:00:40. > :00:48.# I feel it in my toes #. There is a bit of a party
:00:49. > :00:53.atmosphere in the SECC. # Love is all around the...
:00:54. > :00:59.#. Wet Wet Wet were on stage last
:01:00. > :01:08.night. Across both days, the SNP were here to party. 3000 of their
:01:09. > :01:12.150,000 members. With just two months until the Scottish election,
:01:13. > :01:17.this party is hoping to follow its stunning success in the Westminster
:01:18. > :01:24.election with a historic third term in office at Holyrood. Many of the
:01:25. > :01:28.rank-and-file are impatient for another independence referendum. The
:01:29. > :01:33.talk has been that a UK vote to leave in the EU referendum come
:01:34. > :01:38.Scots voted to remain, would provide the perfect catalyst. It would be
:01:39. > :01:43.the legal basis for your proper and -- proposition that there might be a
:01:44. > :01:48.second independent referendum. It would be the same as the legal basis
:01:49. > :01:53.as for the last referendum. It is the moral basis that interest me. I
:01:54. > :01:58.preface what I'm about to say on this: I don't want this scenario to
:01:59. > :02:06.come about, and I mean that sincerely, where the UK votes to
:02:07. > :02:11.leave. I think it is better for the UK and Scotland. I am not trying to
:02:12. > :02:14.secretly engineer a situation that results in a Brexit but that would
:02:15. > :02:19.pave the way for a second thought. You must be tempted. No, because if
:02:20. > :02:24.I were being dreadfully Machiavellian about all that, to get
:02:25. > :02:30.to that outcome depends on Scotland to vote to stay in, so for me to
:02:31. > :02:36.argue Foran out vote would not work. It is too complicated.
:02:37. > :02:40.That was Nicola Sturgeon on Friday, when Brian Taylor also quizzed her
:02:41. > :02:51.on how she would be using Scotland's new tax powers. Would you support a
:02:52. > :02:57.50p top top tax rate? I will not lay out today what I think on every
:02:58. > :02:59.individual aspect. I understand your disappointment, but I will insist on
:03:00. > :03:04.disappointing year. The Chancellor will set out his budget next week,
:03:05. > :03:07.so that will determine the tax rates, broadly speaking, that we
:03:08. > :03:12.inherit, and I think it is sensible to wait to know what they are before
:03:13. > :03:15.we decide what our position is. I am very clear on some of the principles
:03:16. > :03:20.that will guide decisions. First, I think it is not right to increase
:03:21. > :03:24.the basic rate of income tax, because people are still struggling
:03:25. > :03:26.to make ends meet. It is transferring the burden onto the
:03:27. > :03:31.shoulders of the weakest rather than those who are most able to afford to
:03:32. > :03:35.pay it. Second, given the pressure that our public services face,
:03:36. > :03:38.equally, I don't think it is right to have hefty tax cuts for the
:03:39. > :03:44.better off in our society. These are the principles that will guide the
:03:45. > :03:48.decisions we take, and we will set out our precise proposals before
:03:49. > :03:54.Parliament defaults. -- dissolves. So, we will have to wait and see. We
:03:55. > :04:02.start with a speech by John Swinney, the party's campaign director.
:04:03. > :04:07.In 2000 live, that was our springboard to deliver an historic
:04:08. > :04:17.victory. It was the springboard to a majority. This weekend it will be a
:04:18. > :04:24.springboard to our 2016 campaign and to securing a historic third term
:04:25. > :04:30.for the SNP Government in Scotland. Our party has never been larger, our
:04:31. > :04:34.support never stronger, but, delegates, the responsibility
:04:35. > :04:40.honours has never been greater. It is the responsibility to make good
:04:41. > :04:49.on a pledge to Scotland, never ever to take the people of this country
:04:50. > :04:53.for granted, our pledge never to become what we have overcome, the
:04:54. > :04:57.failed Labour Party in Scotland. Our job is to work for everyone, to
:04:58. > :05:02.reach out on every doorstep the length and breadth of this land, and
:05:03. > :05:05.persuade our fellow Scots that we deserve their confidence and their
:05:06. > :05:11.votes once again. That is what we must do, not just until the 5th of
:05:12. > :05:16.May, but each and every day that we act to serve the people of Scotland.
:05:17. > :05:21.That is what this party must do. APPLAUSE
:05:22. > :05:27.Our opponents often say that they want to fight this election on the
:05:28. > :05:30.SNP's record in Government. That is, of course, when they're not too busy
:05:31. > :05:34.fighting amongst themselves. They don't need to worry, because we will
:05:35. > :05:39.be talking a lot about our record over the next few weeks. For one
:05:40. > :05:47.simple reason: The Scottish National party and Government has a record to
:05:48. > :05:52.be very proud of. -- in Government. When we took office in 2007, none of
:05:53. > :05:56.us knew that we would face the toughest recession in living memory
:05:57. > :06:01.and the harshest period of Tory austerity, but we have used average
:06:02. > :06:04.power at our disposal to move Scotland forward. Employment in
:06:05. > :06:08.Scotland today is at the highest level of any nation in the United
:06:09. > :06:11.Kingdom. Our National Health Service is receiving the highest level of
:06:12. > :06:17.funding it has ever received, with recognisable as of staff working
:06:18. > :06:20.within our National Health Service. Thanks to the efforts of those
:06:21. > :06:25.staff, patients in Scotland are getting some of the fastest and best
:06:26. > :06:30.treatment anywhere in the United Kingdom. Conference, with the
:06:31. > :06:33.historic independence referendum, we lead the most invigorating process
:06:34. > :06:37.of democratic engagement and renewal this country has seen in
:06:38. > :06:40.generations, perhaps ever in our history. We brought hundreds of
:06:41. > :06:45.thousands of people into political debate for the first time, and we
:06:46. > :06:52.fought a campaign of which we can all be proud. We won over so many of
:06:53. > :06:58.our fellow citizens to our cause of Scottish independence, a cause which
:06:59. > :07:06.today remains a cause that we all know will be won.
:07:07. > :07:09.And then something of a surprise, the topics for discussion are
:07:10. > :07:14.decided by the standing orders and agenda committee, and published in
:07:15. > :07:19.this booklet. The first thing the Conference has to do is approve the
:07:20. > :07:26.agenda, but there was an objection. There are 17 policy motions on the
:07:27. > :07:29.agenda. Three quarters of these were submitted by members of the Scottish
:07:30. > :07:34.and UK parliaments, with only four mike from the SNP's 200 branches.
:07:35. > :07:37.With some exceptions, the overall tone of the motions is one of
:07:38. > :07:44.complacency of congratulation. Nearly half of the motions are so
:07:45. > :07:50.self congratulatory that they fail to state any proposal or action.
:07:51. > :07:54.Scotland is looking to our movement for leadership, not just competent
:07:55. > :07:58.management. We have a duty to showcase the diversity of views
:07:59. > :08:02.within the SNP, which is our strength, not a weakness. These are
:08:03. > :08:11.my questions. APPLAUSE
:08:12. > :08:16.Do you have specific objectives, and if so, who wrote to them? Do you
:08:17. > :08:20.want a party that reflect on its own performance? How do you know if
:08:21. > :08:23.you're performing well? Have you considered soliciting feedback from
:08:24. > :08:28.Conference and from the party's branches? Whose side are you one if
:08:29. > :08:30.there is a conflict between the party's membership and its
:08:31. > :08:36.management? APPLAUSE
:08:37. > :08:42.Delegates, I have attended SNP conferences since the 1970s was it
:08:43. > :08:45.pains me say that this Conference is beginning to resemble the Labour
:08:46. > :08:52.Party in the Tony Blair era. We can do better than that. This is ours
:08:53. > :08:55.gathering to set our agenda for the election that is coming up in a few
:08:56. > :09:02.weeks. Demand was exceptionally high. There were 118 resolutions
:09:03. > :09:06.submitted. We have time at this Conference for 19. I would ask
:09:07. > :09:12.Conference to approve the written report and allow us to get on with
:09:13. > :09:17.the momentum we need in order to win the Scottish Parliament election in
:09:18. > :09:21.May. There will be an opportunity, and perhaps a more appropriate one,
:09:22. > :09:27.to discuss some of these things at the internal session at 4:45pm. So I
:09:28. > :09:33.would encourage delegates to come to that, Holger elected office bearers
:09:34. > :09:35.to account. We are all elected by Conference and elected by the
:09:36. > :09:41.democratic structures of the party and accountable to it.
:09:42. > :09:44.Clearly, managing a party with 115,000 members has its
:09:45. > :09:49.difficulties. Elsewhere, Mhairi Black spoke about what she saw as
:09:50. > :09:51.the injustices of new pension arrangements.
:09:52. > :09:58.There seem to be ministers in London who just aren't quite getting it.
:09:59. > :10:06.Pensions are not a benefit, they are a bright.
:10:07. > :10:11.-- they right. Let's not forget that we have a
:10:12. > :10:14.Chancellor who is so obsessed with unnecessary austerity that he is
:10:15. > :10:18.prepared to take from young people, prepare to take from the disabled,
:10:19. > :10:25.prepared to take from those on low wages, and yes, he is taking from
:10:26. > :10:29.our pensioners. Not just any pensioners, its female pensioners,
:10:30. > :10:33.those who come from a generation that has constantly faced any
:10:34. > :10:36.quality throughout their lives, in pay, in work, and through the
:10:37. > :10:42.assumption that they would stay at home to look after children. We in
:10:43. > :10:46.the SMP believe in doing things differently. We believe that the
:10:47. > :10:52.measure of a society is how we look after each other, and we as a party
:10:53. > :10:57.believe that no person in their twilight years should be left living
:10:58. > :11:02.in anxiety and doubt because of the arrogance of Westminster. I and my
:11:03. > :11:08.colleagues were elected on a mandate of fighting for a stronger Scotland.
:11:09. > :11:11.Now, Conference, please, give us that mandate to stand up for our
:11:12. > :11:14.pensioners. More passion, this time on the
:11:15. > :11:19.subject of housing. Conference, housing is at the heart
:11:20. > :11:24.of our ambition to make Scotland a fairer and better society the people
:11:25. > :11:28.who live in this country. We need affordable homes and to have the
:11:29. > :11:32.best possible start in life. We need those homes if young people are to
:11:33. > :11:38.take advantage of employment and educational opportunities, to bring
:11:39. > :11:41.up families, and to contribute to strong, vibrant and thriving
:11:42. > :11:47.communities, and we need those affordable homes for our older and
:11:48. > :11:52.senior citizens to have independence, comfort and security
:11:53. > :11:55.in their retirement. That is why we built 30,000 affordable homes, two
:11:56. > :12:02.thirds of them per social rent. And that is why we will build a further
:12:03. > :12:05.50,000 affordable homes during the lifetime of the next parliament if
:12:06. > :12:09.we are elected to form the Government of Scotland.
:12:10. > :12:19.In a speech packed with passion, Nicola Sturgeon railed against those
:12:20. > :12:22.who had said to vote no in the Scottish Rembrandt them and were
:12:23. > :12:28.saying to vote to leave in the EU referendum.
:12:29. > :12:31.-- the Scottish referendum. The EU is important for the social
:12:32. > :12:34.guarantees it gets. These are protections that the Tories will rip
:12:35. > :12:39.up in an instant if given the chance. Let's never forget that it
:12:40. > :12:45.was the Tories, backed by Labour, who told as we would be thrown out
:12:46. > :12:50.of the EU if we dare to vote her independence. For them to take ours
:12:51. > :12:57.now to the brink of an exit is not just irresponsible, it is
:12:58. > :13:02.staggeringly hypocritical. Then, a succession of policy
:13:03. > :13:07.announcements, on childcare, tax, health.
:13:08. > :13:13.I promise you today that the NHS resource budget will rise in real
:13:14. > :13:17.terms in each and every single year of the next Parliament.
:13:18. > :13:21.APPLAUSE But more money alone will not equip
:13:22. > :13:27.our NHS for the future. It needs reform as well. We must increase
:13:28. > :13:32.capacity for the growing number of routine operations that an ageing
:13:33. > :13:36.population will meet. So while also promised today that over the next
:13:37. > :13:41.Parliament there will be five new elective treatment centres, in
:13:42. > :13:45.Edinburgh, Livingston, Dundee, Inverness and Aberdeen. New
:13:46. > :13:46.investment of ?200 million, delivering hospital care more
:13:47. > :13:54.quickly to those who need it. APPLAUSE
:13:55. > :14:01.With new treatments and developing technologies like radiotherapy, we
:14:02. > :14:05.can help more and more people beat cancer. That is why I am delighted
:14:06. > :14:09.to announce that rack that is why I am delighted to announce today that
:14:10. > :14:13.over the next Parliament we will invest an extra ?50 million in
:14:14. > :14:18.radiotherapy services. It will buy new, state-of-the-art equipment, and
:14:19. > :14:21.employ an additional 100 radiotherapy specialist to work in
:14:22. > :14:27.our Cancer centres. And then, on extending fast broadband across all
:14:28. > :14:32.of Scotland. Our digital Scotland programme is already scheduled to
:14:33. > :14:38.deliver broadband to 95% of premises across our country by the end of
:14:39. > :14:43.next year. The 5% not covered will be in some of the hardest to reach
:14:44. > :14:49.part of rural Scotland. But in the digital age, it is simply not
:14:50. > :14:54.acceptable any longer for anyone to be left behind. So I can announce
:14:55. > :15:00.today that over the next Parliament we will deliver superfast digital
:15:01. > :15:06.broadband not to 95% by two 100% of premises across Scotland.
:15:07. > :15:10.And then news of a radical rethink of how to present the case for
:15:11. > :15:14.independence. Our success will depend on the strength of our
:15:15. > :15:17.arguments and the clarity of our vision. It will mean convincing the
:15:18. > :15:25.people of this country that independence is right not for
:15:26. > :15:26.yesterday's world but for the complex, challenging and
:15:27. > :15:33.increasingly interdependent world that we live in today. That is why I
:15:34. > :15:36.can tell you today that this summer the SNP will embark on a new
:15:37. > :15:37.initiative to build support for independence.
:15:38. > :15:56.APPLAUSE It will not be an attempt to
:15:57. > :16:01.browbeat anyone. I know that many across Scotland support the union is
:16:02. > :16:05.strong link as we do independence. -- as strongly as we do
:16:06. > :16:11.independence. I respect that. They were not persuaded in 2014, they
:16:12. > :16:17.didn't find our arguments compelling enough. So we will listen to what
:16:18. > :16:27.you have to say. We will hear your concerns and address your questions,
:16:28. > :16:32.and in the process we will be prepared to have you challenge some
:16:33. > :16:37.of our answers. Patiently and respectfully, we will seek to
:16:38. > :16:41.convince you that independence really does offer the best future
:16:42. > :16:47.for Scotland. To be given a clear mandate to lead this nation for the
:16:48. > :16:52.next five years will be a precious opportunity. If you give me that
:16:53. > :17:02.opportunity, I promise that I will seize it with both hands. I won't
:17:03. > :17:07.always get everything right, but I will work every single day to make
:17:08. > :17:14.our economy stronger, our NHS even better and our schools world class.
:17:15. > :17:20.I will aim to make this country a place that others look to for
:17:21. > :17:24.inspiration. Even if you don't always agree with me, I will strive
:17:25. > :17:34.to be a First Minister and you have confidence in, and to lead a
:17:35. > :17:37.Government you can be proud of. -- a First Minister and you can have
:17:38. > :17:40.confidence in. Nicola Sturgeon touched all the
:17:41. > :17:46.bases. The promises, the election round the corner. In Scotland, this
:17:47. > :17:51.is the big one, the May elections to the Scottish parliament. Secondly,
:17:52. > :17:58.she contrived to be cautious on tax. No increase in the standard rate.
:17:59. > :18:03.Cautious, as she said to me, about increasing 45% to 50%. No giving
:18:04. > :18:07.away to those on higher incomes. Perhaps if the Chancellor next week
:18:08. > :18:11.reduces the burden on higher earners, perhaps in Scotland they
:18:12. > :18:17.would seek to reverse that. But cautious throughout. Then, that
:18:18. > :18:21.announcement on independence. Not changing the nature of the offer.
:18:22. > :18:26.The offer remains independence. She got them really cheering and yelling
:18:27. > :18:30.on that one. But recalibrating the detail. I thought she looked stern
:18:31. > :18:33.and serious and solemn when she said the party had to be prepared to
:18:34. > :18:38.reconsider some of the answers that were given to the questions raised
:18:39. > :18:45.by people during the referendum in 2014.
:18:46. > :18:53.How effective is our local Government? Indeed, do you even know
:18:54. > :18:57.who your local councillors are? A fringe organised by the electoral
:18:58. > :18:58.reform Society decided to take a long, hard look at how local
:18:59. > :19:08.democracy works. Our approach is partnership, the
:19:09. > :19:13.state's role should be to provide the space to discuss, to give people
:19:14. > :19:16.a chance to input, to have their views, and then for people, if they
:19:17. > :19:20.are sufficiently strong, if they have a desire in that direction, if
:19:21. > :19:26.they organise that way, to take things for themselves, or to steer
:19:27. > :19:33.more effectively how the state takes things forwards on their behalf.
:19:34. > :19:38.There have to be lessons learned from the mistakes of the past. In
:19:39. > :19:42.the past, regeneration meant spending a lot of money on something
:19:43. > :19:48.big and concrete. There is a time and place for that, and it is the
:19:49. > :19:53.1960s. We are still dealing with the scars on the urban landscape of
:19:54. > :19:57.people being talked down to. It is time, as we have recognised, that
:19:58. > :20:02.government realises it has to do things with people, not to people.
:20:03. > :20:07.When I was in Sweden, the first time this really impacted on me, I was
:20:08. > :20:12.discovering that if you earned less than ?35,000 a year you don't pay a
:20:13. > :20:17.penny in tax to central government, you pay it all to your local
:20:18. > :20:21.municipality, and why not, because 90% of services come from local. I
:20:22. > :20:25.looked a bit surprised at that, and the guy said how do you do it back
:20:26. > :20:31.in Scotland? And I just thought I wish I had never got into this, we
:20:32. > :20:34.send all of our money through to Westminster, who through gritted
:20:35. > :20:37.teeth send it back to Scotland, who through gritted teeth send it back
:20:38. > :20:42.to councils who are so large we don't know anyone on them. And they
:20:43. > :20:47.think we are weird. He said something more important, he said
:20:48. > :20:51.don't you trust yourselves? Well,, on, if we do trust ourselves, and
:20:52. > :20:55.the reason I am so impassioned about this, is because I think lack of
:20:56. > :20:59.focus on this, like of trust, lack of movement towards empowering
:21:00. > :21:02.people where they are was one of the elephants in the room in the
:21:03. > :21:05.independence referendum, because how can you say you trust the folk of
:21:06. > :21:10.this country to run their country when you don't trust them to run
:21:11. > :21:14.their town or their village or whatever means most of them? It
:21:15. > :21:21.doesn't stack up. So let's make it stack up.
:21:22. > :21:29.The last thing that we want is a move to the commissioning quickly,
:21:30. > :21:34.as Labour's lead candidate in the north-east of Scotland has called
:21:35. > :21:38.for. Kevin Stuart is an MSP representing your's royal capital.
:21:39. > :21:43.That is complete and utter stupidity, because we want to
:21:44. > :21:48.maximise yield in the North Sea, we want to ensure that the North Sea
:21:49. > :21:57.basin has a future, and we want to ensure that job security is there in
:21:58. > :22:00.our country. So no to fast tracking decommissioning, as per Jenny Mara
:22:01. > :22:07.and the Labour Party, God knows where they got that idea from.
:22:08. > :22:14.Instead, what we want to see is a situation where Chancellor Osbourne
:22:15. > :22:18.gets his hands in his pooch and repays Aberdeen, the north-east of
:22:19. > :22:21.Scotland and the oil and gas industry for all of the money we
:22:22. > :22:28.have given to the Treasury over the past four decades. Occasionally,
:22:29. > :22:33.delegates can be moved to tears by speakers personal experience. This
:22:34. > :22:37.one was in a debate in inclusive sex and gender education. It wasn't easy
:22:38. > :22:40.for me to get up there and speak today, not just because I get
:22:41. > :22:45.nervous speaking in front of my English class, never mind this many
:22:46. > :22:50.people. But I also struggled to fill out the speaker sheet. I don't know
:22:51. > :22:54.how many of you in this room have seen a speaker sheet, but a speaker
:22:55. > :23:02.sheet has two boxes to be ticked, labelled male and female. Now this
:23:03. > :23:06.one had me stumped. You see, I am gender fluid. In simple terms, this
:23:07. > :23:12.means I cannot tell you that I am 100% male 100% female. So to take
:23:13. > :23:19.either of these boxes felt like a liar to be. Now I have been quite
:23:20. > :23:23.lucky in my high school. After actually explaining what gender
:23:24. > :23:27.fluid means, a lot of the teachers are very accenting, and I am allowed
:23:28. > :23:31.to use the toilet I choose, but I'm not stupid, I know not everyone has
:23:32. > :23:51.it this easy. APPLAUSE This country is filled with such
:23:52. > :23:56.ignorance, and so many kids are bullied as identifying as LGBT plus,
:23:57. > :24:00.I was bullied when I came out, as were all of my LGBT plus friends. I
:24:01. > :24:02.have seen first-hand 13-year-old to have been bullied to the point where
:24:03. > :24:09.they hate themselves so much they would want to kill themselves. It
:24:10. > :24:15.happens all the time. One in four LGBT plus years have attempted
:24:16. > :24:19.suicide due to LGBT plus phobic bullying. It is as simple as
:24:20. > :24:27.teaching kids that it's OK to be different. I don't think that is too
:24:28. > :24:31.much to ask. Thank you. APPLAUSE Fringe meetings give us the chance
:24:32. > :24:35.to see a more informal side to politicians, compared to when they
:24:36. > :24:39.are making big set piece speeches was dubbed John Swinney told the
:24:40. > :24:44.political editor of the daily record that achieving independence would
:24:45. > :24:51.take time and commitment. I have always taken this view, and I
:24:52. > :24:56.suppose this probably defines me as a gradual list in the great debate
:24:57. > :25:00.about our constitutional politics. I have always taken the view that the
:25:01. > :25:02.more power that is devolved to Scotland, the more people would
:25:03. > :25:11.become accustomed to it and the more they would want more. APPLAUSE
:25:12. > :25:20.Because we have been viewed by the people of Scotland to be a strong
:25:21. > :25:23.and convincing political party, with emphatic and effectively do ship
:25:24. > :25:27.that has been trusted by the people of Scotland, and the Labour Party
:25:28. > :25:32.has deserted its core support by its actions in the referendum. The way
:25:33. > :25:38.in which the Labour Party allowed itself to be, essentially, aligned
:25:39. > :25:47.so closely to an argument that belittled Scotland, and ran down the
:25:48. > :25:51.country and its attributes, and essentially, by the dreadful
:25:52. > :25:53.decision to align themselves with the Tories, just alienating
:25:54. > :25:57.thousands and thousands and thousands of their supporters. Just
:25:58. > :26:06.on your point about taking people for granted, in the last weekend of
:26:07. > :26:11.the fiscal framework negotiations, I had been down in London on Friday,
:26:12. > :26:17.and I had been on the telly, you know, in the aftermath of it all, it
:26:18. > :26:21.is all major news, discussion still underway, and the Saturday morning,
:26:22. > :26:28.I went out, canvassing in my own constituency. I went to the door of
:26:29. > :26:31.a man comedy was down on my list as being an SNP supporter, so I
:26:32. > :26:35.expected a warm welcome. And I went to the door, and the door open, and
:26:36. > :26:38.before I could see income I could not even get a good morning out, he
:26:39. > :26:42.said what the hell are you doing here? I said I am here to speak to
:26:43. > :26:47.you about the election. He said to me, but you have been away down to
:26:48. > :26:50.London, you are in the midst of this fiscal framework, what are you doing
:26:51. > :26:55.on my doorstep, you have more important things to be doing! I said
:26:56. > :26:57.to him, today I think that is the day I become like my political
:26:58. > :27:10.opponents. APPLAUSE Let's be clear, Scotland can't
:27:11. > :27:16.afford the risk of a Labour or Tory or any other government dismantling
:27:17. > :27:24.the hard-won gains of the last five years. Stuart Mosey, the party's
:27:25. > :27:28.deputy leader on economics. Many of those gains were in the areas of
:27:29. > :27:32.business and economy. Our productivity, hard to believe it
:27:33. > :27:40.when you hear what some will say, is now 4% higher than the precrisis
:27:41. > :27:44.level. The UK has flat line. Why? Because we have supported 100,000
:27:45. > :27:50.businesses through the small business bonus, so they pay zero or
:27:51. > :27:53.reduced business rates. We have encouraged exports, and Scottish
:27:54. > :28:02.firms have risen to the challenge with a 36% increase in exports.
:28:03. > :28:08.APPLAUSE We have a joined up approach to
:28:09. > :28:13.innovation, the delivery of six new innovation centres, and ?78 million
:28:14. > :28:20.of new money, support, to help yet more businesses indent, innovate,
:28:21. > :28:25.and work directly with our universities. The conference was
:28:26. > :28:29.incredibly upbeat. There was one droll moment when John Sweeney noted
:28:30. > :28:33.that there was a country to country Festival of country music going on
:28:34. > :28:38.in a venue elsewhere in the complex, and he want people not to wander
:28:39. > :28:41.into that by mistake, saying perhaps a super fluidity of Stetsons would
:28:42. > :28:49.be a giveaway, but it was like a country revival in there as well.
:28:50. > :28:52.The conference opened with one delegate complaining that it was all
:28:53. > :28:56.a bit too much self-congratulation, I think he called at complacency of
:28:57. > :29:00.congratulations. That wasn't really the mood that went down with the
:29:01. > :29:04.rest of the delegates. The noted what they said and moved on to
:29:05. > :29:07.congratulate the Scottish Government even more vigorously and
:29:08. > :29:12.enthusiastically. It is what you do when there is an election around the
:29:13. > :29:15.corner, it is not just confined to the SNP. Huge turnout, the huge
:29:16. > :29:20.enthusiasm and a huge sense that perhaps if the electors will, could
:29:21. > :29:24.be going on to an historic third term. That is all from our coverage
:29:25. > :29:29.from the SNP conference at Glasgow SECC. Join us next week when we will
:29:30. > :29:32.be over there at the city science Centre to bring you highlight of
:29:33. > :29:34.Labour's Spring gathering.