RATHER than dwelling on the year just past, I would prefer to look forward to the one ahead of us, and to do so in the genuine hope that we can counter the trends which saw 2016 go down as one of the most difficult, challenging and troubling years in modern times.
But just sitting back and hoping for 2017 to be better than last year isn’t good enough. We must try to shape the path and the choices ahead of us. The future is never completely within our hands, but it is within the power of all of us who believe in progressive values to stand up and be counted for them, and to do whatever we can to counter the messages of those who seek to undermine such values.
The 12 months that lie ahead of us will be crucial for Scotland, the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. Hard choices lie ahead for all of us, not least in how we counter the effects of Brexit and the looming economic catastrophe which being taken out of Europe threatens us with.
I have spoken already about a lost decade in economic growth which leaving the EU and the Single Market would bring. In truth, we are possibly talking about a lost generation of economic opportunity if we do not secure our continued place in the world’s biggest single market. The stark statistics cannot be repeated often enough – analysis shows Scotland faces a cost to our economy of around £11 billion a year by 2030, while independent research suggests up to 80,000 Scots jobs lost over a decade, with average earnings per head falling £2,000 over the same period.
In such circumstances, it would be a dereliction of duty for any First Minister and any Scottish Government not to do whatever we can to prevent Scotland being dragged over that economic precipice.
The paper we published before Christmas shows how we could retain our place in the Single Market even if the rest of the UK leaves it. Our proposals would allow us to protect our place in the single market while continuing free trade across the UK. I do not underestimate the complexities such a solution would involve, but the Prime Minister has pledged to give our proposals serious consideration and I intend to hold her to that commitment.
In the meantime, the lack of any clear direction or strategy from the UK Government on what “Brexit means Brexit” actually means is fast becoming a national scandal. That they are unable, or unwilling, fully six months on from the vote, to outline what their position is, even in the broadest terms, is an unforgiveable abdication of responsibility and of leadership.
And language proclaiming the UK as a champion of free trade while at the same time advocating a hard Brexit withdrawal from the world’s biggest free trade area, which is around eight times bigger than the UK’s alone, would be laughable if it were not so deluded.
But while the Tory Government at Westminster is gripped by the language and agenda of its hard-right anti-European faction, the Scottish Tories are now in full-scale sell-out mode. Gone is the rhetoric of protecting our place in the Single Market, to be replaced by meaningless Brexit sloganeering.
The Scottish Tories have even taken to gleefully endorsing the views of anyone claiming that solutions designed to retain Scotland's place in Europe are unworkable or undeliverable.
Indeed, the time has come for the Scottish Tories to answer the simple question of whose side they are on – the side of getting the best deal possible for Scotland or the side of those who want to prevent such a solution?
Their language suggests the Tories now think they can do whatever they want to Scotland, and the people of Scotland will simply sit back and take it. If so, they are playing an arrogant and foolish game.
As for Labour, I would urge them to support our proposals to keep Scotland in Europe. I suspect there is a great deal of soul-searching within Scottish Labour, from top to bottom, regarding its position on Scotland’s future and the choices we face as a nation.
And as for the Scottish Lib Dems, the position of their leadership is utterly incoherent – calling for a second EU referendum just six months on from the Brexit vote while, at the same time, opposing any possibility of the people of Scotland being able to choose independence to protect our place in Europe, despite the material change in circumstances since 2014. Again, I strongly suspect the grassroots of the party have a rather more balanced and considered view.
I have made clear that independence must be an option on the table to protect our place in Europe and our national interests, and that remains the case.
The year ahead, like the one just ended, will undoubtedly present challenges. But the challenges and choices we face cannot and will not be shirked. I am determined to do whatever it takes over the next 12 months to protect Scotland’s national interests, to preserve and safeguard our future as a European nation and to work harder than ever to promote the values of peace, equality and tolerance.
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