NICOLA Sturgeon is confident she can persuade a majority of people in Scotland to support independence, allowing her to call a second referendum on the issue. The SNP leader made the claim as she unveiled her party’s manifesto during a 33-minute speech in front of 1,400 supporters in Edinburgh yesterday.
While the document did not include a commitment to hold another referendum in the course of the next parliament, her speech went further than any statements she had made on a new vote since the 2014 defeat.
Her remarks came as she spoke about the launch of a summer campaign to win over those who had voted No – and were greeted by roars of applause from the audience.
“There is not a single day goes by that I am not asked if there will be a second independence referendum in the next parliament. My answer to that, in one sense, is very simple – I would like that very much. I believe with all my heart that independence is the best future for our country,” she said.
“But if there is to be a second referendum – whether that is in the next parliament or in a future parliament – we first have to earn the right to propose it.
“Setting the date for a referendum before a majority of the Scottish people have been persuaded that independence – and therefore another referendum – is the best future for our country is the wrong way round. So this summer, we will start new work to persuade a majority in Scotland of the case for independence. If we don’t succeed, we will have no right to propose another referendum.”
She continued: “If we do succeed – when we do succeed – if in the future there is clear and sustained evidence that independence has become the preferred option of a majority of the Scottish people, then no politician will have the right to stand in the way because the future of our country must always be in the hands of the people of our country.”
Speaking to journalists, she also affirmed her willingness to work with other pro-independence parties.
“One of the things I really enjoyed about the referendum campaign was working with others in different parties and working with people in no political party. So I will work with others across Scotland to build that case for independence,” she said.
“The thing about independence now is that it goes much further than the SNP when I joined the SNP 30 years ago...you didn’t find many people outside the SNP who believed in independence but that is no longer the case. One of the great things about Scotland now is that independence is no longer just the property of the SNP.”
Her comments on independence followed a raft of policy announcements in her speech on health, education, social security, inequality and the economy which she described as the “most ambitious programme for government that the SNP has ever published” and would be funded by not increasing the threshold for the 40p income tax rate as well as reforms to the council tax system and changes to business rates. She said the reforms would yield £2 billion of extra funds over the next parliament.
It is the first time Sturgeon has led the SNP in a Scottish election campaign and she said the manifesto was “bold, ambitious and reforming” and represented her job application for First Minister. “I am asking the Scottish people to give me a personal mandate to implement these policies and make our country even better. I am asking you to elect me as your First Minister,” she said.
While polls show the SNP on track to win a third term in government at Holyrood, and a second overall majority in the Scottish Parliament, the SNP leader urged supporters to back the party with both their votes in the May 5 election.
“I take nothing for granted – and neither should you,” she said. “If you want to see the SNP back in government on May 6, vote SNP with both votes. The truth is that nothing else will guarantee that outcome.” With Holyrood also getting some welfare powers, she said a new Scottish Social Security Agency would administer benefits “with fairness and dignity”. She insisted: “Let me be clear — the language of shirkers and scroungers will not be the language of a Scottish social security system.”
Ten key policies from the manifesto
Land Reform
As part of a continuing land reform programme the SNP have vowed to introduce a mandatory public register of controlling interests in land ownership to end the practice revealed in the Panama Papers of anonymous land ownership in Scotland.
They have also vowed to ensure one million acres of land will be in public ownership by 2020 and that new measures are introduced to tackle a problem of abandoned buildings and derelict wasteland in towns and cities.
Social Security
A Scottish Social Security Bill will be introduced in the first year of the new parliament to implement new welfare powers being devolved to Holyrood.
Priorities will include establishing a new Social Security Agency to administer payments, restore housing benefits for 18 to 21-year-olds cut by the UK Government and reform assessment procedures for disability benefits to reduce stress on claimants. The SNP have also vowed to increase the Carer’s Allowance to the level of Jobseeker’s Allowance.
Economy and Jobs
Almost £20 billion will be invested in infrastructure projects to create jobs in the short term and improve long-term productivity. Renewed focus will be given to Scotland as a nation of inventors with the introduction of an annual prize for research in biotechnology, construction, aquaculture and medicine.
Support is also being pledged for the oil and gas sector with a £12.5m scheme to help companies seek new opportunities during the downturn. A training fund to enable workers to transfer to other jobs will continue.
Education
An extra £750m will be invested in closing the education attainment gap between children
from low-income and wealthier backgrounds, focusing on improving literacy and numeracy standards in both primary and secondary schools.
While vowing to maintain teacher numbers across the country, the SNP have also pledged to hand £100m directly to headteachers allowing them to recruit more teaching staff, classroom assistants and to buy new equipment.
Health
As well as increasing NHS revenue spending by almost £500m more than inflation by the end of the next parliament, the SNP have pledged to review the existence of 22 health boards in a move to reduce backroom costs, increase the number of hospital consultants, GP training places and create Scotland’s first graduate-entry medical school.
A £100m investment will also be made in a new cancer strategy to improve prevention, early diagnosis and treatment.
Climate change
The SNP says it will bring forward a new Climate Change Bill to implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and set an ambitious new target for Scotland to reduce emissions by more than 50 per cent by 2020.
It will also explore the possibility of bringing a future meeting of the annual UN climate talks to Scotland.
To increase transparency and accountability, it believes targets should be based on actual emissions from Scotland.
Justice and Crime
In a bid to find more alternatives to custody, the party plans to create a new body, Community Justice Scotland, “to provide leadership and strategic direction in the planning and delivery of community sentences”.
It also signals changes to how child and vulnerable witnesses will give evidence, and how forensic examinations are carried out on victims of sexual assault.
There is also a commitment to legislate to create a new specific offence to help tackle domestic abuse.
International Affairs
The SNP reaffirms its commitment to the EU, saying it will campaign “passionately and positively for an In vote”. It plans to continue to develop relationships with other European countries and take forward the Nordic/Baltic strategy.
There’s also a promise to “continue to prioritise our engagement with the USA and Canada to build on our historic and economic links”. And there is mention of “a long-term relationship with Japan, China and India”.
Arts and Culture
The SNP says it will protect free access to Scotland’s galleries and museums. It will also create a Cultural Experience Fund to pay for primary schools to visit historic estates, theatres, museums and galleries.
There’s also a single library card to be used at any council library in Scotland, and a new dedicated unit for film and TV, based within Creative Scotland.
It also says it will push for a “Scottish Production Fund to be established from a small share of TV licence revenue raised in Scotland”.
Human Rights
The SNP will use new powers to establish “social and economic rights for Scotland over all matters we have responsibility for and to further embed the European Convention on Human Rights in Scotland”.
To do this it will invite different politicians and civic Scotland to establish “a collaborative process, engaging with people across Scotland and learning from best global practice in participatory democracy, to advise on the guaranteed protections we should seek to enshrine in law”.
How did the other parties react to the manifesto?
Analysis: Sturgeon, the SNP’s biggest-ever asset, presented a manifesto her party could believe in
The National View: When will the next indyref be? When we know we’ll win
Police chiefs hail SNP U-turn over force manpower
Lesley Riddoch: Peril lies in dominance of Holyrood by one party
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