12/03/2016

:00:41. > :00:47.Hello and a very warm welcome to our live coverage of the SNP spring

:00:48. > :00:50.conference. The partypos-macro leader, Nicola Sturgeon, will make a

:00:51. > :00:56.speech at 3pm and we'll bring you that life. Delegates have gathered

:00:57. > :01:00.at the SEC see on the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow. They're expecting

:01:01. > :01:04.to hear Nicola Sturgeon promised the basic rate of income tax will not be

:01:05. > :01:10.increased in Scotland if returned as First Minister following me 's

:01:11. > :01:12.election. I'll be joined for the duration of the programme by

:01:13. > :01:18.Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University and our

:01:19. > :01:21.political editor, Brian Taylor, is that the conference venue, live at

:01:22. > :01:27.the SECC in Glasgow. What's the mood like? Zouma be fairly upbeat, given

:01:28. > :01:36.the polls. -- presumably fairly upbeat.

:01:37. > :01:40.Apologies. I know you can hear me, Brian, but we can't hear you at. We

:01:41. > :01:50.will come at a US soon as we can. John Curtice, it will be upbeat,

:01:51. > :01:53.won't it quest? Yes, this is a party that achieved getting must of the

:01:54. > :01:58.vote in the UK election last May and the opinion polls for me's coming

:01:59. > :02:01.election suggest that serve me on the constituency part, where people

:02:02. > :02:11.are voting for individual MSPs, all the polls but the SNP somewhere

:02:12. > :02:20.between virgin and the Zend and 60%. Still all of the polls suggesting

:02:21. > :02:24.the SNP run the high 40s. This looks like a party which, five years ago,

:02:25. > :02:28.shocked everybody by getting an overall majority in the Scottish

:02:29. > :02:33.Parliament, despite the use of representation system. I think it

:02:34. > :02:38.raises an interesting question about how the SNP will handle both this

:02:39. > :02:44.conference and the coming weeks. For a party that is far ahead and a

:02:45. > :02:47.party that the opinion polls are saying, for the most part we think

:02:48. > :02:51.you done a pretty good job in government, the temptation must be

:02:52. > :02:55.to focus as much as possible on what we've achieved and to say as little

:02:56. > :02:58.as possible about what it might want to do in future and perhaps

:02:59. > :03:02.particularly not to come up with anything that perhaps might cause

:03:03. > :03:06.controversy or rock the boat. And maybe, maybe, we are seeing a little

:03:07. > :03:10.bit of that latter character in the fat that we're expecting Nicola

:03:11. > :03:13.Sturgeon to say, it's OK, the basic rate of income tax in Scotland may

:03:14. > :03:18.now be decided in the Scottish Parliament rather than in

:03:19. > :03:22.Westminster but under our hands at least it will not be higher than in

:03:23. > :03:27.England. Let's talk about what they do in a moment but first on the

:03:28. > :03:34.basics of apology this, the SNP at their conference, seemed keen for

:03:35. > :03:38.people to vote for the SNP both on the constituency vote and on the

:03:39. > :03:42.list vote. Why is that so crucial for them? The truth is this is a

:03:43. > :03:47.source of controversy about whether that is gone to be crucial to them

:03:48. > :03:52.or not. The truth is if you take this morning's opinion poll in the

:03:53. > :03:58.Times, with the SNP on about 49% for the constituencies and about 43% for

:03:59. > :04:00.the list, if you go and do the arithmetic you discover that

:04:01. > :04:06.certainly if the movements that those figures represent is compared

:04:07. > :04:09.with five years ago, about a 4-point increase in the SNP vote in the

:04:10. > :04:13.constituencies and about the same on the list, actually the SNP would

:04:14. > :04:17.probably, given the Labour Party are dying on about a fifth of the vote,

:04:18. > :04:21.when 36 seats at Holyrood from the constituencies alone and then won't

:04:22. > :04:25.need any list seats to get an overall majority. It also follows

:04:26. > :04:27.that if that were to happen there are probably only a couple of

:04:28. > :04:31.regions in Scotland, the South of Scotland and the Highlands and

:04:32. > :04:35.Islands, where the SNP would not be doing well enough in the

:04:36. > :04:38.constituencies that they would end up saying, they are not going to get

:04:39. > :04:41.any more seats allocated through proportional representation by the

:04:42. > :04:45.system, they've got so many constituency seats already. Of

:04:46. > :04:50.course, that presumes, if the opinion polls are right, and it

:04:51. > :04:53.presumes also the decline in labour's vote is pretty much uniform

:04:54. > :04:57.and that some of their sitting MSPs don't manage to buck the tide and

:04:58. > :05:01.had on to their seats. If any of that begins to happen, the SNP may

:05:02. > :05:06.not have 66 constituency seats, they may only have 61 or 62, and then

:05:07. > :05:10.they may need the list vote in order to get them past the overall point.

:05:11. > :05:15.The truth is, mobility will party is going to want to take the risk, no

:05:16. > :05:18.political party is going to want to say to people, "Don't vote for

:05:19. > :05:25.someone of the votes," but I think the fact that the SNP are making the

:05:26. > :05:28.hashtag on social media for this conference "SNP both votes" is an

:05:29. > :05:31.indication that they are worried some people will say, "Maybe I could

:05:32. > :05:35.vote for the Greens on the list vote because that might help them to get

:05:36. > :05:41.an MSP, where is perhaps in my region it's not going to help the

:05:42. > :05:47.SNP". The conference got under way with the welcome address on the

:05:48. > :05:50.Deputy First Minister, John Swinney. We gather here, friends, in great

:05:51. > :05:56.spirits. This is the biggest pre-election conference the SNP has

:05:57. > :05:59.ever held. 3000 attendees, 49 stands across two halls. That's ?1.8

:06:00. > :06:04.million pumped into the economy of the great city of Glasgow. Our

:06:05. > :06:09.spring conference is not just larger than the annual conferences of our

:06:10. > :06:11.opponents, it is now probably larger than all of the annual conferences

:06:12. > :06:12.of all of our opponents put together.

:06:13. > :06:27.APPLAUSE Me's election will be the first time

:06:28. > :06:31.at which Nicola Sturgeon is standing for First Minister. When Nicola took

:06:32. > :06:35.over, all of us were still hurting from the disappointment of the

:06:36. > :06:40.referendum result. She picked us all up and gave us the leadership when

:06:41. > :06:44.we needed it. Over the last 16 months, I've been immensely proud to

:06:45. > :06:48.work alongside her everyday in government, her relentless drive it

:06:49. > :06:51.never ceasing to amaze me. She always stands up for Scotland's

:06:52. > :06:57.interests, she is not accountable to party bosses in London, accountable

:06:58. > :07:01.only to the people of Scotland. She never accept second best. She's won

:07:02. > :07:08.new friends for Scotland across the UK and beyond. Delegates, Nicola

:07:09. > :07:13.Sturgeon has done Scotland proud and in me's election, she is by far and

:07:14. > :07:27.away the best candidate to be First Minister of Scotland.

:07:28. > :07:41.A couple of weeks ago, the Prime Minister came to Scotland and talked

:07:42. > :07:45.about how much he feared an SNP victory in May. It seems the Tories

:07:46. > :07:49.don't like having a Scottish Government that stands up to them. I

:07:50. > :07:55.think that's another good reason for us to get out there and to vote and

:07:56. > :07:58.campaign for an SNP victory but more importantly, this just shows us what

:07:59. > :08:04.a formidable First Minister Scotland has in Nicola Sturgeon. Can anyone

:08:05. > :08:09.seriously imagine the other party leaders in Scotland so effectively

:08:10. > :08:12.standing up for Scotland? We know who fights for Scotland, we know who

:08:13. > :08:16.is stronger for Scotland and so does David Cameron. So this weekend we

:08:17. > :08:21.will show the people of Scotland that we have a record in office to

:08:22. > :08:26.be proud of, but in Nicola Sturgeon we have an outstanding candidate for

:08:27. > :08:31.First Minister and that our party is ready to govern for another term.

:08:32. > :08:36.That's our message and our mission. It's quite straightforward. Stronger

:08:37. > :08:36.for Scotland, both votes SNP. Thank you very much.

:08:37. > :08:47.CHEERING AND APPLAUSE STUDIO: That was the warm welcome

:08:48. > :08:51.but soon afterwards there were some signs that not all delegates were

:08:52. > :08:54.fully on message. It happened in the report of the

:08:55. > :09:04.standing orders and agenda committee, referred to as Soac. My

:09:05. > :09:09.apologies, we don't seem to have that. Hopefully we might see that in

:09:10. > :09:14.a moment. John Curtice, you heard what John Swinney had to say. This

:09:15. > :09:20.popularity which you described a moment ago of the SNP, how much of

:09:21. > :09:25.that is independence, legacy from that, and how much of it is actually

:09:26. > :09:29.Nicola Sturgeon? There is no doubt the Nicola Sturgeon is part of this.

:09:30. > :09:31.She is undoubtedly one of the most charismatic politicians not only in

:09:32. > :09:36.Scotland but across the whole of the UK. I think the truth is she not

:09:37. > :09:39.only filled Alex Salmond's boots but I think in truth she now needs a

:09:40. > :09:45.bigger size footwear then Alexander had. She clearly does dominate her

:09:46. > :09:49.party, she done its the country and is perhaps not quite as

:09:50. > :09:55.controversial character as Alex was. Or polarising? Indeed. If you look

:09:56. > :10:00.at the opinion polls, Nicola Sturgeon, you get 60 odd % of people

:10:01. > :10:04.saying they are satisfied with the performance as First Minister,

:10:05. > :10:08.relatively few people dissatisfied. And none of her opponents, not least

:10:09. > :10:13.Kezia Dugdale, can come anywhere near that. In this morning's poll,

:10:14. > :10:16.more people think that Kezia Dugdale is doing badly than doing well. So

:10:17. > :10:21.there are voters out there who are just looking to see who they think

:10:22. > :10:25.of Scotland best but there is no doubt that Nicola Sturgeon is an

:10:26. > :10:29.asset for her party. That said, one needs to understand that since

:10:30. > :10:36.September 2014, electoral politics in Scotland, which way people vote

:10:37. > :10:40.in elections, is now focused very strongly on the issue of Scotland's

:10:41. > :10:43.constitutional future. What seems to have happened is that where is in

:10:44. > :10:47.the past people might have said to the pollsters, "Oh, yeah, I quite

:10:48. > :10:51.like the idea of Scotland being independent," but were going on to

:10:52. > :10:56.say, "But I think I will vote Labour," once they vote for a

:10:57. > :11:00.constitutional change, which the SNP were championing and more or less

:11:01. > :11:04.exclusively championing, pretty much all of that referendum vote has gone

:11:05. > :11:09.to the SNP, and if you take this morning's poll, which is not a

:11:10. > :11:15.typical, 85% of those who say they voted yes in September 2014 are now

:11:16. > :11:19.behind the SNP, and there were some no voters, but only around 15 or 20%

:11:20. > :11:23.of them, who are also backing the particle stop you can see how

:11:24. > :11:26.independence is the central dividing line in Scottish electoral politics

:11:27. > :11:30.and the SNP's great advantage is that essentially they are the only

:11:31. > :11:35.party representing the independence cause. They pretty much have the

:11:36. > :11:37.whole of the "yes" vote behind them, whereas Labour and the Conservatives

:11:38. > :11:43.are fighting it out amongst themselves for the Unionist vote.

:11:44. > :11:45.Inevitably, therefore, neither of them is anything like capable of

:11:46. > :11:52.challenging the SNP in the opinion polls. How would you expect apple I

:11:53. > :11:57.was going to say normally but this is not a normal situation, that to

:11:58. > :12:01.last? Presumably there are some right of centre SNP voters who don't

:12:02. > :12:06.like some of the would-be leftist rhetoric of the SNP. There are

:12:07. > :12:12.presumably some left of centre voters who, for example, might quite

:12:13. > :12:16.like Labour Bob's idea of putting taxes up to favour education. But

:12:17. > :12:22.you are saying they still vote SNP? The first point to make about that

:12:23. > :12:24.is that perhaps some of the caution that we are anticipating Nicola

:12:25. > :12:30.Sturgeon is going to repeat this afternoon when it comes to taxation

:12:31. > :12:33.is a caution that is based on a realisation that inevitably a party

:12:34. > :12:37.that is getting around half of the votes of any country is inevitably a

:12:38. > :12:42.big coalition and that she therefore wants to try to ensure that her tent

:12:43. > :12:47.remains as wide as possible. That's one of the reasons why we might

:12:48. > :12:50.expect to see caution. One of the interesting things about the opinion

:12:51. > :12:53.polls is that when people are asked their views about whether or not the

:12:54. > :13:00.rate of income tax should be increased, we discover that so long

:13:01. > :13:04.as it is for improving public services, we find around three

:13:05. > :13:09.fifths of people in Scotland saying they are in favour and that includes

:13:10. > :13:14.three fifths of SNP supporters and therefore it certainly looks to be

:13:15. > :13:17.the case that Labour's position of increasing the basic rate of income

:13:18. > :13:23.tax is actually quite popular with SNP voters but evidently that just

:13:24. > :13:27.isn't enough to persuade them that therefore they should be voting for

:13:28. > :13:32.the Labour Party. For them at least, the question of independence,

:13:33. > :13:36.together with Nicola Sturgeon looking better than Kezia Dugdale

:13:37. > :13:39.and, we think the SNP have quite a good record in government, all those

:13:40. > :13:45.other things are stacked so clearly in the SNP's favour that so far at

:13:46. > :13:48.least, the Labour Party has been trying to come up with lots of

:13:49. > :13:52.policy ideas. We've had the question of income tax, we've had the idea of

:13:53. > :13:58.giving money to first-time buyers who have saved up a 3000 quid to top

:13:59. > :14:03.up their savings, yet despite the fact that everybody seems to have

:14:04. > :14:06.been -- the Labour Party seems to have been richer in policy ideas, it

:14:07. > :14:11.doesn't seem to have moved the punters. Before the conference got

:14:12. > :14:19.under way, Brian Taylor interviewed Nicola Sturgeon for our conference

:14:20. > :14:23.webcam. We do plan to fundamentally change

:14:24. > :14:26.how local services are paid for, so as well as the short-term changes to

:14:27. > :14:32.the council tax that I outlined last week, which I'll come onto if you

:14:33. > :14:35.want, we've set out plans to sign, as the Scottish Parliament takes

:14:36. > :14:38.responsibility for income tax, a share of those income tax revenues

:14:39. > :14:44.to local governor done that as a number of things. Firstly, it makes

:14:45. > :14:46.local government as interested and motivated by the Scottish economy as

:14:47. > :14:50.the Scottish Government will be because the more successful we are,

:14:51. > :14:55.the more revenues we will have to invest, but that will also make the

:14:56. > :14:58.funding of local services overall progressive and crucially, it will

:14:59. > :15:01.tie the funding of local services much more closely to income. So

:15:02. > :15:05.that's the longer term, more fundamental change we propose. In

:15:06. > :15:09.the shorter term, we propose changes to the council tax to make it fairer

:15:10. > :15:13.and more progressive, so those in higher bands will pay more, and

:15:14. > :15:16.those at the very bottom of the income spectrum with children will

:15:17. > :15:20.pay less, therefore households across the country would pay no more

:15:21. > :15:24.than they do right now and overall, our reforms will raise an additional

:15:25. > :15:25.?100 million a year, which I'm proposing we would invest in

:15:26. > :15:33.education. A range of concerns here. I'll

:15:34. > :15:37.summarise this question, summarising the ones you mentioned, talking

:15:38. > :15:41.about pensioners and at least still talking about income, because people

:15:42. > :15:47.have saved and Ewan asks, this penalises those who 're prudent and

:15:48. > :15:52.have saved over their working life. We have recognised there are some

:15:53. > :15:57.people living in higher band houses on moderate incomes sowe have

:15:58. > :16:00.proposed an exemption for people under net medium income, under

:16:01. > :16:06.?25,000. So you don't think it's many, you are saying those... We

:16:07. > :16:11.have recognised there'll be exceptions. That's why we have

:16:12. > :16:15.proposed the exemption. I'm conscious that no proposes to

:16:16. > :16:21.changes in taxation will satisfy people. Nobody likes paying tax?

:16:22. > :16:28.Yes. I recognise that it's easy in opposition to use tax as some kind

:16:29. > :16:34.of symbol of political Royalty, but it shouldn't be that, because every

:16:35. > :16:39.decision a politician makes has to be paid for by people who work hard

:16:40. > :16:43.to get their income. It's right proposals are fair and balanced and

:16:44. > :16:48.what we have announce on the local taxation meets the fundamental

:16:49. > :16:50.tests. Do you accept they are a substantial climb-down from saying

:16:51. > :16:54.we are going to scrap the council tax. You said it was heated now at

:16:55. > :17:00.the very least it's tolerated, if not loved? I took office and the

:17:01. > :17:04.council tax had in the few years prior to that gone up by 60%. That

:17:05. > :17:08.was when Labour were last in Government. Now, what has changed

:17:09. > :17:12.between then and now, of course, is that we have had eight years soon to

:17:13. > :17:19.be nine years, of a council tax freeze. That's saved the average

:17:20. > :17:26.band D household ?1500. We have put council tax under control and one of

:17:27. > :17:31.the other things I'm proposing, we'll not allow a return to the days

:17:32. > :17:37.when council tax increases were out of control. We'll allow it to be

:17:38. > :17:42.increased by no more than 3% a year. Ruth Gordon gives the flip side

:17:43. > :17:47.asking why you have prevented freezes, she reckons it's resulted

:17:48. > :17:51.in thousands of jobs being lost and services reduced? That's not right.

:17:52. > :17:55.We have given councils an amount of money every year of the council tax

:17:56. > :17:59.freeze that is equivalent to a 3% increase. In fact, there's been a

:18:00. > :18:02.report published by the Scottish Parliament research centre that

:18:03. > :18:07.shows that we have given councils more money than the cost of freezing

:18:08. > :18:11.the council tax so it's been fully funded. When we move away from the

:18:12. > :18:14.council tax freeze to a situation where councils in recognition of the

:18:15. > :18:19.pressures they face will be able to raise the council tax by a maximum

:18:20. > :18:22.of 3% a year. We'll also allow them to keep that ?70 million they have

:18:23. > :18:24.had to freeze the council tax so that will significantly help

:18:25. > :18:27.councils deal with the pressures they are facing. I'll stick with tax

:18:28. > :18:32.and finance because it will be a huge issue at the election and it is

:18:33. > :18:37.generally in politics. The Report this week suggesting a ?15 billion

:18:38. > :18:44.deficit for Scotland in the year 2014-15, likely to be worse now

:18:45. > :18:51.because oil revenues if, if anything, decreased. Ian asks, how

:18:52. > :18:56.do you plan to reduce the gap? Can I take on the Report squarely. Our oil

:18:57. > :19:00.industry right now is facing really tough times. The oil industry

:19:01. > :19:07.globally is facing tough times. I don't dispute that. The point I

:19:08. > :19:09.guess, two points, firstly, no country judges its economy

:19:10. > :19:13.orificical position on the strength of one year's figures or even for

:19:14. > :19:17.that matter two or three years' figures. You look at the position of

:19:18. > :19:20.the country over the medium to long-term and over the last ten

:19:21. > :19:23.years, the fiscal position of Scotland's been broadly similar to

:19:24. > :19:28.the rest of the UK's and in some of thosiers it's been stronger than

:19:29. > :19:31.UK's. That's including oil and it's shrinking and it's not likely to

:19:32. > :19:37.rise? Which sets up the next point I was going to make which is our

:19:38. > :19:40.onshore revenues over the past five years and it will be the case over

:19:41. > :19:45.the next five, is outstripping the oil revenues. We have a

:19:46. > :19:50.fundamentally strong economy, employment is higher than the UK,

:19:51. > :19:53.faster productivity growth, so the fundamentals of the Scottish economy

:19:54. > :19:58.are strong. The second point I would make gets more into the politics of

:19:59. > :20:00.this, and all countries, all economies face difficulties, face

:20:01. > :20:04.shocks for a variety of different reason. I suppose the question is

:20:05. > :20:08.how well prepared countries are for those. If you look at Norway which

:20:09. > :20:13.is similar in many ways in oil sense to Scotland, last week it drew down

:20:14. > :20:16.for the first time on the capital of its massive oil fund. The fact that

:20:17. > :20:20.Scotland doesn't have an oil fund to draw on at this time of difficulty

:20:21. > :20:23.for the oil sector is not an indictment of the case for

:20:24. > :20:28.independence, it's an indictment of Westminster management. I hear all

:20:29. > :20:32.that, but we are where we are and Ronnie asks, that's the situation we

:20:33. > :20:36.are in, where does the Government find ?15 billion worth if not in

:20:37. > :20:42.massive spending cuts or tax cuts, you have to deal with the situation

:20:43. > :20:46.as it is. Oil price has depressed and it's not showing any sign of

:20:47. > :20:52.going up, there is no oil fund, how sad would you say, what a betrayal,

:20:53. > :20:56.but we are dealing with the situation of ?15 billion deficit,

:20:57. > :20:59.twice that of the UK. We deal with our budgets every single year by

:21:00. > :21:04.making the tough decisions that allow us to balance the budget.

:21:05. > :21:10.People say it to me, you haven't had any choice but to balance the

:21:11. > :21:13.budget. Are you suggesting John Swinney would go to the slammer?

:21:14. > :21:19.It's him, not me. You exempted yourself. We have to exercise the

:21:20. > :21:23.fiscal discipline and that will stand us in good stead so we take

:21:24. > :21:30.the decisions. That's the devolved budget. The full fiscal economy

:21:31. > :21:34.budget, ?15 billion in deficit. Sure, I'm dealing with this. It's a

:21:35. > :21:37.matter of regret that the vote went that way. I'm dealing with a

:21:38. > :21:41.devolved budget right now and I'm setting out what we do to deal with

:21:42. > :21:45.that. This gets to the heart of your question, we need to grow our

:21:46. > :21:49.economy, take the strength of our on shore economy and grow that even

:21:50. > :21:52.faster. My argument is, the more powers we have in our own hands, the

:21:53. > :21:57.more successful we can be at doing just that because we have got great

:21:58. > :22:01.strengths in our onshore economy. We met the other day as we were

:22:02. > :22:05.publishing the figures in the biggest tech accelerator hub in the

:22:06. > :22:09.whole of the UK, strengths in digital technology, in food and

:22:10. > :22:13.drink, in tourism, in our Life Sciences and whole range of

:22:14. > :22:17.different areas, we have got to concentrate on that.

:22:18. > :22:20.As I said earlier, there were some signs that not all delegates were

:22:21. > :22:24.fully on message. It happened in the report to have the standing orders

:22:25. > :22:28.and the gender committee referred to as SOAC.

:22:29. > :22:33.There are 17 policy motions on the agenda. Three quart, were submitted

:22:34. > :22:37.by electd members of the Scottish and UK Members of Parliament with

:22:38. > :22:45.only four from the SNP's 200 branches. With some exceptions, the

:22:46. > :22:55.overall tone of the motions is one of complacent self-congratulation,

:22:56. > :22:59.look for phrases like "welcomes, agrees, congratulates, sup

:23:00. > :23:04.importants, accepts". Nearly half of the motionses are so

:23:05. > :23:10.self-congratulatory, they even admit to state proposal or action. The big

:23:11. > :23:13.issues of the day are conspicuously absent, public health, Europe,

:23:14. > :23:17.Trident, Local Government finance, energy policy, land reform.

:23:18. > :23:22.The word independence is only mentioned once.

:23:23. > :23:26.Delegates, I've attended SNP conferences since the '70s. It pains

:23:27. > :23:30.me to say this, but this conference is beginning to resemble the Labour

:23:31. > :23:35.Party in the Tony Blair era. We can do better than that.

:23:36. > :23:40.APPLAUSE Thank you. I'm grateful to Malcolm

:23:41. > :23:44.for making some of those points because we have heard them a number

:23:45. > :23:48.of times in recent years and particularly with regard to the

:23:49. > :23:54.agenda that's in front of us. If you look at the SOAC report on page 84,

:23:55. > :24:00.I have tried to explain some of the process that SOAC went through in

:24:01. > :24:03.drawing up an agenda for what is a preelection conference as the Deputy

:24:04. > :24:07.First Minister said. This is us gathering to set our agenda for the

:24:08. > :24:13.election that is coming up in a few weeks' time. Demand was

:24:14. > :24:17.exceptionally high, there were 118 resolutions submitted. We have got

:24:18. > :24:22.time at this conference for 19. But some of the discussion, the issues

:24:23. > :24:26.that Malcolm raised were in fact discussed at the SOAC meeting and

:24:27. > :24:29.what we have agreed to do is resolutions rejected from branches,

:24:30. > :24:32.there were a number that didn't quite make the cut, and we'll

:24:33. > :24:35.automatically consider them so branches don't need to resubmit

:24:36. > :24:41.them. We'll automatically consider them for National Council which will

:24:42. > :24:50.happen on the 21st May. Brian joins us again now.

:24:51. > :24:54.These objections, are these the idiosyncrasies of one individual, or

:24:55. > :24:58.is there the feeling that it's all a bit sanitised? He got a round of

:24:59. > :25:01.applause, but the thunderous rounds of applause are for any of the

:25:02. > :25:05.leading figures appearing on the stage or frankly the mention even of

:25:06. > :25:09.their name. George Osborne Swinney warned delegates not to go into the

:25:10. > :25:20.wrong part of the SECC complex, you might find you'res in the Western

:25:21. > :25:24.Centre. There was another much of Americao going on there.

:25:25. > :25:30.There was a decent round of applause to the guy who said it was all a bit

:25:31. > :25:33.sanitised but that's what Party Conferences are like these days. In

:25:34. > :25:38.some others, they are identical. Take a glance at this, the small

:25:39. > :25:42.conference hand book. Anything jump out at you? It's not about the SNP,

:25:43. > :25:44.it's about Nicola Sturgeon for First Minister, they're very much

:25:45. > :25:48.personalising this around the character of the leader. So what we

:25:49. > :25:52.had this morning was John Swinney defending the past record of the SNP

:25:53. > :25:56.in Government but expect Nick Nicola Sturgeon to be putting forward some

:25:57. > :26:00.ideas for the future, a former programme if you like on health,

:26:01. > :26:03.education, welfare, hints on taxation as well which of course she

:26:04. > :26:08.dealt with in the web cast interview with me. Above all, it's

:26:09. > :26:13.personalised around the leader. They believe she's an asset.

:26:14. > :26:18.The other thing that struck me about the card you waved up there, apart

:26:19. > :26:22.from the Nicola Sturgeon picture, it says "both votes SNP", they are

:26:23. > :26:30.clearly worried that people are going to experiment with Greens

:26:31. > :26:33.aren't they, or others? Since the outcome, since the beginning of the

:26:34. > :26:38.Scottish Parliament, inception of that in 1999, there was a feeling

:26:39. > :26:42.that perhaps folk didn't entirely tons two-vote strategy, they

:26:43. > :26:47.believed the second vote was an alternative, a bit of a gambling, a

:26:48. > :26:52.bit of a game, if you like. All the parties stress vote for them on both

:26:53. > :26:57.levels, but they are going really even further at this Party

:26:58. > :27:01.Conference, every major speaker who concludes, concludes by saying vote

:27:02. > :27:05.SNP, it's like the old Roman Senator used to finish every speech saying a

:27:06. > :27:08.similar thing. What do you think they'll do at this

:27:09. > :27:12.conference? They havetwo choices really, they could use the fact that

:27:13. > :27:16.they are so popular to do something pretty radical or they could take an

:27:17. > :27:22.approach of, hey we are popular let's not frighten the horses?

:27:23. > :27:27.Nicola Sturgeon's inchildtively cautious; John Swinney is

:27:28. > :27:32.intuitively cautious, they know the vote that they have for May is

:27:33. > :27:37.hard-earned and could be lost, could be lost by unpopular move, so I

:27:38. > :27:41.suspect in particularly on taxation to be really cautious. It was

:27:42. > :27:45.intriguing to hear the direction of travel in the web cast interview

:27:46. > :27:50.with myself, certainly no to increasing the standard rate, well

:27:51. > :27:54.we knew that. Pretty jolly cool on the idea of increasing 45-50,

:27:55. > :27:57.suggesting that might not bring in any money because people might avoid

:27:58. > :28:01.the tax. If anything, she was hinting the one thing she might do

:28:02. > :28:06.or perhaps consider is if the Chancellor increases the threshold

:28:07. > :28:09.at which people enter the 40% tax rate, she might leave it alone and

:28:10. > :28:13.keep more people, if you like, in that tax rate, it would mean the tax

:28:14. > :28:17.stake was higher in Scotland but it's caution, caution on tax. I

:28:18. > :28:20.think Nicola Sturgeon will say in her speech this afternoon that she

:28:21. > :28:26.gets the point. Folk don't like paying tax. It isn't just a bit of a

:28:27. > :28:29.game, it's taking money out of people's hard-earned salaries and

:28:30. > :28:32.she knows that is not popular and can only be done very, very

:28:33. > :28:38.cautiously. Thank you very much. John, just on

:28:39. > :28:41.this issue of caution, is that the sensible approach, do you think,

:28:42. > :28:44.from their point of view for the SNP to take?

:28:45. > :28:48.I think the truth, is one could argue it's been the approach of the

:28:49. > :28:53.SNP pretty much ever since it first came to power back in 2007.

:28:54. > :28:57.Certainly it's quite difficult to think, apart from the independence

:28:58. > :29:01.referendum, which of course was an absolutely major political event and

:29:02. > :29:05.undoubtedly also was a substantial political gamble, but beyond that,

:29:06. > :29:08.if one thinks of the first eight years of devolution under the Labour

:29:09. > :29:13.administration, there are a number of ideas there such as free personal

:29:14. > :29:16.care, such as getting rid of at least upfront tuition fees, although

:29:17. > :29:21.in fairness it was the SNP who finished the job off by getting rid

:29:22. > :29:26.of them entirely. So that was an age when certain policies became almost

:29:27. > :29:29.iconically associated with devolution. It was about how the

:29:30. > :29:32.Scottish Parliament was using devolution to do things differently

:29:33. > :29:36.in Scotland. It's much more difficult to think of

:29:37. > :29:42.the equivalent policies that have been there in the last eight years

:29:43. > :29:44.and certainly it's very intriguing that apparently, we are going to

:29:45. > :29:49.hear this afternoon Nicola Sturgeon say well, we may now have got powers

:29:50. > :29:53.over income tax and they are going to be pretty much full powers from

:29:54. > :29:57.2017 but do you know what, I'm going to prom toys keep them the same as

:29:58. > :30:01.they are in England. Certainly on the one hand, we have got this

:30:02. > :30:04.position of a party that's argued very strongly for more powers, it

:30:05. > :30:09.kept on arguing whenever there was an opportunity to do so, to say

:30:10. > :30:12.look, the Scotland Bill's almost been put through but it doesn't

:30:13. > :30:17.deliver on the report of the Smith Commission which is where the ideas

:30:18. > :30:22.for advanced devolution stem from after the referendum. Actually, so

:30:23. > :30:26.far we have been hearing relatively little from the SNP in terms of

:30:27. > :30:32.using the new powers in such a way that might produce radically

:30:33. > :30:35.different policies for England. We were talking earlier about how,

:30:36. > :30:39.in a way the whole issue of independence Trumps everything else,

:30:40. > :30:48.therefore the SNP ranked high in the polls. But in so far as independence

:30:49. > :30:51.itself is a cipher for, let's reduce inequality, people bought into the

:30:52. > :30:56.argument and somehow independent Scotland would take a different

:30:57. > :31:01.approach, inequality would be reduced and so on, I mean, is there

:31:02. > :31:04.a danger for the SNP SNP that in some point, people who voted for

:31:05. > :31:07.independence say, hang on a minute, you are running the place and might

:31:08. > :31:13.not have independence but you could do better than this?

:31:14. > :31:18.There certainly is a risk that that element of Labour support which went

:31:19. > :31:22.to the SNP, which we know from survey evidence, other kinds of

:31:23. > :31:25.people who want a more equal Scotland and tend to be relatively

:31:26. > :31:30.left wing, whether or not they will end up being disenchanted at some

:31:31. > :31:33.point... If they are to be disenchanted, the Labour Party is

:31:34. > :31:37.going to have to convince them that they would then be able to run

:31:38. > :31:41.Scotland more effectively and would deliver the kind of Scotland they're

:31:42. > :31:47.looking for. At the end of the day, the fundamental thing for the Labour

:31:48. > :31:51.Party above all in challenging the SNP is that so far the SNP still

:31:52. > :31:55.command the card, we are the party that stands up in Scotland, we

:31:56. > :31:59.defend Scotland's interests and they still hang onto that even though

:32:00. > :32:02.they may not necessarily be a party in government that is necessarily

:32:03. > :32:06.wanting to do things terribly differently. Until the Labour Party

:32:07. > :32:10.can persuade people, actually, we would stand up for Scotland just as

:32:11. > :32:14.much as the SNP and, by the way, we will be more likely to deliver the

:32:15. > :32:17.kind of Scotland you want, that more equal Scotland, until they reach

:32:18. > :32:20.that point they are always going to struggle and the truth is they

:32:21. > :32:23.require more than a few policy initiatives to do that. It means

:32:24. > :32:27.creating a much bigger story about the kind of Scotland the Labour

:32:28. > :32:31.Party wants and I think the Labour Party's fundamental problem is that

:32:32. > :32:35.it has never really had that story. Let's talk a bit about Labour later

:32:36. > :32:40.but the other thing I was puzzled about about the SNP is that when you

:32:41. > :32:44.look at the detail of some of these polls, and I know they're different

:32:45. > :32:51.from pole to pole, and people are asked what they make of the SNP's

:32:52. > :32:54.record on things like education, they are quite popular, 30 odd or 40

:32:55. > :32:58.the centre, but it is not massively popular. On the face of it there

:32:59. > :33:02.seems to be a discrepancy between the number of people saying, when it

:33:03. > :33:05.comes to the election we will vote SNP, and whether they actually like

:33:06. > :33:09.what the SNP is doing. We should remember that maybe around half the

:33:10. > :33:14.people in Scotland are going to vote for the SNP, maybe slightly more,

:33:15. > :33:18.maybe slightly less. That's enough to win an overall majority in

:33:19. > :33:21.parliamentary election. But such figures are perfectly commensurate

:33:22. > :33:26.with the idea that most polls find more people say they think the SNP

:33:27. > :33:30.has done a good job or that they are satisfied with the SNP and say they

:33:31. > :33:34.are not. It's not necessarily dramatically so but it doesn't have

:33:35. > :33:39.to be to be 50%. One of the things we find in today's opinion poll in

:33:40. > :33:42.the Times is that they repeated the question that YouGov, the polling

:33:43. > :33:50.company in question, also asked when the SNP were a minority party, and

:33:51. > :33:53.also in the days of the Lib Dem coalition, which finds that 40

:33:54. > :33:56.percentage eagle in Scotland approval of the SNP's record in

:33:57. > :34:00.government and 35% is approved, so that's in line with what you're

:34:01. > :34:04.suggesting. It's good but it's not brilliant. Those figures are

:34:05. > :34:09.actually no better than when YouGov were asking the question when the

:34:10. > :34:14.SNP were a minority government, yet at that time there was no sign at

:34:15. > :34:17.all... We're talking about 2008. There was no sign of the opinion

:34:18. > :34:22.polls that the SNP could possibly get 50% of the vote, yet that's

:34:23. > :34:24.where they are now. Let's go to the conference hall, where the SNP

:34:25. > :34:28.leader Nicola Sturgeon is about to take the stage for the speech. There

:34:29. > :34:44.she is. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

:34:45. > :35:26.Conference, I start today on a sad note.

:35:27. > :35:33.Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of one of the darkest days Scotland

:35:34. > :35:39.has ever known. Even now, there are simply no words to express our

:35:40. > :35:45.horror and our sadness at what happened in Dunblane primary school

:35:46. > :35:52.on the 13th of March 19 96. All we can do is tell those who lost loved

:35:53. > :35:59.ones, those who suffered injury and those whose lives changed for ever

:36:00. > :36:06.that day that we have not forgotten. You are in our thoughts and in our

:36:07. > :36:15.Hearts and you always will be. APPLAUSE

:36:16. > :36:22.Friends, it is hard to believe that 12 months have passed since the SNP

:36:23. > :36:29.last met here in the great city of Glasgow. We resolved then to go out

:36:30. > :36:33.and make political history on Scotland's behalf and we did exactly

:36:34. > :36:45.that. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

:36:46. > :36:53.We won all but three seats across our country and we painted red

:36:54. > :37:00.Clydeside a bright, golden yellow. APPLAUSE

:37:01. > :37:07.We redefined what is possible in elections and we have been shaking

:37:08. > :37:13.the foundations of the Westminster Establishment ever since. Now we

:37:14. > :37:20.stand, just weeks from another defining election. An election to

:37:21. > :37:25.our own national parliament, and election that will set the direction

:37:26. > :37:32.for our country for the next five years and into a new decade. Today,

:37:33. > :37:38.I will speak simply and directly to the people of Scotland. I will ask

:37:39. > :37:44.you to elect us to be your government for a third consecutive

:37:45. > :37:45.term and I will ask you to choose me to be your First Minister.

:37:46. > :38:06.APPLAUSE I will ask you to place your trust

:38:07. > :38:13.in me and in my party to lead our country and, in return, I promise

:38:14. > :38:20.you this - we will strive as hard as we can, each and every day, in how

:38:21. > :38:26.we campaign and how we govern to earn and to re-earn the trust that

:38:27. > :38:27.you place in us. The SNP will never take your support for granted.

:38:28. > :38:42.APPLAUSE And that sets us apart from our

:38:43. > :38:45.opponents in this election. Labour and the Tories have decided already

:38:46. > :38:53.that you will choose the SNP to be your government. They see there is

:38:54. > :38:58.as simply a battle for second place. When Scottish Labour's leader was

:38:59. > :39:07.asked if her party would come second in May, she answered boldly and

:39:08. > :39:15.confidently. She said "Yes". Now, we can laugh but it is serious. Labour

:39:16. > :39:18.doesn't believe it is going to be in government so it makes no effort to

:39:19. > :39:25.put forward a credible programme for government. That is simply not good

:39:26. > :39:30.enough that our country. A party that doesn't take itself seriously

:39:31. > :39:33.as a party of government does not deserve to be taken seriously by

:39:34. > :39:46.you, the people of Scotland. APPLAUSE

:39:47. > :39:53.Indeed, Labour's position has now so we can that the Tories have been

:39:54. > :39:59.tempted to make bold, some might say reckless, claims about their own

:40:00. > :40:07.prospects. The Tories now say they want to be the main opposition in

:40:08. > :40:09.Scotland. Yes, that's right. The party that is stripping vital

:40:10. > :40:17.support from the disabled, the vulnerable and the working poor, the

:40:18. > :40:21.party of the bedroom tax, the party that is attacking trade union

:40:22. > :40:25.freedoms, the party that, in Scotland, wants to bring back

:40:26. > :40:32.prescription charges for the sick and tax university education. That

:40:33. > :40:35.party wants you to give them a bigger role in the Scottish

:40:36. > :40:42.Parliament. Well, I don't believe for a second that you will do that.

:40:43. > :40:48.I believe that the overwhelming majority of people across our

:40:49. > :40:53.country know this to be true - Scotland doesn't need a Tory

:40:54. > :40:55.opposition. Scotland needs a strong and determined opposition to the

:40:56. > :41:07.Tories. APPLAUSE

:41:08. > :41:18.So my message to you today is clear. The other parties can battle over

:41:19. > :41:24.the runner-up spot if they want to. We, the SNP, are standing to be your

:41:25. > :41:25.government and I am standing to be your First Minister.

:41:26. > :41:42.CHEERING AND APPLAUSE And with the other parties not

:41:43. > :41:47.preparing for government, the responsibility on us to do so is

:41:48. > :41:50.even greater. It places a responsibility on our shoulders to

:41:51. > :41:58.set out what we will do with the precious opportunity that we seek.

:41:59. > :42:03.That is what I will do today. I will set out what you can expect from a

:42:04. > :42:07.new SNP government, what you can expect from me as your First

:42:08. > :42:13.Minister. First, if you place your trust in us you will get a

:42:14. > :42:22.government that will always fight Scotland's corner. Be in no doubt,

:42:23. > :42:27.our loyalty and our allegiance is first, last and always to Scotland,

:42:28. > :42:39.not to party bosses in Westminster. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

:42:40. > :42:48.You know how vital it is to have a strong Scottish Government that will

:42:49. > :42:53.always stand up and protect Scotland's interests. We've been

:42:54. > :42:55.reminded of that just recently. During the referendum, the

:42:56. > :43:03.Westminster parties promised that Scotland would get new powers. It

:43:04. > :43:08.was a promise made freely and unconditionally but when it came to

:43:09. > :43:14.delivering these new powers, the Tory Treasury tried to extract its

:43:15. > :43:19.pound of flesh. The Treasury tried to cut Scotland's budget by ?7

:43:20. > :43:25.billion in return for the powers we were promised. It was a blatant and

:43:26. > :43:33.shameful attempt to renege on the vow they made to Scotland. But we...

:43:34. > :43:41.APPLAUSE But we said no. John Swinney, are

:43:42. > :43:42.outstanding Deputy First Minister stood firm.

:43:43. > :44:00.CHEERING AND APPLAUSE John Swinney said no to a 7 billion

:44:01. > :44:09.cut and he said no to a 3 billion cut. The SNP saw off the Tory

:44:10. > :44:19.Treasury or, as we say in Glasgow, we gubbed them.

:44:20. > :44:25.Thanks to John Swinney, these powers will now come to Scotland without a

:44:26. > :44:30.single penny being lost to Scotland's budget. That is standing

:44:31. > :44:32.up for Scotland and it is what the SNP will always do.

:44:33. > :44:46.APPLAUSE Scotland's voice needs to be heard

:44:47. > :44:50.on the big issues that shape our future and while so many of these

:44:51. > :44:54.issues remain in the control of Westminster, we need leaders who can

:44:55. > :45:01.make our voice heard on the UK stage. Of course there will be

:45:02. > :45:06.different opinions in Scotland. Not everyone will agree with me. I know

:45:07. > :45:11.and I respect that. But as First Minister, it is my job to stand up

:45:12. > :45:17.for Scotland, to speak up for what I believe to be right for our country.

:45:18. > :45:24.That is why I say that Scotland's place in Europe should not, and must

:45:25. > :45:26.not, be the casualty of a bitter and twisted Tory feud.

:45:27. > :45:39.APPLAUSE Our place in Europe matters. It

:45:40. > :45:42.matters for the economic opportunities it gives us and for

:45:43. > :45:47.the social protections it guarantees. Protections that the

:45:48. > :45:54.Tories will rip up in an instant if given the chance.

:45:55. > :45:58.And let's never forget that it was the Tories, backed by Labour, who

:45:59. > :46:02.told us we would be thrown out of the EU if we dared to vote for

:46:03. > :46:10.independence. For them, to take us now to the

:46:11. > :46:11.brink of an exit, is not just irresponsible, it is staggeringly

:46:12. > :46:27.hypocritical. To take us through that exit door

:46:28. > :46:32.against our will would be democratically indefensible.

:46:33. > :46:44.Just as on Europe, Scotland's voice needs to be heard, on Trident too.

:46:45. > :46:49.The decision on the renewal of Trident is one of the most important

:46:50. > :46:54.and far-reaching that this Westminster Parliament will take.

:46:55. > :47:00.With Labour hopelessly divided, it will be down to us to make the

:47:01. > :47:05.practical and the principled case against a new generation of nuclear

:47:06. > :47:08.weapons and we, the SNP, will make that case with passion and with

:47:09. > :47:33.conviction. My view could not be clearer. To

:47:34. > :47:41.spend ?167,000 million on weapons of mass destruction would be immoral.

:47:42. > :47:50.That is why SNP MPs, each and every one, will vote against the renewal

:47:51. > :47:54.of Trident. APPLAUSE

:47:55. > :48:02.The SNP will always be stronger for Scotland and we will make Scotland's

:48:03. > :48:07.voice heard. But if you re-elect us on May 5th, our most important

:48:08. > :48:13.responsibility will be to build on the progress of the last nine years

:48:14. > :48:18.to make this country even stronger. Today, I will set out the priorities

:48:19. > :48:23.that we will pursue over these next five years if you re-elect us to be

:48:24. > :48:29.your Government. We will reform our precious NHS to

:48:30. > :48:33.make it truly fit for the future and we will keep our NHS firmly in

:48:34. > :48:51.public hands - that is a guarantee. We will support our businesses,

:48:52. > :48:56.large and small, to innovate, export and expand, so that they in turn

:48:57. > :49:03.help us tackle poverty and raise your living standards. We will work

:49:04. > :49:07.every single day to build a world class education system that gives

:49:08. > :49:13.all of our young people the best start in life. We will protect free

:49:14. > :49:17.access to our universities for as long as the SNP is in charge. There

:49:18. > :49:39.will be no tuition fees in Scotland. We will use your new powers

:49:40. > :49:43.responsibly but boldly to make our country fairer and wealthier and

:49:44. > :49:52.we'll start by keeping our promise to abolish the bedroom tax.

:49:53. > :49:58.The decisions we take over the next five years will equip our country

:49:59. > :50:04.for the challenges of the next decade and beyond. So we will be

:50:05. > :50:11.bold and ambitious and we will build on strong foundations. Take our NHS.

:50:12. > :50:17.When our political opponents criticised the NHS in Scotland, I

:50:18. > :50:22.ask you to consider this - in England under the Tories, the NHS is

:50:23. > :50:29.being privatised and doctors have been forced to go on strike. In

:50:30. > :50:34.Wales, under Labour, the NHS is in crisis. You know if you need a knee

:50:35. > :50:42.replacement operation in Scotland, you wait an average of 80 days. In

:50:43. > :50:49.Wales, under Labour, you will wait an average of 222 days.

:50:50. > :50:53.So let me say this politely but firmly - when it comes to health, we

:50:54. > :50:59.will take no lessons from Labour or from the Tories.

:51:00. > :51:17.Our NHS is delivering some of the best and fastest care anywhere in

:51:18. > :51:18.the UK. That is a tribute to our doctors, nurses, porters,

:51:19. > :51:20.auxiliaries, administrators, to everyone who works in our NHS, and

:51:21. > :51:36.we thank you for it. But we won't rest on our laurels.

:51:37. > :51:41.Over the next 20 years, the number of people in Scotland aged over 75

:51:42. > :51:46.will almost double. The increase will be equivalent to

:51:47. > :51:51.the populations of Aberdeen and Dundee combined. That will have

:51:52. > :51:57.profound implications for our health and social care services. That's why

:51:58. > :52:03.we have a clear plan for the future based on these four commitments. I

:52:04. > :52:08.promise you today that the NHS resource budget will rise in real

:52:09. > :52:12.terms in each and every single year of the next Parliaments.

:52:13. > :52:23.APPLAUSE. But more money alone will not equip

:52:24. > :52:28.our NHS for the future, it needs reform as well. We must increase

:52:29. > :52:32.capacity for the growing number of routine operations that an ageing

:52:33. > :52:37.population will need. So I also promise today that, over the next

:52:38. > :52:43.Parliament, there'll be five new elective treatment centres. In

:52:44. > :52:47.Edinburgh, Livingston, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen, new

:52:48. > :52:51.investment of ?200 million delivering hospital care, more

:52:52. > :53:01.quickly to those who need it. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

:53:02. > :53:06.Keeping people out of hospital living independently in their own

:53:07. > :53:11.homes is also vital. So I promise too that in every single year of the

:53:12. > :53:15.next Parliament, we will invest an increasing share of the NHS budget

:53:16. > :53:23.in primary community and social care services. And last, but by no means

:53:24. > :53:28.least, we will redouble our efforts to reduce deaths from the big killer

:53:29. > :53:34.diseases like cancer. Next week, we will launch our new

:53:35. > :53:40.cancer strategy. It will set out 50 different actions that will help

:53:41. > :53:45.prevent cancer, diagnose people more quickly and deliver even better care

:53:46. > :53:50.and treatment. The fact is, too many people still suffer the heartache of

:53:51. > :53:57.losing loved ones years before they should because of cancer. It doesn't

:53:58. > :53:59.have to be this way. With new treatments and developing

:54:00. > :54:05.technologies like radiotherapy, we can help more and more people beat

:54:06. > :54:11.cancer. That is why I'm delighted to announce today that, over the next

:54:12. > :54:16.Parliament, we will invest an extra ?50 million in radiotherapy

:54:17. > :54:20.services. It will buy new state-of-the-art equipment and

:54:21. > :54:25.employ an additional 100 radiotherapy specialists to work in

:54:26. > :54:33.our cancer centres, vital... CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

:54:34. > :54:39.Vital investment to help save lives and keep families together for

:54:40. > :54:45.longer. So curing the future of our NHS is

:54:46. > :54:49.one of our most important responsibilities -- securing the

:54:50. > :54:54.future. So too is education. Nothing motivates me more than the desire to

:54:55. > :55:00.give every young person the same chances in life that I had. That

:55:01. > :55:06.means giving them the very best education. Our plan to do that

:55:07. > :55:12.starts in the early years. I promise today that by the end of the next

:55:13. > :55:14.Parliament, the SNP will double the provision of free early years

:55:15. > :55:27.education and childcare. We will make sure it's flexible and

:55:28. > :55:31.high-quality, to meet the needs of children and parents alike. And

:55:32. > :55:36.today, I make this additional commitment. In the last Parliament,

:55:37. > :55:44.we delivered free school meals for primaries one to three. Benefitting

:55:45. > :55:51.135,000 children and saving families ?380 a year for each child. Today, I

:55:52. > :55:56.can announce that when we expand early years education to include

:55:57. > :56:00.full day provision, we will extend entitlement to free meals, to two,

:56:01. > :56:03.three and four-year-olds in our nurseries as well.

:56:04. > :56:20.CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. We will make sure that our youngest

:56:21. > :56:24.children get access to a healthy, nutritious meal that improves their

:56:25. > :56:28.capacity to learn, without the stigma of means testing. We will

:56:29. > :56:33.also step up our work to close the gap in attainment in our schools.

:56:34. > :56:37.Our new national improvement framework will deliver a revolution

:56:38. > :56:41.in school transparency, giving parents and the public more

:56:42. > :56:45.information than ever before about the progress of their children and

:56:46. > :56:51.the performance of our schools. And to make sure progress is

:56:52. > :56:56.accelerated, we will invest extra resources where they are needed

:56:57. > :57:01.most. The Scottish attainment fund is already delivering support to

:57:02. > :57:08.more than 300 primary schools in the most deprived parts of our country.

:57:09. > :57:12.And in the budget, two weeks ago, John Swinney doubled the attainment

:57:13. > :57:19.fund to more than ?50 million every year.

:57:20. > :57:31.I can announce today we'll go further and expand significantly its

:57:32. > :57:35.scope and scale. Last week, I announced progressive changes to

:57:36. > :57:41.local taxation that will raise an extra ?100 million a year. I said

:57:42. > :57:45.that this money would go to schools and it will.

:57:46. > :57:51.It will see the reach of our attainment fund extend to every part

:57:52. > :57:54.of Scotland. The money will be allocated according to the number of

:57:55. > :57:59.children in each primary school and in the first three years of each

:58:00. > :58:04.secondary school that meet the eligibility criteria for free school

:58:05. > :58:10.meals and it will go direct to head teachers. It will mean they can

:58:11. > :58:13.invest in extra teachers, classroom assistants, equipment or additional

:58:14. > :58:21.support for learning. It means that over the next

:58:22. > :58:28.Parliament, we will commit over and above existing budgets an extra

:58:29. > :58:32.three quarters of a billion pounds to reach the attainment of the most

:58:33. > :58:36.disadvantaged people in our country. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

:58:37. > :58:50.-- raise the attainment. Opportunity for all - that is the

:58:51. > :58:55.defining principle of the Government I lead.

:58:56. > :58:59.A strong education system is the foundation of a strong economy and a

:59:00. > :59:05.strong economy is essential to all of us. Today, in Scotland, we have

:59:06. > :59:12.higher employment than the rest of the UK. We have faster productivity

:59:13. > :59:16.growth and we have had the longest period of economic growth since

:59:17. > :59:20.devolution. One of the things our economy depends on is fast, reliable

:59:21. > :59:25.and future-proofed digital infrastructure.

:59:26. > :59:30.Our digital Scotland programme is already scheduled to deliver

:59:31. > :59:36.Broadband to 95% of premises across our country by the end of next year.

:59:37. > :59:41.The 5% not covered will be in some of the hardest to reach parts of

:59:42. > :59:47.rural Scotland. But in the digital age, it simply is not acceptable any

:59:48. > :59:52.longer for anyone to be left behind. So I can announce today, that over

:59:53. > :59:59.the next Parliament, we'll deliver superfast digital Broadband, not to

:00:00. > :00:06.95%, but 20100% of premises across Scotland. -- but to 100% of premises

:00:07. > :00:21.across Scotland. A growing economy underpins

:00:22. > :00:24.everything we do but a fairer society, where everyone gets the

:00:25. > :00:29.chance to contribute, is also essential. That's why inclusive

:00:30. > :00:35.growth is at the heart of our economic strategy, and it's why we

:00:36. > :00:42.are determined to tackle low pay and lift people out of poverty. Scotland

:00:43. > :00:47.already has a higher proportion of workers paid the living wage than

:00:48. > :00:53.any other nation in the UK. APPLAUSE

:00:54. > :01:02.And I'm proud to tell you today that from October, thanks to the budget

:01:03. > :01:08.decisions we have taken, the living wage will be paid to social care

:01:09. > :01:16.workers right across our country. APPLAUSE

:01:17. > :01:24.But we will go further. When I became First Minister, there were

:01:25. > :01:29.just 78 accredited living wage employers in Scotland. I set the

:01:30. > :01:34.ambition of increasing that to 500 by the end of this Parliament. I'm

:01:35. > :01:40.pleased to report today that this target was met last week. We now

:01:41. > :01:42.have 500 living wage accredited employers.

:01:43. > :01:57.APPLAUSE So now I'm going to double the

:01:58. > :02:02.target. My pledge today is that by autumn next year, Scotland will have

:02:03. > :02:13.at least 1000 accredited living wage employers.

:02:14. > :02:24.Economic success benefiting the many, not just the few. That is our

:02:25. > :02:28.aim. Over these past nine years, we have used the existing powers of the

:02:29. > :02:34.Scottish Parliament to make Scotland better. We will use our new powers

:02:35. > :02:41.to do that, too. We've already pledged to improve carers' allowance

:02:42. > :02:46.and to abolish the bedroom tax and we've set out plans to establish a

:02:47. > :02:52.new Social Security agency to administer new welfare powers, and

:02:53. > :02:58.that matters cos the less reliant Scotland has to be an Iain Duncan

:02:59. > :03:13.Smith's Department for Work and Pensions, the better.

:03:14. > :03:21.Today I want to outline how we will also use new powers to help tackle

:03:22. > :03:26.child poverty. The sure start maternity grant makes a payment of

:03:27. > :03:31.?500 to low income families on the birth of a child. It helps parents

:03:32. > :03:36.meet the essential costs of looking after a new baby and it helps to

:03:37. > :03:40.protect babies born into low-income households in the very first days of

:03:41. > :03:44.their lives from some of the disadvantages of poverty. Now, not

:03:45. > :03:51.surprisingly one of the first things the Tories did in 2010 was cut it.

:03:52. > :03:56.It now applies only to first-born children. So I can announce today

:03:57. > :04:01.that we will replace the sure start maternity grant with a new and

:04:02. > :04:07.expanded maternity and early years allowance, targeted at our lowest

:04:08. > :04:13.income families. The payment at birth for a first child will

:04:14. > :04:20.increase from ?500 to ?600 and we will put back what the Tories took

:04:21. > :04:24.away. We will restore payments of ?300 each for second and subsequent

:04:25. > :04:35.children. But we... APPLAUSE

:04:36. > :04:39.But we also recognise that the disadvantages of poverty affected

:04:40. > :04:43.children not just at birth but at other key stages of their young

:04:44. > :04:47.lives, as well. If we're going to close the poverty gap later in life,

:04:48. > :04:53.we need to do more to level the playing field in the early years, so

:04:54. > :04:58.we will also make payments of ?250 to help meet the additional costs

:04:59. > :05:03.low income parents face at two further stages in their child's

:05:04. > :05:06.lives, when they start nursery and again when they start school.

:05:07. > :05:15.Helping children... APPLAUSE

:05:16. > :05:21.Helping children get the best possible start in life - that is how

:05:22. > :05:26.the SNP will use our parliament's new powers. Of course, from April

:05:27. > :05:31.next year the Scottish Parliament will also be responsible for setting

:05:32. > :05:37.income tax rates. I promise you today that we will use these new

:05:38. > :05:42.powers fairly and responsibly. We are determined to make this country

:05:43. > :05:47.fairer but to do that we also need Scotland to be an attractive place

:05:48. > :05:52.to live, to work and to do business. So let me set out some key

:05:53. > 0:58:57principles that will guide us. Firstly, we will never forget that

0:58:58 > 0:58:58every