Sturgeon keynote: ‘we’ll shape our own future’

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon addressed a packed hall in the coastal university town of St Andrews today, marking the Scottish Government’s first major play in this year’s independence campaign.

Her keynote speech at the University of St Andrews, which was set to take place in Parliament Hall, was moved to Buchanan Lecture Theatre at the eleventh hour because of unexpected demand.

With months to go until Scottish voters decide the country’s constitutional future in the 18 September referendum, Sturgeon told audience members that independence could have a “transformational” impact on Scotland’s economy, on women and children, and on Scotland’s relationship with Europe.

She also challenged her opponents to publish an equivalent to Scotland’s Future, the 670-page white paper laying out the Scottish Government’s case for independence and the means through which Scotland would become an independent country – backed by an opinion poll suggesting 70% of Scots wanted one.

She said: “Scotland’s Future your guide to an independent Scotland is now out there for people to read, scrutinise and judge. We need the same clarity and depth of detail from the other side, so that this debate can be taken out of the hands of politicians and put firmly where it belongs – into the hands of the Scottish people.”

Critics of the Scottish Government document have said its flagship policy – a massive extension of childcare provision – could be implemented by the present devolved Scottish Parliament, and called for Sturgeon’s party to bring forward legislation in the current session.

But Sturgeon rebuffed calls for the policy to be implemented under devolution, saying the £700 million boost in tax revenue it would entail would “fund the policy for the long term” in an independent country, but that with the devolved parliament’s fixed budget, “no devolved Scottish Government could make such a commitment without making big cuts elsewhere”.

Psephologists like Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University have noted a gender divide in support for independence since the announcement of the referendum, with women noticeably less likely than men to declare support for Yes – “easily the biggest demographic divide in the referendum”.

But Sturgeon focussed her speech on the benefits of independence for women, saying her party’s plans to “transform childcare” would raise female participation in the labour market, and that the SNP would use powers gained to introduce a target for women’s representation on company boards.

She finished: “Independence isn’t just about using policy levers in a slightly different way from Westminster. It is about a fundamentally different view of the sort of country Scotland should be.

“A Scotland where we don’t wait for things to happen to us but one where we decide to shape our own future. That is the kind of transformation we should be seeking in an independent Scotland.”

Sturgeon’s speech is expected to appear in its entirety on the Scottish Government’s YouTube channel later today.