First Minister John Swinney addresses the nation about Scotland’s right to decide – Full Speech

Good morning.

I hope you have all had a great summer and made the most of the outstanding weather.

I was lucky enough to get from one end of Scotland to the other.

Of course if there’s one place in Scotland where you can guarantee the sun will be shining, I’m told it’s right here in Leith.

Everywhere I’ve been, I’m hearing the same message from people.

Times are tough, but there is also much to celebrate in our country.

And a huge amount that is going well.

I have set a clear goal for the SNP in government: to focus on people’s priorities.

That’s why in our health service the number of GPs is up.

The number of hospital operations is up.

Child poverty in Scotland is falling as it rises across the UK.

Our young people are achieving outstanding exam results.

And we’ve abolished peak rail fares – not just for a few months, but for ever.

That is the SNP – standing up for Scotland.

Friends,

SNP policies are making people’s lives better - but there can be no doubt that Westminster is making their lives worse.

Far too many people are struggling to get by.

Years of flat-lining living standards have taken their toll.

Our answer, as a Party and Government, is to work even harder; to give real grounds for hope for a better future and for a better Scotland.

At Westminster, there is a different response.

Not to work harder for people.

Not to deliver action on the cost of living or on public services.

But instead to scramble around looking for anyone to blame but themselves for the problems they have helped create.

Over the summer, the language in Westminster around immigration and asylum has become utterly chilling.

Politicians call for mass deportations.

They demand we pull out of international human rights treaties.

No one seems to be ringing the alarm bell.

Well I am.

I’m ringing the alarm bell for our values, for our common humanity, for our commitment to the oppressed and for those seeking sanctuary.

Friends, let us join with others in saying unequivocally:

Our saltire is a flag of welcome – and refugees are welcome here.

And when it comes to immigration, I can’t imagine there are many people in Scotland who have not been cared for or treated in hospital or in social care, by someone who was not born in Scotland.

Let us thank those coming from overseas who choose to make Scotland their home, and who contribute so much to our communities.

At a time when our NHS is in need of more staff, the demonising of migrants is not just disgraceful – it is harming our most precious public service.

And we will have no part in it.

Westminster politicians believe they know what is best for Scotland.

I’ll tell you what I believe.

I believe it is the people who live in Scotland who know what is best for Scotland.

They have a right to determine what their future should look like.

Today we are here to make the case for Scottish self-determination.

And we are here to make clear that giving people a choice over their future has never been more important, more urgent or more necessary.

At this crucial fork in our history, we need to look carefully at the two very different futures facing us.

Westminster has failed to deliver higher living standards.

People are working harder than ever but still struggle to make ends meet: year after year after year.

Whether we support independence or not, all of us want the best for Scotland.

But as First Minister, when I look at the direction of travel of the UK – under Labour, under Tory, or as is looking increasingly likely – Nigel Farage - I would not be doing my duty were I not to offer people a different choice.

Today the Scottish Government has published a paper setting out the case for democracy.

For my whole adult life, I have believed that our future is best served as an independent country.

And over the next few months, we will be arguing – with all of our strength – the case for Scotland to aspire to be like Ireland, like Denmark, like Norway - countries just like us that are wealthier and fairer than the UK.

For me, the case for Scottish independence is self-evident

Others of course take a different view - and they are entitled to do that.

So today’s paper is about all of us.

It’s about our collective right to debate, to discuss – and then decide as a nation.

As the paper sets out, the UK Government have consistently stated that the UK is a voluntary union of nations.

In Wales, the Labour government agree that Wales’ future should be a matter for the people who live there.

In Northern Ireland, a provision exists in the Good Friday Agreement for the Secretary of State to call a vote if they believe there is support for a united Ireland.

And of course, England can become independent any time it wants if a majority of English MPs at Westminster vote for it.

So there you have it - the UK is a voluntary union of nations.

Well…

that’s except for viewers in Scotland.

In the news where we are, a very different message is being broadcast.

A regional opt-out is being applied on democracy.

Well friends, Scotland is not a region.

We are a nation.

As today’s paper sets out, for decades politicians on all sides agreed that Scotland’s future was a matter for people in Scotland.

Funnily enough, they started to cool on that idea… just at the point where it looks like we might pick the future they don’t want us to pick.

You can’t just support democracy when it suits you.

If you are not prepared to countenance getting an answer from the people that you don’t want, then you cannot call yourself a democrat.

Westminster politicians may try to shut down this debate, but they know that the arc of history is against them.

Among Scotland’s people, there exists unwavering support for the basic principle of fairness – a resolute belief that if Scotland wants a say over its future, then it shall have one.

At this pivotal moment in our story as a country – as our world changes rapidly around us, and as Westminster moves ever further away from the daily priorities of people in Scotland – let us come together and demand a say over our future.

By 2030, there will be one million young Scots eligible to vote who were too young in 2014.

Some of them will not even have been born then.

That seems like a generation to me.

More than anyone else, Scotland’s future is their future.

And they deserve to be heard.

That 2014 referendum took place following a majority SNP win in the 2011 election.

That is the precedent – and that is what I am determined to repeat.

But this is not about me, or the SNP – or any politician.

It is about the people of Scotland.

And to the people of Scotland, I believe this is can be a rallying declaration:

That Scotland is a nation.

That we affirm that every nation has the right to choose her own future.

We choose a future where Scotland decides her own government.

We choose to build secure homes and strong communities, where people and families can thrive.

We choose to use our vast renewable wealth to lower bills and build prosperity.

We choose to protect our National Health Service and public services for the generations to come.

We choose to take our rightful place in Europe and among the nations of the world.

We choose to be a society where everyone has the chance to contribute and to belong.

We resolve that Scotland’s future must be guided by the will of the people who live here.

To place choice, fairness, and democracy at the heart of our national journey.

This is our pledge, our right, and our opportunity -

To write the next chapter in Scotland’s story together.

That’s the Right to Decide

And it is our declaration today.

Thank-you.