The Scottish Government

Scotland in the World

Friday, November 30, 2007

Aberdeen University has just set up a 'Scotland in the World' Forum to consider our country's global standing and global potential.

I was invited to deliver the inaugural lecture and I was delighted to explain how the Forum will be a major part of the wider National Conversation which is about the kind of country Scotland wishes to be - and the changes that must be made to meet our ambitions.

I talked about independence and interdependence and why this Government looks to Ireland and the Nordic countries - the Arc of Prosperity around us - as working models of what can be achieved in the modern global economy if Scotland had the same powers and freedoms that these countries take for granted.

I said that Scotland's interdependence is a fact. We have a strong economic relationship with the rest of the UK, our EU partners, and beyond.

And, I argued, it is precisely because we live in an interdependent world that independence matters.

The choice for Scotland is clear. We can choose to remain a bit player - unable to advance our interests other than through the UK. Alternatively, as an independent country, we can actively seek responsibility, eager to help shape the great global debates on the environment, on trade, on poverty, on the emergence of new economies.

For me, Scottish independence is not just an opportunity to move Scotland forward, but a chance for Scotland to give something back, to meet our global responsibilities. I want Scotland to be a leader in international conflict resolution, building on the tremendous sense of goodwill towards our nation across the globe.

Scotland is considering its position in a world of close and ever-growing economic interdependence. We benefit greatly from co-operation but that does not obviate the huge economic rewards for countries that are innovative and flexible and pursuing the right economic strategy, and a clear and distinct set of interests.

That is why this Government believes that now, more than ever, Scotland stands to benefit from full independence.

Read the full text of FM's lecture

This blog is now closed to further comments.

Comments

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• 111. george alexander - north lanarkshire

  Wednesday, March 5, 2008 21:14

  Many Unionists like to suggest that Scotland would struggle economically should it ever attain independence.
  
  You'll find that Scotland is responsible for generating around £49 billion to the exchequer and gets around £30 billion in return.
  
  Furthermore, Scotland also has the uncosted natural resources of wave, wind, tidal, coal and water. From the next decade onwards these will begin to dwarf the income from hydrocarbons and, with the exception of coal, are virtually inexhaustable.
  
  The other point of course is that England doesn't need Scotland to survive, they are quite capable of managing outwith this Union.
  
  It is actually Westminster and the megalomaniac MP's such as Gordon Brown who need Scotland to stay in the U.K. in order to maintain a 'status' on the world stage.
  
  Scotland also helps to provide that extra income that supports those grandiose projects aimed at projecting this 'status'.
  
  I much prefer the image portrayed by the Scandinavians and Irish to that of the 'has been' imperialist still trying to cling to the past.

• 112. Calum Anderson - Glenrothes

  Thursday, March 6, 2008 00:13

  i am a proud Scot. i am so angry over the no referendum vote at Westminster. the uk is about to dragged into the EU. sovereignty will be lost and the national identity will be wiped out once the treaty is ratified by all member states. i have supported the SNP with out fail, now that i have read the EU treaty 3 times in 4 months i see we too will be lost with NO real independence. we are trading one master for a worse one. i am still proud to be Scot but iwill no longer support the SNP and i will sell up,close my business and move to a free nation and live a free man, not in an EU that is simply communist.
  
  i never thought i would want to leave my Scotland, my home, my nation my life. its all dead now just like democracy in the UK. what happened to Scotland, why has Alex Salmond decided he should give us to the EU. better to be in EFTA at least we would have been a free nation who ruled our selves. not Brussels

• 113. Steve - Glasgow

  Thursday, March 6, 2008 01:15

  Scott01 AYR
  #107
  Well said Scott!I also believe that the four nations can prosper on an equal basis each responsible for what they raise and what they spend,and I'm absolutely confident the Scottish people will embrace independence on the basis of high expectations brought about by the first real pro Scottish government in at least fifty years!The very fact that you yourself feel that this good government deserves your vote next time round Say's it all really. I would hazard a guess that many a fellow Scot will be of a similar opinion as your good self.

• 114. Paul Nash - Dublin

  Thursday, March 6, 2008 11:38

  Graeme of Livingston: I am an Anglo-Irish Londoner who spent his childhood in London, teenage years in Limerick and has worked extensively in England and more recently in Ireland in both public and private sectors. I can appreciate the political feelings of an Englishmen and an Irishman and am married to a Swiss, so I know a bit about various forms of statehood and the feelings they evoke. On Norway and Ireland and the theme of interdependence and independence, one can see what is simply an aspiration towards a new kind of union, i.e. one with all the smaller successful northern countries which will be voluntary and not have the baggage of empire. Nothing wrong with that in emotrional terms, but if riches are your criterion, note that England is richer than any of the countries you mention. It is the result of a kind of successful cultural fusion that many other parts of the world can only dream of. Also, Norway is rich because it managed to leverage its oil resources; Ireland is so mainly because of a successful foreign investment policy that bore fruit just at the right time, plus European funds. One is arguably much more truly independent than the other. Do not forget the immense additional benefits of the EC umbrella/fortress.
  The real prize for me, and one which is just beginning to be fought over in the US, is the other one you mention, i.e. social democracy. I would like to see social democracy plus the Swiss constitutional model. We live in an era of greater potential popular control of decision-making, and it remains to see whether the masses can grasp a greater share of power and use it maturely as they have on the whole in Switzerland. For a person as skeptical about nationalism as myself it has been a pleasant surprise to see how well Scotland's experiment has progressed so far and I hope it reaches new heights in the rest of the century.
  

• 115. Andy - Germany

  Thursday, March 6, 2008 12:14

  I think one of the 1st thing that should change WHEN we get independance, is that we should be full members of the EU including the €uro, because we'd save huge amounts on currency changing and having seen what that has done to Ireland etc, it should be an obvious choice. The SNP are one of the few parties world wide that don't appear to be "looking after no 1" and changing their policies to remain in power. Take the German PPs, CDU have said they are the middle politically, as have the SPD, in the UK, the major parties are turning into the old liberal party without realizing it, anything to stay in power. Keep up the good work and Scotland, support the party who is supporting you.

• 116. Kev - Edinburgh

  Thursday, March 6, 2008 13:44

   

• 117. STEVE - Glasgow

  Thursday, March 6, 2008 21:02

  (111)
  Get this straight the liebour party make the Conservatives look like communists!As Kev (117) says's your ranting is really to be pitied.How many true Scots do you think you will win over with that garbage?

• 118. trevor swistchew - edinburgh

  Thursday, March 6, 2008 21:02

  Independence will come when the majority of people in the nation want it.
  when people try to say the Union is the only future they reveal lack of vision of trust of belief in the people of the nation.
  ok there are questions many have but in the Union there are just as many.
  freedom is the sovereign right of any nation let it be asked;Why is the right to be free demanded by the UK leader in other nations but never in this nation?
  if unionist policies worked the nation would be more equal would it not?
  union policy dominated the UK for well over 200 years yet still there are
  homeless people
  pensioners who gave their lives to this nation who are more low paid than the people of defeated nations
  people who cant afford to buy or rent a house
  people who are paid low wages
  people who sell papers on the street to get money to eat
  people who are out of work
  people who have no work skill
  people who cant read or write
  people who cant get a dentist
  people who want to see flourishing industry and progress
  people like you.
  Independence is your right.

• 119. terry - dundee

  Friday, March 7, 2008 15:17

  hello
  
  117 and 118 i agree with you the post by 111 is a shame.To TOMMY ( 111) come on Tommy think realistically about your future and the future of other people in scotland have confidence in yourself and your fellow scots please try to understand that just because people like me want independence it does not mean we are anti english or anti british i just beleive we scots can do a better job of looking after scotland ourselves than the british government can.I was born in scotland then my father joined HM Forces and i had to go and live in england for many years then N.Ireland and various places overseas , i came back to scotland as an adult and ive been here ever since.I dont dislike england or english people i like them very much they are our neighbours they speak the same language as us we know each other well .Your point about the teaching of history is rubbish i was taught english history and only english history at every school i went to (all 26 of them) in england ireland and all the HM overseas schools i went to , not one of them taught any scottish history at all they didnt even teach british history , i am always amazed at people who think that somehow there is a unionist feeling of strength in england because there simply is not. Independence is about doing things for yourself and not relying on other people to do them for you stop burdening other people with the responsibilities you should be taking care of yourself.So come on Tommy be independent think about what you would like to see happening in scotland and persuade your fellow scots of the benefits and stop this silly stance where you accept everything done by a British government as correct and suitable for all.Joining the EU is not the same as being part of the UK.The EU has benefited all so far ,some more than others and that is where the difficulty lies .There are those who do not want to be part of the EU because they can continue to have unfair advantages as long as they are outside the EU.Equality as far as it is fairly possible is good.The single currency throughout europe is plainly good for everyone for one simple reason it improves transparency you can see what things cost in every country ,you can make comparisons and if there is a big difference in price you will notice it and ask questions and use consumer power to change and equalize prices.As things stand in the UK you cannot do that.There are many in the UK who like it that way because they can charge you more and hope you dont notice and therebye make bigger profits.Look at cars for example , you can buy them much cheaper in countries that use the euro , the reason given by retailers in the UK for charging us more is that we drive on the left so it costs more to make them or they add more extras to cars sold here , what a lot of nonsense, same goes with interest rates banks that use the euro will give a lower interest rate than the banks in UK everything in the UK business world is done for short term investment maximum profit.We are continually told that it is the EU that has ruined the fishing industry in scotland, what a lot of nonsense, it was the fishing industry that ruined the fishing industry in scotland they fished the seas until ther were no more adult fish left then when the EU put limits on what they were allowed to catch they blamed the EU for their lack of profit.If the british government had acted sooner and imposed proper limits we could have avoided the problem.I could go on and on about the failures of british government and the effects on scotland but i would rather look forward to positive changes independence can bring , i hope you join in Tommy support scotland think of britain fondly as a part of scotlands history.

• 120. Lorren - USA & Scotland

  Friday, March 7, 2008 22:01

  Post #95 (Free Scotland? We are already Fife !!!)
  
  
  I would be interested in that "Fear" you mention. Therin lies the problem I suspect.
  
  Some of us have Overcame that fear and have lead a much richer fuller life, and I'm not talking about money.
  
  I'm so glad Mr Salmond doesn't take your attitude towards people who live outwith Scotland.
  
  (you say: quote : Your Support not needed nor welcome ..end quote)
  
  Shame you think like that. Its scary and most of all very sad.
  
  This is neither here not there, I happen to live in Scotland and USA equally, pay taxes in both countries, Get over your fear and start living Mr fife. Good luck to you
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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