Nicola Sturgeon announces post-independence investment of ?20bn
Scotland’s First Minister addressed delegates as she closed the SNP conference in Aberdeen on Monday.
Investment of ?20 billion will be delivered in the first decade of Scottish independence, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
Ms Sturgeon 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.”
Ms 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.”
Ms 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”.
The First Minister was the final speaker at the three-day event in Aberdeen, which came after she was criticised for saying she “detests” Tories.
After making her comments to the BBC, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Nadhim Zahawi described the language as “dangerous”.
Other than in the First Minister’s speech, just one announcement was made throughout the conference, with the SNP planning to launch a podcast called Scotland’s Voices, announced by depute leader Keith Brown on Saturday.