INVESTMENT of £20 billion will be delivered in the first decade of Scottish independence, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
She addressed delegates as she closed the SNP conference in Aberdeen on Monday, giving a glimpse into proposals that will be set out in an upcoming paper from the Scottish Government.
The third report in its “Building a New Scotland” document series will be released next week and will focus on economic issues.
The Building a New Scotland Fund will be set up with remaining oil revenues and the use of borrowing powers in order to “kick-start the sustainable economic growth so important for our newly independent nation”, the First Minister said.
She said: “A fund like this could support a massive programme to decarbonise housing, cut fuel bills and reduce fuel poverty.
“It could finance the building of thousands more affordable homes, invest in local renewable energy projects, helping communities own assets and wield more influence over their use.
“It will help the transition to net zero, build resilient communities, and kick-start the sustainable economic growth so important for our newly independent nation.”
READ MORE: The key points from Nicola Sturgeon's speech to SNP conference
Sturgeon told delegates that independence will create a “partnership of equals” in the UK, and said the nations of the UK and the Republic of Ireland will “always be the closest of friends, always be family”.
But she took a swipe at the UK Government for “utterly failing” in its duty to mitigate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
She told the conference: “When global turbulence strikes, national governments have a duty to act in ways that mitigate – rather than exacerbate – the impacts on their own populations.
“When it comes to the cost-of-living crisis, and so much else besides, this UK Government is utterly failing in that duty.
“Each and every day its actions are making matters worse.”
Sturgeon told the conference that she intends on being First Minister “for quite some time yet”.
She said: “For as long as I am First Minister – and by the way, conference, I intend that to be for quite some time yet – my job – our job – is not done.
“For as long as I am First Minister, I will do everything in my power to build the better Scotland we all want to see.”
The SNP leader also said an independent Scotland would protect the founding principles of the NHS by embedding a “universal NHS in a written constitution”.
Earlier in the conference, the SNP also announced plans to launch a podcast called Scotland’s Voices, which will promote the case for independence.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel