10 mar 2012
Alex Salmond has accused Westminster parties of “empty, hollow, negative scaremongering” in their campaign against Scottish independence, as he painted an optimistic picture of how his country would fare outside the United Kingdom.
Speaking at the Scottish National Party spring conference in Glasgow, Mr Salmond offered new spending pledges, contrasting them to “Tory cuts”, while accusing David Cameron of “blundering into” the debate on Scotland’s future.
The Scottish first minister announced a list of spending commitments, including a £5m package to encourage young people to volunteer at national and international events and a £10m fund to renovate community sports facilities. He also said the SNP would enact a law to guarantee 600 hours of free nursery education for young children, up from the current minimum of 475 hours.
But he saved his most impassioned rhetoric for an attack on the coalition government, which he said was trying to dictate to Scotland by pushing for a referendum in 2013, a year earlier than the SNP’s preferred date.
In the passage that drew the biggest cheers from the packed conference venue, Mr Salmond said: “In January, the prime minister tried to lay down the law and dictate the terms of Scotland’s referendum. But I’ve got a message for Messrs Cameron, Clegg and Miliband. The days of politicians telling Scotland what to do and what to think – these days are over.”
He also turned his fire on Labour, accusing the party that used to dominate Scotland of voting with the Scottish Tories on every occasion. But he was happy to co-opt Labour policies, insisting his government would keep the educational maintenance allowance, which Labour brought in to encourage sixth form students to stay in education, and which the coalition has scrapped.
He found time to embarrass the Liberal Democrats too, whose members voted earlier on Saturday against debating a motion to drop the coalition’s controversial health bill. A “yes” vote would have meant dropping the bill would become official party policy, despite renewed support for it from the party leadership and Baroness Williams, who has led much of the opposition to the bill from the Lords.
In a glimpse of how electorally damaging the LibDem’s choice could be. Mr Salmond said: “Let me be absolutely clear – because of the independence we have over the NHS – this government, this SNP government, will ensure Scotland’s National Health Service is never for sale.”
But he spent most of his time setting out what he called his “message of hope for the nation”. He told delegates that the SNP government had been good for Scotland, but that outright independence would be better.
And he began to flesh out how he saw an independent Scotland operating on a global scale, insisting it would be able to join the European Union as a member state.
He said: “Of the 10 countries that joined the European Union in 2004, a majority have become independent since 1990, and Scotland is bigger than six of them.
Each and every one of these nations now has a seat at Europe’s top table: a right they cherish – a right Scotland too should embrace.”
Alex Salmond has accused Westminster parties of “empty, hollow, negative scaremongering” in their campaign against Scottish independence, as he painted an optimistic picture of how his country would fare outside the United Kingdom.
Speaking at the Scottish National Party spring conference in Glasgow, Mr Salmond offered new spending pledges, contrasting them to “Tory cuts”, while accusing David Cameron of “blundering into” the debate on Scotland’s future.
But he saved his most impassioned rhetoric for an attack on the coalition government, which he said was trying to dictate to Scotland by pushing for a referendum in 2013, a year earlier than the SNP’s preferred date.
In the passage that drew the biggest cheers from the packed conference venue, Mr Salmond said: “In January, the prime minister tried to lay down the law and dictate the terms of Scotland’s referendum. But I’ve got a message for Messrs Cameron, Clegg and Miliband. The days of politicians telling Scotland what to do and what to think – these days are over.”
Of the 10 countries that joined the European Union in 2004, a majority have become independent since 1990, and Scotland is bigger than six of them- Alex Salmond
He found time to embarrass the Liberal Democrats too, whose members voted earlier on Saturday against debating a motion to drop the coalition’s controversial health bill. A “yes” vote would have meant dropping the bill would become official party policy, despite renewed support for it from the party leadership and Baroness Williams, who has led much of the opposition to the bill from the Lords.
In a glimpse of how electorally damaging the LibDem’s choice could be. Mr Salmond said: “Let me be absolutely clear – because of the independence we have over the NHS – this government, this SNP government, will ensure Scotland’s National Health Service is never for sale.”
But he spent most of his time setting out what he called his “message of hope for the nation”. He told delegates that the SNP government had been good for Scotland, but that outright independence would be better.
And he began to flesh out how he saw an independent Scotland operating on a global scale, insisting it would be able to join the European Union as a member state.
He said: “Of the 10 countries that joined the European Union in 2004, a majority have become independent since 1990, and Scotland is bigger than six of them.
Each and every one of these nations now has a seat at Europe’s top table: a right they cherish – a right Scotland too should embrace.”
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