00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:02 Good morning.
00:11 I'm Hannah Waters, a student.
00:14 I have to say, I'm really excited to open the SNP's
00:17 general election launch today.
00:19 Because this election, like many other young people
00:22 across Scotland, I will have my first ever chance
00:25 to vote in a general election.
00:26 [APPLAUSE]
00:30 Hi.
00:31 If I may, before I begin, I just want
00:36 to reflect upon events last evening in Yemen.
00:43 It has come as a surprise to me that I am actually
00:46 here in Glasgow today, as much as I do love this city.
00:51 Because myself and my colleagues in this room
00:54 should currently be in Westminster
00:57 questioning the United Kingdom Prime Minister for his decision
01:02 to launch military action.
01:04 You're right to be angry at Westminster.
01:08 Sounds like I could have said that,
01:10 but it wasn't actually me.
01:12 It was the leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer.
01:16 And for a change, I agree with him.
01:19 People are right to be angry with Westminster.
01:24 Because it is Westminster that gives Scotland's Tory
01:28 governments that we don't vote for.
01:31 It's Westminster that's given us Tory austerity,
01:35 that gave us Brexit, that gave us Boris,
01:38 that gave us Partygate, that gave us Liz Truss,
01:41 that gave us economic collapse, and which now has given us
01:45 a billionaire Prime Minister who looks on
01:48 at the cost of living crisis from his private jet.
01:52 And Scotland, it's a straight fight
01:55 between the Tories and the SNP.
01:57 So if the people of Scotland want our nation to be Tory-free,
02:02 they should vote SNP at the election this year.
02:07 If we want to have that battle of ideas on foreign policy,
02:11 then let's have it.
02:13 Because the SNP, we are clear in our values
02:16 that there must be humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza now.
02:22 [APPLAUSE]
02:24 Unlike the Labour Party and the Conservative Party,
02:30 only the SNP will always stand up for Scotland.
02:37 Only the SNP will always put Scotland's interests
02:42 at the forefront of everything that we do.
02:46 We will be Scotland's voice in Westminster.
02:51 We will protect and promote Scotland's values
02:55 and Scotland's future.
02:58 And we are clear that what we want to see
03:01 is Scotland's future in Scotland's hands.
03:06 It's why we believe in independence.
03:10 Westminster doesn't work for Scotland.
03:13 The ultimate truth is that any Labour MP from Scotland
03:18 who gets their seat under the table in Westminster
03:21 will take independence off it as soon as they get there.
03:26 And we cannot allow that to happen.
03:29 Vote SNP to be Tory-free.
03:32 Now, folks, it's my job this morning to do one more thing,
03:36 and that is to welcome onto the stage our party leader,
03:42 our first minister, Humza Yousaf.
03:44 [APPLAUSE]
03:47 Thank you.
03:52 Thank you, and good morning, everyone.
03:55 And thank you to Stephen.
03:57 Can I say that I am just one of many Scots
04:00 who enjoys watching you week after week run rings
04:04 around Rushie Sunai.
04:06 This election represents a huge opportunity for Scotland.
04:11 And today, I want to tell you how I think, together,
04:15 we can ensure the best outcome for our country.
04:19 So let's be absolutely clear at the outset.
04:22 Sunak is finished.
04:24 He's done as PM.
04:25 The Tories are done.
04:26 And thank goodness for it.
04:29 The damage that they have caused to Scotland's people
04:34 is simply unforgiving.
04:36 In every Tory-held seat north of the border,
04:40 we are the party in second place.
04:42 And today, therefore, I'm setting out
04:45 that ambition for the SNP to not only win the general election,
04:50 but let's wipe the Tories from Scotland's electoral map
04:54 by winning every single Tory seat in their country.
04:56 [APPLAUSE]
05:00 I'm Alistair Grant, and I'm the political editor
05:02 of The Scotsman.
05:03 And I'm here in the Oran Mor in Glasgow,
05:05 where the SNP is launching its general election campaign.
05:08 Of course, 2024, the year that we expect a general election
05:12 to take place.
05:13 Rishi Sunak has indicated it will take place
05:15 in the latter half of the year, so potentially quite
05:18 a number of months still to go.
05:20 But the SNP getting out early, getting
05:22 some of their key messages across, very much one of those
05:26 is Humza Yousaf's appeal to voters
05:27 to make Scotland Tory-free.
05:30 He points out that in the six Conservative-held seats
05:34 in Scotland, the SNP are in second place.
05:36 So he says they're the best party
05:38 to vote for if you want to see the Tories out of those seats.
05:42 But also very much a message from him
05:44 that the SNP are the only party that
05:45 can break what he calls the cosy consensus in Westminster
05:49 on issues like Brexit, spending cuts,
05:52 a perceived threat to the NHS by opening
05:55 the doors to privatisation, the so-called rape clause.
05:59 He's saying that only SNP MPs can break that consensus.
06:04 But also, of course, this is the SNP.
06:06 So a very clear message around independence.
06:10 He said that if you support independence,
06:12 if you back independence, then you must come out
06:15 and vote for the SNP.
06:16 They are the party that will push that.
06:18 And I think that's very interesting that he is going
06:21 so strong in that message.
06:22 Because obviously, in recent months,
06:24 we've seen that the SNP have been sliding in the polls,
06:26 Labour making some gains in Scotland,
06:28 and of course, making gains across the UK in those polls.
06:31 Humza Yousaf very much wanting to push the idea that,
06:34 for those roughly 50% of people in Scotland
06:37 who back independence, the SNP is the party
06:40 they should vote for.
06:41 There's been some polling analysis in recent months
06:44 that that old link between the SNP and independence
06:48 that voters had has maybe been broken for some people.
06:52 That there's a segment of independent supporters
06:54 that have moved away from the SNP.
06:56 And Humza Yousaf very much wanting to reverse that.
06:59 So appealing to the core vote, maybe that's
07:02 something that we'll see more of in the months ahead.
07:05 Vote SNP for a Scotland free from Tory MPs.
07:10 What a prize.
07:11 And friends, it was the SNP who had the moral courage,
07:17 the moral clarity to demand an immediate ceasefire
07:21 to stop the ongoing killing and the ongoing bloodshed in Gaza.
07:26 It was the SNP who have spoken out for what is right,
07:30 crucially, who have spoken up for Scotland.
07:34 For Labour and Tories, it is Westminster
07:37 that should have the final say.
07:39 And that is the fundamental choice
07:42 before the people of Scotland.
07:44 Friends, I don't pretend that the SNP has achieved everything
07:49 that we have set out to achieve.
07:50 But I am proud of what we have delivered.
07:53 The 90,000 children lifted out of poverty
07:58 and having their life chances improve,
08:00 thanks to measures that we have introduced,
08:03 such as the game-changing Scottish child payment.
08:06 What about the tens of thousands of young people
08:09 attending some of the world's best universities
08:12 right on their doorstep without paying a single penny
08:16 in tuition fees?
08:18 With Labour leading the Tories 20 to 25 points in the polls,
08:23 this would be the time for Keir Starmer
08:25 to be bold and to be radical.
08:28 Instead, he spends his time just attempting
08:31 to neutralise Tory attacks by imitating their policies.
08:34 So my offer to Keir Starmer is that where we can,
08:38 we will, of course, work constructively
08:41 with a future Labour government to introduce measures
08:44 for a fairer country.
08:47 We'll fight to protect the NHS from creeping privatisation
08:51 at Westminster.
08:53 We'll work with Labour if they want to end the two-child cap,
08:57 to lift children out of poverty.
09:00 Page one, line one of the SNP election manifesto will say,
09:05 "Vote SNP for Scotland to become an independent country,"
09:10 because of our core belief that every decision
09:14 about our country should be taken in Scotland.
09:19 Because Westminster doesn't work for us,
09:21 doesn't work for Scotland,
09:22 that there is a better alternative
09:24 to the misery of broken Brexit Britain.
09:27 There is hope as an independent nation
09:30 taking her rightful place in the European Union.
09:34 So let's get out there, let's win this election,
09:37 let's make Scotland a better, fairer, greener,
09:41 more prosperous nation for everybody.
09:43 Thank you very much.
09:44 (audience applauding)
09:47 (upbeat music)
09:52 (upbeat music)
09:54 [MUSIC]
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