THE world will be watching Scotland next year, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said in her New Year’s message.
The First Minister said the country would receive “international attention” thanks in part to major events, and because of Brexit and the government’s push for a referendum on independence.
The SNP leader said: “As we celebrate the start of 2020 and a new decade, we look forward to a year in which Scotland will be at the centre of international attention,” she said.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon's full speech calling for Scottish independence
“In November, the United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow will attract more than 30,000 people from around the world.
“Hopefully that summit will lead to progress in tackling the most important issue that the world faces.
“And it will give Scotland a chance to show that we are leading by example – not just by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions but by doing so in a way that helps to build a fairer, healthier and happier society.”
The First Minister added: “The Glasgow summit comes near the end of what will be a historic year.
“Against the wishes of most people in Scotland, we will leave the European Union at the end of January. That will I know be a source of deep regret for many of us.
“In the year ahead the Scottish Government will do everything we can to mitigate the worst impacts of Brexit.
“We will provide support and reassurance for the EU citizens who have done us the honour of choosing to make Scotland their home.
“And we will work to ensure that people in Scotland have the chance to determine our own future – by deciding whether we wish to become an independent country.
“In all of this we will continue to ensure that Scotland remains an open, outward looking and welcoming society.”
In his own New Year message, Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw (below) said he hoped the UK would move on from a “decade of division”.
He said: “The fallout from the referendum result has created huge tensions across the country.
“I hope that, once we have left Brussels at the end of this month, those tensions will dissipate and we can come back together.
“It is time to move on from the decade of division we have just been through, and enter a new decade of delivery for all. I am optimistic that this will indeed happen.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said Brexit and Donald Trump were among the challenges facing the UK over the next year.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard urged Scots to create a society “where we are not putting borders and national boundaries up – but we are bringing them down.”
In his last New Year’s message, the outgoing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn claimed his party were “the resistance to Boris Johnson.”
“We will be on the front line.”
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