THE First Minister has said her party’s conference this weekend “marks the start of a new chapter in Scotland’s road to independence”.
Nicola Sturgeon issued the message to SNP members in her introduction in an 84-page handbook which has been sent to delegates attending the event in Aberdeen on Friday and Saturday.
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Her welcome also highlighted the report from the Growth Commission, a detailed analysis of the economic case for independence designed to update the case made in the campaign ahead of the 2014 vote.
“Our conference this weekend also marks the start of a new chapter in Scotland’s road to independence. With our opponents stuck quibbling grievances of the past, we’ve moved on to a debate about how we fulfil the potential of our country,” she wrote.
“The Growth Commission Report is packed full of new ideas for Scotland’s future. It shows that small, independent nations can be successful, and often more successful than larger nations. The fact is Scotland is well placed to join our European neighbours as amongst the fairest, wealthiest, healthiest and happiest countries in the world.”
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The First Minister is not expected to address the timing of any new independence referendum, having previously said she will update Holyrood in the autumn once the Brexit terms struck between the EU and UK have become clearer. She will bring the conference to a close with her address on Saturday afternoon.
There are no plans to date for a debate on the Growth Commission report on the conference floor, but its findings will dominate discussions away from the main programme.
It will be the focus of a fringe meeting on Friday where the SNP’s deputy leader at Westminster Kirsty Blackman, former MP George Kerevan and MSP Joan McApline will consider the report during a lunchtime fringe discussion hosted by the centre-right think tank the Institute of Economic Affairs.
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Describing the event, the programme said: “The question of Scottish independence remains at the top of the Scottish political agenda. Opponents to independence argue that it is in the economic interest of both England and Scotland to continue the Union but this seemingly ignores the fact that an independent Scotland would be around the 15th largest economy in the world, richer than South Korea and Spain.
“What opportunities exist for an independent Scotland, not only outside of the Union but also outside of the EU? What economic challenges will it face? And what measures will ensure economic success and prosperity outside of the Union?”
The case for Scottish independence will also feature significantly at a second fringe meeting on Friday called Unions in Crisis: Nations in the age of Brexit, which will discuss whether the UK can survive Brexit. Brexit Minister Mike Russell and Stephen Gethins, the SNP’s international affairs spokesman, will be among the speakers.
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To forestall criticisms from political opponents that by renewing a focus on independence the First Minister is not getting on with “the day job”, some 20 pages of the handbook underline the SNP’s record since taking power in Edinburgh 11 years ago.
The list includes record health funding – over £13.1 billion in 2018-19 (£4bn more than when the party took office); free university tuition fees protected; abolition of prescription charges; recorded crime at 43-year low and employment at record levels; giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections; and the introduction of an educational attainment fund.
One of the main items of the agenda will be the announcement of the winner in the SNP’s depute leadership race. Economy Secretary Keith Brown, Inverclyde councillor Chris McEleny and senior activist Julie Hepburn are the candidates.
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Debates will include plans to limit top executive pay, doubling paternity leave and ending councils right to sell housing stock. Plans for a nationalised construction company to build schools and hospitals and a Scottish national investment bank will also be discussed.
The aim of the bank is to finance projects that will help create jobs in areas which the Government believes Scotland has immense potential such as green energy.
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