Better Together Inverness Launch

I was proud to represent Labour at today's very well attended launch of the Better Together campaign in Inverness, speaking alongside Mary Scanlon MSP and Danny Alexander MP.  Here is the text of my speech.

Good afternoon.


Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you on behalf of Better Together

You will probably be expecting a well-rehearsed list of scare stories about independence.

Fears about access to NHS specialists, giving up the Pound, Bank of England control, can we afford our pensions?

What happens when the oil runs out?

As even John Swinney is now asking in private.

Well I'm not going to do any of that.

I want to talk about my vision for Scotland and why I think we really will be Better Together.

I’d like to start by taking Nicola Sturgeon’s advice.

In her speech in December last year, the Deputy First Minister said this:

“I ask you, as you make up your minds over these next two years, to base your decision not on how Scottish or British you feel, but on what kind of country you want Scotland to be and how best you think that can be achieved.”

Well I believe the kind of country I want Scotland to be is best delivered by progressive politics based on fairness, equal opportunity and social justice.

A Scotland with its own distinct political and economic identity but part of a socially progressive United Kingdom which shares those values.

Because we should not confuse the arguments of nationalism with those for advancing social justice.

The great advances that were struggled for and secured by working people across the UK – the Welfare State, Trades Union Rights, Equal Pay, a National Minimum Wage - were secured by the votes of working people in Cardiff, Liverpool and Newcastle, just as surely as people in Dundee, Inverness or Glasgow.

Better together means social justice is not just an ideal for Scotland but is a statement of solidarity with communities & working people across the UK.

Because socialism doesn’t stop at a border.

We need to work together to create the UK society we want or we will be the poorer for it.

Lets take the example of benefits.

The SNP prefer to blame anyone …. everyone…. rather than use the powers they already have in case it undermines the case for independence

Let’s take the Bedroom Tax as an example.

This isn't the time to talk about its fairness or otherwise

… there will be plenty of time for that between now and 2015

But the SNP have publicly stated their opposition.

They have postured with commitments to no evictions, even though they must know how difficult that is for councils and housing associations to deliver.

The wring their hands, denying their ability to do anything about it until we have independence.

Whilst they have the power NOW to help councils deal with the worst effects if they chose to do so.

But it doesnt suit their case.

So Scots can suffer until we vote the right way.

Some things work better together.

Working people need a pension system that is secure and sustainable. That will ensure a basic standard of living when you retire that won’t depend on the vagaries of the markets.

The UK system won’t make anyone rich, but it will deliver and will stand the test of time.

It works because of the scale of a UK-wide fund paid into by millions of UK workers and backed up by a government which is not dependant on highly variable oil revenues to keep pensions at a decent level.

I think that’s worth keeping.

I run a small business. My company sells its services in Scotland, and all over rhe UK.

Times are tough at home and turbulent internationally.

Businesses want certainty and stability – that’s what the current constitutional settlement allows.

The rest of the UK is Scotland’s largest export market.

We don't need the uncertainty, instability, and barriers to businesses that separation risks creating.

In these tough and turbulent times, the size, stability and opportunity of the UK economy is a huge advantage for Scotland's businesses.

We should be using that strength to invest in jobs, houses and infrastructure to grow ourselves back into economic health.

I am a proud Scot. I am ambitious for Scotland's people and Scotland's possibilities.

My case is not that Scotland could not survive as a separate country – it is that there's a better choice for our future.

A strong Scottish Parliament within the United Kingdom gives us the best of both worlds: real decision making power here in Scotland, as well as a key role in a strong and secure UK.

Scotland can prosper as a social, economic and politically devolved country…..

.. making its own choices about what works for us…

…… but able to flex its economic power as part of a joined up UK which shares the same core values.

That’s why we are Better Together.

Thank you.