{"id":392535,"date":"2025-09-02T18:20:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-02T18:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/392535\/"},"modified":"2025-09-02T18:20:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-02T18:20:10","slug":"scotland-needs-full-powers-of-independence-to-transform-lives-of-our-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/392535\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland needs full powers of independence to transform lives of our people"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Swinney<\/a> has insisted independence is the only way to deliver real change for Scotland, as he ramped up his party\u2019s constitutional push ahead of next year\u2019s election.<\/p>\n

Opening the new parliamentary term, the First Minister said only full powers could give Scots the chance to \u201ctransform their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Labour and the Tories said the SNP<\/a> leader was “knackered” and trying to cling on to his job.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/strong><\/p>\n

MSPs backed the Scottish Government<\/a> motion stating that independence could offer the \u201cfresh start\u201d the country \u201cneeds and deserves\u201d by 66 votes to 52, with one abstention.<\/p>\n

The SNP leader said the current devolution settlement hampered progress on key priorities, and accused Westminster politicians of treating Scotland as \u201can afterthought\u201d.<\/p>\n

During a speech setting out his priorities for the next 18 months, Mr Swinney said his Government had made progress on reducing child poverty and protecting the NHS, while offering \u201ca clear, principled alternative\u201d to Scots based on the nation\u2019s \u201cwelcoming values.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince becoming First Minister, I have heard loud and clear the desire of people for both effective delivery in government alongside a meaningful message of hope,\u201d he told MSPs.<\/p>\n

The First Minister rejected claims from opposition MSPs that Scotland\u2019s NHS was \u201cbroken\u201d, saying it remains \u201cfundamentally strong\u201d, though he acknowledged it faces challenges.<\/p>\n

He said his Government had delivered child poverty rates lower than a decade ago, adding that if Scotland matched UK levels another 90,000 children would be in poverty.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch achieved and more to do, and no doubt more will be done, because life is tough right now for the people we serve, and we are acting to address those concerns,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But Mr Swinney said his Government was hamstrung by devolution.<\/p>\n

He told Holyrood<\/a>: \u201cThe fundamental truth that anchors all of my politics is that the people who care most about Scotland, the people who choose to live here, should be the ones setting our nation\u2019s course \u2013 not politicians in Westminster for whom Scotland is too often just an afterthought.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a principle that has been delivered in part by the creation of this Parliament. We have some ability, but limited ability, to shape our nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for so long as the big decisions over our budget, over our economy, over immigration, membership of the EU, energy, jobs and wages are taken elsewhere, there is a break on what our country can achieve. Westminster choices that hold us back when we should be moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe Scottish Government will do everything we can within our powers to secure the future of the people of Scotland, to improve their lives. But make no mistake, this country needs to have the full powers of independence to transform the lives of our people, and this Government is going to work to deliver exactly that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scottish Labour<\/a> leader Anas Sarwar<\/a> said Mr Swinney\u2019s only priority was staying in power.<\/p>\n

He told MSPs: \u201cIt may be a new session, but for this knackered SNP Government, it is just the same old script and the same old tired voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how much John Swinney shouts about hope and delivery, the truth is he is hopeless at delivery, and Scotland can see it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause as much as he can try and reheat and rehash the same old playbook, the difference now is that Scots can see right through it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anas Sarwar said the FM’s priority was keeping his job (Image: Colin Mearns)<\/p>\n

Mr Sarwar said that while Mr Swinney continued to \u201cbeat the drum\u201d of independence, Scots were \u201cpaying the price for his and his Government\u2019s inaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cWe all know John Swinney only really has one priority in the next eight months: to somehow try and cling on to power.<\/p>\n

“And he is going to use the independence card to keep his knackered, failing Government in power.<\/p>\n

“He is not interested in improving people\u2019s lives today, fixing services tomorrow, or making Scotland a better place any time soon \u2013 just desperately talk about independence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Scottish Conservatives<\/a> said Parliament\u2019s achievements since the 2021 election had been \u201ctoo few\u201d while its mistakes had been \u201ctoo many\u201d.<\/p>\n

Russell Findlay<\/a>, the party\u2019s leader, told the chamber that in the last four years \u201cbarely anything has been done to encourage the economic growth that powers our country and pays the bills\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle effort has been made to create jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cThere has been next to no consideration about how to make life easier for workers and businesses, or to give families a helping hand with ever-rising bills.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Government has nurtured a culture of anti-aspiration, holding back those who want to get on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this time, when people have looked at Holyrood, they have been dismayed at what they have seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey watched as the SNP passed extreme gender legislation. They watched the disastrous attempt at a deposit return scheme, which harmed business and hammered taxpayers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey watched them target free speech, criminalising what can be said in your own home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey watched them fail to build two ferries or stem the desperate death toll from drugs, as today\u2019s figures show.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy does almost everything that Holyrood touches go so badly wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n

Russell Findlay said everything the SNP touches fails (Image: Gordon Terris\/NQ)<\/p>\n

A Labour amendment criticising SNP governance and pitching next year\u2019s election as a chance to \u201cchoose a new administration\u201d was defeated by 98 votes to 19.<\/p>\n

Amendments from the Conservatives, LibDems and Greens were also rejected.<\/p>\n

Mr Swinney, however, said his Government remained committed to \u201coffering a clear, principled alternative\u201d to Westminster rule, anchored in \u201cthe welcoming values of Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"John Swinney has insisted independence is the only way to deliver real change for Scotland, as he ramped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5009],"tags":[748,135916,4884,26655,37988,7852,135914,712,11312,135915,16,15,3069],"class_list":{"0":"post-392535","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scotland","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-full-powers","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-holyrood","12":"tag-independence","13":"tag-john-swinney","14":"tag-mr-swinney","15":"tag-scotland","16":"tag-scottish-government","17":"tag-snp-leader","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-westminster"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115136090756785387","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}