Nicola Sturgeon's speach to the S.O.S. hosted Union debate

Mctosh45 · Nicola Sturgeon's speach to the S.O.S. hosted Union debate

Sturgeon's speech at the Scotland on Sunday Union Debate
NICOLA STURGEON Leader of the SNP in Holyrood

Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen

Firstly, thank you to Scotland on Sunday for organising this event - the first public hustings about the future of Scotland in this election year -and to all of you for being here.

The issue of debate this evening is whether a constitutional arrangement devised three centuries ago, in questionable circumstances in a pre-democratic age, is still appropriate for Scotland – or indeed England – in the 21st century.

Or whether it is time for Scotland to move on; to cherish the valued social union with England – the ties of family, culture and trade - but to gain the additional political and economic powers that we need to succeed in the modern world.

The case for independence is positive and forward-looking. It is based on the modern values of self-determination, equality, co-operation and mutual respect.

You will hear a lot about values this evening and I welcome that. We want a high quality debate based on principle as well as on facts and figures.

Labour argues that the union must stay because we share similar values with England. It is, of course, true that we share common values – and we always will - but we share them with many other countries too. Indeed, just today, Gordon Brown said that we share the values of fairness and tolerance with India – which is great, but hardly an argument for the restoration of the Raj!

Now that Gordon Brown has added Mahatma Ghandi – the father of Indian independence - to his list of heroes, I hope we can look forward to a new tone from the Chancellor-cum-Prime Minister on Scottish aspirations.

The reality is that independence would usher in a new 21st century relationship for the old nations that make up these islands.

It would put Scotland on an equal footing with England, and within Europe and the wider world.

Independence will give us the responsibilities we need to achieve progress for Scotland in political, economic and social terms.

It will enable us to do things differently and better in Scotland where we need to; and to entrench continuity where that is important.

Of course, if you believe Wendy and her colleagues, the sky will fall in on an independent Scotland; the four horsemen of the apocalypse will stalk the land.

And, depending on which John Reid speech you read, our security will either be so slack that Osama Bin Laden will be free to take up residence in Morningside.

Or so tight that we’ll all need a passport to visit Carlisle and exports will be blocked at the border.

These claims are simply not credible and everyone knows that. They insult, not the SNP, but the intelligence of the Scottish people.

And, more importantly, they ignore the realities of modern Europe.

The benefits that Labour and the other London parties claim for the political union with England are not, in the context of the modern world, dependent on it at all.

The social, cultural and trading links between Scotland and England will all continue – not least because our common membership of the European Union enshrines freedom of movement, trade and investment across all the boundaries.

So independence will not put barbed wire at the border or render people unable to visit their granny in Gateshead.

But it will equip us with the economic and political powers that every country needs to build a wealthier, healthier, safer and more just society.

Tonight, I want to put Labour’s claim that we can’t afford to govern ourselves under some scrutiny.

Wendy and her colleagues publish a document – Government Expenditure & Revenue or GERS for short – the whole purpose of which is to prove, by hook or by crook, that Scotland is subsidized; that we are too poor to be independent.

The SNP has long argued that GERS is an inaccurate and politically motivated exercise, but evidence heard in parliament this week confirms our case.

The government’s chief economist, Dr Andrew Goudie, admitted to parliament’s finance committee that the GERS figures were flawed – so flawed that he seriously considered not publishing them at all.

GERS underestimates Scotland’s income and overestimates our expenditure. So it’s hardly surprising that it manages to manufacture a “deficit”.

Labour then says that because we have – by their calculations - a deficit, we can’t be independent.

Even though, as Wendy well knows, there are only 9 countries in the world that don’t have a projected deficit this year.

And the UK isn’t one of them.

Does that mean England can’t afford to be independent? Of course it doesn’t.

And yet that’s the whole basis of Labour’s economic argument against independence for Scotland.

The fact is Scotland is not subsidized. We more than pay our way in the UK.

But we can do much better.

That is why we should put aside sterile arguments about deficits and concentrate instead on how we grow our economy to improve the lives of all our people.

No-one owes us a living. Like every other country, we must earn our way to success.

We are lucky. We have resources – natural and human – that other countries can only dream of.

Independence will give us the tools to make the most of them.

We don’t have to look very far to see the success of other small, independent nations. Off our west coast is Ireland, off our east coast is Norway, and off our northern shores, Iceland. All are smaller than Scotland, all have gained their Independence in the last century and all three are now among the TOP SIX nations on the planet in terms of wealth per head.

That “arc of prosperity” shows that independence works in the modern world. It is the natural state for the most successful nations.

Does anyone really believe that Scotland somehow, uniquely, can’t do the things that these other small, independent nations manage perfectly well?

The real issue is how we can use the powers of independence to grow the economy. Scotland’s economic growth rate over the last 25 years has lagged behind the UK and been amongst the lowest in the European Union.

That represents lost wealth that could have been invested in public services, lost resources that could have helped combat poverty, and lost life chances that could have offered our young people more opportunities to stay in Scotland.

Looking forward, if we just matched the UK’s growth rate for the next 10 years, there would be £8 billion more in the Scottish economy. If we set our sites higher and matched the growth rates of small EU countries, there would be £19 billion more in the economy.

With independence we can choose policies that will make our economy more competitive and grow faster. We could, for example, cut corporation tax like Ireland did with such outstanding success.

Without independence, our hands are tied.

Support for independence is at record levels. Several opinion polls in recent times have shown a clear majority in favour of Scotland becoming independent.

Last weekend, two new and powerful voices were added to the Independence ranks.

Crawford Beveridge was once the boss of Scottish Enterprise - charged by successive governments, Tory and Labour, with promoting the Scottish economy. That experience has convinced him that Independence is the best way forward for our country.

Let me quote Mr Beveridge:

“Right now there could be an enterprising young man or woman developing the next eBay or YouTube somewhere in Scotland. Our challenge is to get the conditions right here before this future entrepreneur moves elsewhere.

“I, for one, believe independence could focus the minds of politicians to create the conditions for economic growth, which would translate to better jobs, higher wages and stronger communities.

“My opinion on independence is based on my confidence that Scotland is just as capable of running its own affairs as any other country.”

I think that’s the kind of positive, can-do attitude that Scotland needs and deserves.

And then Tom Devine, one of our most distinguished historians, spoke about independence as the way to benefit Scottish society and culture.

Perhaps as we battle away on the economy we talk too little about these other benefits.

Economics is important, but so are lots of other things.

Independence is also about being able to choose not to be dragged into illegal wars against our will.

It will give us the choice not to be a dumping ground for a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons.

I believe that Scotland’s priorities are educating our young people; giving them a helping hand into adulthood rather than saddling them with ever-rising student debt; delivering fairer and lower local taxes for hard pressed families and ensuring dignity for our older folk – not wasting money on wars and weapons of mass destruction.

And just as independence will be good for Scotland, I believe it will be good for England too.

It’s perfectly reasonable for the English people to object to Scottish Labour MPs trooping through the lobbies of the House of Commons to impose foundation hospitals and top-up fees in England, safe in the knowledge that their own constituents are exempt.

England is Scotland’s closest neighbour in every sense – with mutual independence we will be each others best friends.

The ingredients for Scottish success are all there. We just need the powers to mix them together in the right way.

And if we are to match the success of Ireland, Norway, Iceland and others, then we must be able to make our own decisions. That way, we will see Scotland flourish – we will become a richer society, not just in material wealth but in every way.

But although Wendy and I are debating this issue here tonight, it will not be her or I or any other politician who will decide Scotland’s future.

That decision belongs with the Scottish people.

The SNP trusts the people to make the right decision on Scotland’s future. That is why we will offer the right to choose in an Independence referendum within the four-year term of an SNP government – part of our overall programme for government.

Over 80 per cent of Scots believe that a referendum is the right way to decide Scotland's future. No democrat should deny the people a voice and a vote on their country’s future. But the other parties do oppose a referendum – just as the “parcel o’ rogues” of 1707 shut the people out of the process when they bargained Scotland away.

Three centuries after the Union, we need to move Scotland forward, and put the people back in charge.

The debate on Scotland’s future is underway. Tonight is a welcome opportunity to move it forward. I very much hope that the First Minister himself will agree to set out his case in an open public debate such as this.

Those of us who believe in Independence are leading the debate, setting out a positive case based on hope and ambition. We hear far too much about what Scotland supposedly can’t do, about what’s not possible. It’s time to be positive about ourselves and embrace the future as an equal partner in these islands and in the world.

http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=103602007Nicola