because of the Westminster Government's actions. So

:24:31. > :24:35.we will stop the poverty creating policies. The minimum wage must rise

:24:36. > :24:38.at least in line with inflation. And in the first year of an independent

:24:39. > :24:53.Scotland, we shall abolish the bedroom tax.

:24:54. > :24:58.To release the potential of our people, we must do more however.

:24:59. > :25:07.That is why we'll put into action our plan to transform childcare. It

:25:08. > :25:11.was put to me first by the late Professor of Glasgow Caledonian

:25:12. > :25:16.University, University whose motto is for the common good. She was

:25:17. > :25:20.passionate in her belief that independence could change Scotland

:25:21. > :25:24.for the better. We will start the process by transferring money from

:25:25. > :25:29.Westminster's priorities to Scotland's priorities. We will save

:25:30. > :25:33.?50 million a year because we will not -- paying for the house of

:25:34. > :25:34.Lords, sending MPs to the House of Commons or funding the Scottish

:25:35. > :25:48.office. In a time of tight resources we do

:25:49. > :25:56.not believe it is right to go ahead with David Cameron's married

:25:57. > :26:09.couples' tax allowances. For us, childcare for all families is the

:26:10. > :26:17.priority. Not tax breaks for a few. We will have another priority,

:26:18. > :26:21.spending ?100 billion over a generation on a new generation of

:26:22. > :26:36.nuclear weapons is an obscenity. And therefore, let me give this Kast

:26:37. > :26:41.Byron guarantee. A Yes vote is a vote to remove these weapons from

:26:42. > :27:04.Scotland once and for all. -- a cast-iron guarantee.

:27:05. > :27:10.Doesn't this crystallise the choice between two futures? Westminster

:27:11. > :27:16.wants to renew a weapons system that can destroy the world. We will build

:27:17. > :27:30.a system of childcare which will be the envy of the world.

:27:31. > :27:39.Let me tell you why this plan is so important. It is about changing the

:27:40. > :27:42.destiny of Scotland's prose children. Early years education and

:27:43. > :27:48.childcare benefits the most those families who have the least. --

:27:49. > :27:53.poorest children. Childcare costs are a barrier to work, the real root

:27:54. > :27:57.out of poverty. With devolution we are investing more than a quarter of

:27:58. > :28:03.?1 billion over the next two years to expand childcare. But to

:28:04. > :28:07.transform childcare, we need the powers of independence. Some people

:28:08. > :28:15.say, well, it could be done under devolution. But under devolution,

:28:16. > :28:18.nearly 90% of the tax generated on women's employment earnings go

:28:19. > :28:21.straight to the Westminster Exchequer. In an independent

:28:22. > :28:28.Scotland, with control of our Budget, we can invest far, far more

:28:29. > :28:30.in our children's future. High-quality universal childcare and

:28:31. > :28:32.early learning for all of Scotland's children, that is the

:28:33. > :28:49.independence pledge. Delegates, transforming childcare

:28:50. > :28:54.will open up opportunity for many, many more women in Scotland. But our

:28:55. > :28:59.ambition match school must further. -- must go much further. Unequal

:29:00. > :29:04.opportunity to -- an equal opportunity to join the workforce,

:29:05. > :29:15.and we want our companies to aspire to a least 40% female participation

:29:16. > :29:23.on the boards. We will have the power to enforce the equal pay act.

:29:24. > :29:28.This issue of equality, of equal opportunities, is of the highest

:29:29. > :29:32.importance. The minister in charge because it in the Scottish

:29:33. > :29:37.Government has been asked to join the Scottish Cabinet as a full

:29:38. > :29:55.member, and also to take on specific responsibilities for pensioners'

:29:56. > :29:59.writes. -- writes. -- rights. The Scotland we are seeking to build

:30:00. > :30:04.will be unequal Scotland where everyone has the opportunity to make

:30:05. > :30:06.the most of their talents. Youth unemployment is the single biggest

:30:07. > :30:10.challenge we face a meeting that goal. The Scottish Government is

:30:11. > :30:15.working hard to tackle this blight of joblessness among the young. We

:30:16. > :30:19.have 25,000 or more modern apprenticeships. There is the

:30:20. > :30:25.guarantee of work at a training place for every 16 to 19-year-old.

:30:26. > :30:29.We are producing exciting proposals which will online our education and

:30:30. > :30:36.training systems ever closer to the work face. That work has been

:30:37. > :30:41.overseen by the only minister for youth employment in Europe. -- today

:30:42. > :30:45.I have asked her to become a full member of the Scottish Parliament --

:30:46. > :31:05.Cabinet and to take full responsibility for work training.

:31:06. > :31:09.These appointments are important because the underlying our

:31:10. > :31:16.commitment to equality. Subject to parliamentary approval, with these

:31:17. > :31:18.two outstanding ministers in this Scottish Parliament, we will

:31:19. > :31:25.practice what we preach. The Cabinet is our board is a country. Women

:31:26. > :31:36.will make up 40% of the Members of the Scottish Parliament at.

:31:37. > :31:44.In this speech, I stress that an independent Scotland would be an

:31:45. > :31:48.inclusive Scotland. There are many different colours and parades woven

:31:49. > :31:53.into the Scottish Tartan, and all must be celebrated. We need to

:31:54. > :31:59.mobilise all of the talents and all of the potential of all of our

:32:00. > :32:06.people. We have to reflect that in how we will proceed after September

:32:07. > :32:12.the 18th. The approach people take to bring Scotland together. With a

:32:13. > :32:18.yes vote on September the 18th, that work will begin. An all-party team

:32:19. > :32:21.Scotland negotiating group including non-SNP members will convene. It

:32:22. > :32:29.will secure expertise across the political spectrum, and beyond

:32:30. > :32:33.Scotland. That group will meet before the end of September.

:32:34. > :32:37.Discussions will be held in accordance with the terms of the

:32:38. > :32:41.Edinburgh agreement. That means with respect and in the interests of

:32:42. > :32:46.everyone in Scotland, and indeed, in the rest of the UK. The campaigning

:32:47. > :32:53.rhetoric will be over. The real work will begin. In March 2016, Scotland

:32:54. > :32:54.will become an independent country and joined the international family

:32:55. > :33:17.of nations. Over the last week, as the great

:33:18. > :33:21.life of Margo MacDonald has been celebrated, many pictures were

:33:22. > :33:25.posted showing her out campaigning for independence through the years.

:33:26. > :33:30.In one, which is on the cover of this week's Holyrood magazine, a

:33:31. > :33:35.young Margo MacDonald is outside the old Royal high school in Edinburgh

:33:36. > :33:43.holding a big poster of a love heart with the words, yes, we love you

:33:44. > :33:47.Scotland. In this referendum debate, we often hear that sentiment. For

:33:48. > :33:51.some, it will be a love of the outstanding natural beauty of our

:33:52. > :33:56.country, the rich diversity of the life and landscape. But our cause is

:33:57. > :34:02.about more than landscape, more than history, more than legends, no

:34:03. > :34:09.matter how romantic or moving. One historian once brought about

:34:10. > :34:15.Scotland's vitality as a human community. I think that is what it

:34:16. > :34:20.was for Margo MacDonald. She did not just of Scotland, she loved Scots,

:34:21. > :34:25.she loved people. She held the unshakeable conviction that we could

:34:26. > :34:30.do better for and by our people. This referendum will be one when we

:34:31. > :34:36.as a people no longer feel we have to ask of others, tell me what will

:34:37. > :34:40.happen to us. It will be one when the people of Scotland say we are

:34:41. > :34:44.going to take the future into our own hands. The eyes of the world

:34:45. > :34:48.will be on Scotland in September, watching to see what we will do.

:34:49. > :34:53.When the voting has been done, let us resolve this. Let us keep the

:34:54. > :35:00.eyes of the world on Scotland. Not to see how we are voting, but to

:35:01. > :35:05.watch in admiration at what we are building. Building a new and better

:35:06. > :35:10.country. Let's take all our ideals, talent, commitment and energy and

:35:11. > :35:15.build a nation that carries itself with pride and utility in equal

:35:16. > :35:22.measure. That looks to its own but gives to the world as much as it

:35:23. > :35:29.possibly can. Which yields to know one in compassion, but to no one in

:35:30. > :35:34.ambition. And come independent state, for that country to walk tall

:35:35. > :35:38.among the nations on earth, on that day and every day thereafter. This

:35:39. > :35:45.is our moment. To be a beacon of hope, a land of achievement, our

:35:46. > :36:29.country, our Scotland, our independence.

:36:30. > :36:39.The First Minister, Alex Salmond, receiving a standing ovation from

:36:40. > :36:45.delegates at the Aberdeen exhibition and conference centre. He was

:36:46. > :36:49.talking about the no campaign being laughable and ridiculous and seeing

:36:50. > :36:52.the yes campaign was positive, uplifting and hopeful. He said the

:36:53. > :37:00.referendum was not about this party, this First Minister, but saying also

:37:01. > :37:07.that independence would be good for Scottish Labour. He said the eyes of

:37:08. > :37:12.the world will be on Scotland. The delegates all applauding beer. The

:37:13. > :37:24.members of the world's press taking their pictures. Wondering if there

:37:25. > :37:28.might be an encore. Professor John Curtis is still with me in the

:37:29. > :37:34.studio, watching this rapturous applause from the delegates. They

:37:35. > :37:39.are enjoying this. Undoubtedly. Much of the speech was designed to appeal

:37:40. > :37:42.to that audience, not least the attack on David Cameron and his

:37:43. > :37:47.reluctance to get involved in the debate with Alex Salmond. Something

:37:48. > :37:51.that the yes side have been pushing for. But in truth, we know it is not

:37:52. > :37:58.going to happen. And that very strong comment on Trident, which

:37:59. > :38:01.again was clearly designed for those in the hole. But this was a speech

:38:02. > :38:06.about was designed to reach outside the whole and above all to women

:38:07. > :38:13.voters. This is the group amongst whom they yes side are still

:38:14. > :38:19.substantially behind. We saw that clever ploy. The SNP believe that

:38:20. > :38:26.40% of boards should be women. Then he promotes two of his Scottish

:38:27. > :38:29.ministers to the Cabinet. Clearly trying to say we are a female

:38:30. > :38:35.friendly party and movement. Whether that will work on that we will have

:38:36. > :38:38.to see. The childcare announcement and policy has not succeeded in

:38:39. > :38:49.closing the gender gap. Whether the greater visible face of more women

:38:50. > :38:56.will do that, we will have to wait and see. A huge amount of interest

:38:57. > :39:00.as the cameras follow him there. I wonder if he might take to the

:39:01. > :39:06.stage again. Even John Swinney is taking pictures there. A very

:39:07. > :39:08.important moment for the SNP. It is and one of the interesting things

:39:09. > :39:15.about this speech is that although a lot of it was about how positive we

:39:16. > :39:21.are, larger chunks of it was very critical of the United Kingdom.

:39:22. > :39:26.Saying this is not about the merits or demerits of independence, it is

:39:27. > :39:30.also about what Scotland gets out of the United Kingdom and criticising

:39:31. > :39:36.the United Kingdom for its nuclear policy, too much poverty, and that

:39:37. > :39:40.there would be more property in Scotland remained in the UK. Arguing

:39:41. > :39:46.that independence was the best way of protecting Scotland's future and

:39:47. > :40:23.public services. He is back on stage.

:40:24. > :40:33.Appear, the BBC cameras have knocked the water jug over. I was always

:40:34. > :40:37.suspicious of the media! We have got a job of work on our hands so let's

:40:38. > :41:00.get to it and win the sport for Scotland. Thank you. -- this vote. A

:41:01. > :41:04.final word from the First Minister. Brian Taylor has stepped out from

:41:05. > :41:06.the hall to speak to us now. Rapturous applause for the First

:41:07. > :41:10.Minister, what are you initial thoughts?

:41:11. > :41:20.They appeal to women is really intriguing. A sector of society, a

:41:21. > :41:25.majority sector of society where perhaps the SNP and the wider yes

:41:26. > :41:31.campaign have struggled. I'm sure it is no accident that in the week that

:41:32. > :41:37.David Cameron was obliged to sack a woman from his Cabinet, Alex Salmond

:41:38. > :41:42.is appointing two more and seeing that as a matter of policy, he would

:41:43. > :41:56.have a 40% female membership in the Scottish Cabinet. And allied to the

:41:57. > :42:01.offer to stress the importance of childcare comedy is targeting the

:42:02. > :42:05.female vote. He is talking about inclusion and consensus, but that

:42:06. > :42:15.only goes so far. It does not appear to include the Conservative Party.

:42:16. > :42:20.He said there could be an SNP government, and Labour government,

:42:21. > :42:27.but did not see the return of a Conservative government. This idea

:42:28. > :42:40.of a semi permanent 's of -- semipermanent SNP government, and

:42:41. > :42:46.the women voters, he was paying attention to that. Making this

:42:47. > :43:25.pitch. This is strategic. We are going to return to the hall.

:43:26. > :43:34.Scots Wha Hae, that additional rendition. It must be quite

:43:35. > :43:37.emotional for the delegates. The final commission from the First

:43:38. > :43:43.Minister to go forth into the world and win this. Yes, he did a little

:43:44. > :43:52.encore speech and then the traditional rendering of Scots Wha

:43:53. > :43:59.Hae. Perhaps an extra sense of passion for the delegates, knowing

:44:00. > :44:03.that as they close this conference, they go out into five months of

:44:04. > :44:07.direct campaigning. The entire conference has been predicated on

:44:08. > :44:15.that. There has hardly been a resolution that does not -- that has

:44:16. > :44:27.not been carried over -- other than by a claim.

:44:28. > :44:31.-- acclaim. Then Alex Salmond was making this

:44:32. > :44:36.speech, it was also directed to people outside the hall, was he

:44:37. > :44:41.tying up a few loose ends? He was to a degree. But I think this speech

:44:42. > :44:48.was as much about attacking the United Kingdom and what Alex Salmond

:44:49. > :44:52.thinks as the deficiencies of the United Kingdom in general and for

:44:53. > :44:58.Scotland, is about pushing the case for independence. To that extent, he

:44:59. > :45:04.was the SNP trying to put that no side on the defensive. There has

:45:05. > :45:12.been a feeling, in the wake of the apparent failure of the currency

:45:13. > :45:15.intervention, but no site has been nervous, people have been asking

:45:16. > :45:25.questions of it. He was applying pressure. Attacking the tactics of

:45:26. > :45:30.the no campaign. I think in the past there has been a reluctance on the

:45:31. > :45:33.yes side to pursue this argument, perhaps because of the appreciation

:45:34. > :45:43.that lots of people still feel British, still keeping the social

:45:44. > :45:46.union. All that was gone. There was an awful lot about the alleged

:45:47. > :45:54.disadvantages of remaining in the union. Thank you very much.

:45:55. > :45:59.I am now joined by Nicola Sturgeon. Thank you for joining me. You are

:46:00. > :46:04.very welcome. Let us look at the issue of this

:46:05. > :46:09.appeal to Labour support. You were clear in your speech yesterday, the

:46:10. > :46:13.First Minister was clear today. Is this perhaps a little desperate,

:46:14. > :46:20.trying to reach out to that soft Labour vote? We want Labour

:46:21. > :46:27.supporters to vote Yes. A Yes vote is not a vote for the SNP or

:46:28. > :46:31.fundamentally about the SNP, it is about democracy and taking decisions

:46:32. > :46:36.about Scotland's future into Scotland's hands. I know lots of

:46:37. > :46:40.people with an attachment to Labour share the same attachment to social

:46:41. > :46:44.justice that I and my colleagues in the SNP do, so I Yes vote is a way

:46:45. > :46:49.to get the powers to achieve that. It is a chance to get -- for Labour

:46:50. > :46:55.supporters it is a chance to get their own party back. They have seen

:46:56. > :46:59.Labour move away from the values that brought them to the party, they

:47:00. > :47:08.have played two Middle England to get elected to Westminster. -- they

:47:09. > :47:11.have played to Middle England. I Yes for you Labour supporters as a

:47:12. > :47:15.chance to reclaim their own party, and I think that is one of the

:47:16. > :47:21.reasons why we are seeing an increasing number of them back the

:47:22. > :47:23.Yes campaign. But they say you totally misunderstand the whole

:47:24. > :47:28.point of being a Labour supporter, that these are people who say they

:47:29. > :47:34.created the welfare state as part of the UK, they achieved social justice

:47:35. > :47:37.through the UK, and we have that redistribution and security through

:47:38. > :47:42.the UK, and you totally fail to understand this. But these things

:47:43. > :47:48.that Labour supporters hold here, the welfare state, the National

:47:49. > :47:52.Health Service, they say -- that they say were created through the

:47:53. > :47:56.UK, and the very institutions that are being destroyed and undermined

:47:57. > :48:02.by Westminster. Health service south of the border is being broken up.

:48:03. > :48:07.The only reason it is not ain't done in Scotland is because we have power

:48:08. > :48:10.over it here. The welfare state is being dismantled before

:48:11. > :48:16.recommendation. The way to protect those institutions is to vote yes so

:48:17. > :48:23.that we take decisions about the future. It is easy as it was for

:48:24. > :48:25.members of the Labour Party to say I do not understand Labour supporters.

:48:26. > :48:38.I admit I have never voted Labour. But Dennis Canavan understands

:48:39. > :48:42.Labour supporters, he is voting Yes. The former Labour Lord Provost of

:48:43. > :48:46.Glasgow is voting Yes and there are many, many more. But you are

:48:47. > :48:51.reaching out, you are trying to have this kind of consensual approach,

:48:52. > :48:56.there is this Team Scotland who will begin negotiating immediately after

:48:57. > :48:59.a Yes vote. Do you think this is going to appeal to the people of

:49:00. > :49:06.Scotland, this kind of consensual approach? Yes, I do. We are in a

:49:07. > :49:10.campaign right now, and speaking for the Yes campaign we are going to

:49:11. > :49:14.fight this campaign with everything we have got. I would expect those

:49:15. > :49:19.who want to see a No vote will do likewise. Referendums by their very

:49:20. > :49:24.nature can lead to polarised debate. I think the debate itself is a good

:49:25. > :49:28.opportunity for the country, but on the 19th September we are one

:49:29. > :49:32.country, coming together to take the country forward. If there is a Yes

:49:33. > :49:36.vote, we are very clear, the next moves in Scotland's journey, the

:49:37. > :49:41.negotiations to expand -- establish our independence are not just for

:49:42. > :49:46.the SNP to take forward, they must include people from all different

:49:47. > :49:49.persuasions to build that Team Scotland approach. And I am

:49:50. > :49:53.absolutely sure that those who are campaigning now for a No vote, I

:49:54. > :49:59.believe they believe it, and it is legitimate for them to do so, but

:50:00. > :50:04.after a -- after a Yes vote, they will be on the side we are on,

:50:05. > :50:08.watching the best for Scotland. You are also appealing to women voters.

:50:09. > :50:13.The Yes campaign desperately need them on board. You will be looking

:50:14. > :50:17.forward to having a -- Angela Constance and Shona Robinson run the

:50:18. > :50:23.Cabinet table. But isn't this a cynical ploy, wide web there in the

:50:24. > :50:28.Cabinet in 2011? No, it is leading by example. They are friends of

:50:29. > :50:33.mine, close colleagues, they are outstanding ministers. They are

:50:34. > :50:36.joining the Cabinet with extra responsibilities and they will be

:50:37. > :50:40.fantastic Cabinet secretaries, but we have made it very clear, we want

:50:41. > :50:44.to see greater gender equality in the country, we want companies to

:50:45. > :50:49.aspire to have 40% at least of the board members women, and if we are

:50:50. > :50:54.saying we want others to do that we want -- we have a duty to lead by

:50:55. > :51:00.example. If Parliament approves these appointments, our Cabinet, our

:51:01. > :51:05.country's board if you like, we have 40% female representation, something

:51:06. > :51:08.I am very proud of. Shona's extra responsibilities will be associated

:51:09. > :51:13.with pensioners, Angela's of female employment, and these are very

:51:14. > :51:17.important groups in society. Young people Angela already deals with

:51:18. > :51:20.youth employment, supporting more women into the workplace and making

:51:21. > :51:24.sure our older citizens have the best possible deal. These are

:51:25. > :51:32.important priorities and I know that Angela and Shona would do them

:51:33. > :51:36.extremely well. As you appeal to these different sectors, women,

:51:37. > :51:40.Labour voters, this kind of consensual approach, you are still

:51:41. > :51:46.not getting there are, are you? You are still not reaching that 50%

:51:47. > :51:50.mark. The polls are suggesting that you perhaps do not quite have that

:51:51. > :51:55.momentum, and we were speaking to one journalist earlier who is

:51:56. > :52:01.saying, the better together campaign will start after the European

:52:02. > :52:08.elections. Well, we have to reach that 50% mark and above hopefully on

:52:09. > :52:12.September 18th. What we have seen over the past few months is London's

:52:13. > :52:19.-- unmistakable narrowing in the opinion polls. The average Yes

:52:20. > :52:26.support has gone from 30% dust and Lambert 46% right now -- 38%. We go

:52:27. > :52:29.out of this conference full of determination to persuade people

:52:30. > :52:34.Scotland can be independent, it should be independent, and we must

:52:35. > :52:39.be independent. Nicola Sturgeon, thank you very much for joining us

:52:40. > :52:44.this afternoon. John is still with me here in the

:52:45. > :52:51.studio. Nicola Sturgeon said the delegates the art enthused, they are

:52:52. > :52:55.going out there to win. But she did say a job of work still to do. Two

:52:56. > :53:01.things emerge from that, the first is that nobody on the Yes side is

:53:02. > :53:06.claiming as yet they are ahead, they are simply claiming they have made

:53:07. > :53:12.improvement, we can argue about 46% figure but certainly they have made

:53:13. > :53:14.improvement. All -- there was some suggestion in the last three polls

:53:15. > :53:19.that maybe the improvement has stopped and that maybe they need to

:53:20. > :53:27.kick-start their engine again. The second thing, we heard Angus talking

:53:28. > :53:32.about it before. There is no doubt that the Yes campaign is more active

:53:33. > :53:36.on the ground. We can measure it in social media, my colleagues have

:53:37. > :53:40.been charting this, and have shown quite clearly that throughout this

:53:41. > :53:43.campaign, where supporters of independence have been using Twitter

:53:44. > :53:50.and social media and Facebook ban have No supporters. There is a lot

:53:51. > :53:54.of anecdotal evidence to suggest there are more Yes meetings, and

:53:55. > :53:58.more activists out there. A failure to realise that from many people

:53:59. > :54:01.inside the independence movement, they are campaigning something they

:54:02. > :54:05.have believed in all their lives, thought would never happen, and are

:54:06. > :54:09.really desperate and keen to see happen. On the No side there are

:54:10. > :54:15.lots of people certainly do not want to live in the UK, but the reaction,

:54:16. > :54:24.-- the reaction is, why are do I have to fight? It is a much more

:54:25. > :54:29.reticent waste just to hang on to what they have got, and isn't

:54:30. > :54:34.generally quite the same enthusiasm. -- it doesn't quite.

:54:35. > :54:41.Brian Taylor is standing by once again.

:54:42. > :54:44.We are seeing the delegates stream out of the hole. The optimism must

:54:45. > :54:51.be running pretty high after that speech. It is, but it has been right

:54:52. > :54:59.through the conference. They think they are going to do it. What did

:55:00. > :55:07.you make of the speech? I can take you what the delegates made of it.

:55:08. > :55:13.When the First Minister left the platform and then came back, the

:55:14. > :55:16.crowd just went absolutely well. It played MED -- incredibly well with

:55:17. > :55:21.the audience. What they need now is for the central message to get out

:55:22. > :55:29.beyond these delegates. Web macro it isn't about convincing the delegates

:55:30. > :55:33.here, they are sold. A series of key messages, were there? In a micro

:55:34. > :55:40.attic the overriding message of this conference is that they need the

:55:41. > :55:45.support of people who do not normally back the SNP, if they are

:55:46. > :55:49.to get over the winning line in seven -- in September. So we have

:55:50. > :55:54.heard from Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon and appeal to Labour voters

:55:55. > :55:59.to come onside and fall in behind the idea of independence. I think

:56:00. > :56:05.the conference has been very much about reaching out to those groups,

:56:06. > :56:08.and also in Alex Salmond's speech, his announcement about women and

:56:09. > :56:13.trying to ensure that 40% of boardrooms are made up of women, is

:56:14. > :56:19.an appeal to a hard to reach group in the independence debate.

:56:20. > :56:24.But it is hard to reach, that is an overt recognition that they are

:56:25. > :56:30.still perhaps having a difficult time persuading women to go for

:56:31. > :56:34.independence? We had a big section on childcare, this policy announced

:56:35. > :56:38.at a previous conference which actually there are questions about

:56:39. > :56:40.how affordable this is, they skirted over those and talk up the value of

:56:41. > :56:45.childcare and universal childcare, and then moved on to the equal

:56:46. > :56:53.opportunities in the workplace for women, the 40%, and put his money

:56:54. > :56:58.where his mouth was by promoting two women to his own Cabinet. But

:56:59. > :57:02.consensus on the ghost Jafar, because in the pitch to Labour

:57:03. > :57:09.voters is explicitly saying that the Tories would be banished from

:57:10. > :57:13.Scotland. What he is neglecting to say here is that if they were to be

:57:14. > :57:17.a Yes vote, I think what we would see is a bit of a resurgence of a

:57:18. > :57:23.centre-right party. It might not be the Tories, but you cannot say that

:57:24. > :57:27.we will have Scotland's future in our own hands but by the way there's

:57:28. > :57:33.not going to be a centre-right party. But you have to say that a

:57:34. > :57:37.pitch to Labour voters. Yes, they are pitching in terms of getting rid

:57:38. > :57:40.of the Tories, which will be attractive to Labour voters. They

:57:41. > :57:43.also think that some key Labour supporters will be attracted to the

:57:44. > :57:49.idea of getting rid of Trident, nuclear weapons, their commitment

:57:50. > :57:54.not to privatise the NHS. So those key messages again were being

:57:55. > :58:00.hammered home in Nicola Sturgeon's and Alex Salmond's speeches. Hardly

:58:01. > :58:03.any other Cabinet minister has had an opportunity to address this

:58:04. > :58:13.conference. It has been heavily focused on those two. Trident is --

:58:14. > :58:18.the Trident point, a rebuttal of the suggestion there could be a deal

:58:19. > :58:25.between that and the currency. Yes, we said -- we heard that a currency

:58:26. > :58:29.you would be done, but the quid pro quo on that was that something would

:58:30. > :58:36.have to be negotiated with Trident. Nicola and Alex were both

:58:37. > :58:41.categorical on that. Just one word, we are almost out of time. They want

:58:42. > :58:43.to get rid of Trident in the first parliament after independence, they

:58:44. > :58:47.have never said though that there is a fixed deadline for that to

:58:48. > :58:52.happen, and that is perhaps weather is room for negotiation.

:58:53. > :58:55.Back to the studio. Throughout the spring conference

:58:56. > :58:59.season we have been taking a sideways look at who exactly goes to

:59:00. > :59:03.these events. As nationalists prepare for what could be -- they

:59:04. > :59:43.believe could be the home straight, here is the SNP.

:59:44. > :59:59.MUSIC: "Happy" by Pharell Willams. -- Williams.

:00:00. > :00:05.That brings our conference coverage to an end. From the team in Aberdeen

:00:06. > :00:07.and from us here in the studio, have a good afternoon. Goodbye.