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| Alex Salmond pledge to fight 'bigotry and booze' | Alex Salmond pledge to fight 'bigotry and booze' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has laid out his five-year vision for government, with a pledge to tackle "bigotry and booze". | |
| Following the SNP's landslide election victory, Mr Salmond has made new laws on tackling sectarianism and minimum alcohol pricing a priority. | Following the SNP's landslide election victory, Mr Salmond has made new laws on tackling sectarianism and minimum alcohol pricing a priority. |
| He also outlined a "social wage" with the people of Scotland. | He also outlined a "social wage" with the people of Scotland. |
| Mr Salmond pledged to retain vital services in return for measures like public sector pay restraint. | |
| The Scottish government's detailed programme for government, including a list of planned bills, will come after the summer break. | The Scottish government's detailed programme for government, including a list of planned bills, will come after the summer break. |
| Opposition parties urged Mr Salmond to clarify plans for his independence referendum, planned for the second half of the five-year parliament. | |
| Speaking at Holyrood, the first minister laid out plans for economic recovery and pledged to put a "jobs agenda" at the heart of his programme for government. | Speaking at Holyrood, the first minister laid out plans for economic recovery and pledged to put a "jobs agenda" at the heart of his programme for government. |
| In the next few weeks, the Scottish Parliament is expected to pass new laws on increasing jail terms for sectarian-related disorder to a maximum of five years. | In the next few weeks, the Scottish Parliament is expected to pass new laws on increasing jail terms for sectarian-related disorder to a maximum of five years. |
| And ministers will also bring back plans to set a minimum price per unit of alcohol - proposals which were defeated in the last parliament when the SNP was in minority government. | And ministers will also bring back plans to set a minimum price per unit of alcohol - proposals which were defeated in the last parliament when the SNP was in minority government. |
| Much from Mr Salmond about a "social wage". | |
| It is a phrase commonly distrusted by the right, in that they argue it can involve enhanced state control and hand-outs, rather than any form of earned entitlement or "wage". | |
| On this occasion, Mr Salmond placed it in a specific context - and with a specific contrast. | |
| The context was public spending constraint - and particularly the wage freeze being endured by many in the public sector. | |
| To alleviate such difficulties, Mr Salmond argued, it was vital to provide continuing compensation in the form of public benefits - such as free personal care, free prescriptions, free travel. | |
| A counter case could be made by some that such universality of provision benefits the relatively well off more than the poor - in that the low-waged might expect such benefits in any case under a targeted system. | |
| To contest such arguments, Mr Salmond turned to a contrast: that between the approach he plans in Scotland and his vision of what is happening south of the border. | |
| His vision, of course, would be disdained as a caricature by those in government at Westminster. | |
| The first minister told MSPs: "In the age of Twitter and texts, the dreams of a free-speaking world are contaminated by viral strains of bitterness. | The first minister told MSPs: "In the age of Twitter and texts, the dreams of a free-speaking world are contaminated by viral strains of bitterness. |
| "Technology has given fresh energy to old hatreds and pustulant sectarianism again seeps across our land. | "Technology has given fresh energy to old hatreds and pustulant sectarianism again seeps across our land. |
| "Well, it will be stopped - I will not have people living in fear from some idiotic 17th Century rivalry in the 21st Century." | "Well, it will be stopped - I will not have people living in fear from some idiotic 17th Century rivalry in the 21st Century." |
| Mr Salmond said sectarianism "must stop", adding: "Not because it is embarrassing to our national image - though it is. | Mr Salmond said sectarianism "must stop", adding: "Not because it is embarrassing to our national image - though it is. |
| "Nor that it is embarrassing to ourselves - though it is that too - but because it is a pointless cause pursued by the pitiless." | "Nor that it is embarrassing to ourselves - though it is that too - but because it is a pointless cause pursued by the pitiless." |
| Turning to Scotland's "booze culture", Mr Salmond went on: "I think that we have confused our appetite for fun with a hunger for self-destruction. | Turning to Scotland's "booze culture", Mr Salmond went on: "I think that we have confused our appetite for fun with a hunger for self-destruction. |
| "We tolerate a race to the bottom of the bottle, which ruins our health, our judgement, our relationships, our safety and our dignity. | "We tolerate a race to the bottom of the bottle, which ruins our health, our judgement, our relationships, our safety and our dignity. |
| "Thus, early legislation in this parliament shall address both bigotry and booze." | "Thus, early legislation in this parliament shall address both bigotry and booze." |
| Mr Salmond said his government had committed to helping hard-pressed Scots by freezing the council tax over the course of the five-year parliament and moving against public sector compulsory redundancies. | Mr Salmond said his government had committed to helping hard-pressed Scots by freezing the council tax over the course of the five-year parliament and moving against public sector compulsory redundancies. |
| The SNP has also committed to keeping prescription charges and bridge tolls free, while maintaining free bus travel for the elderly and protecting NHS spending. | The SNP has also committed to keeping prescription charges and bridge tolls free, while maintaining free bus travel for the elderly and protecting NHS spending. |
| Defining the social wage as a "pact" between politicians, public services and the people, the first minister said: "We shall deliver the social and economic circumstances that allow for people to dream, to aspire and to be ambitious - but it is for the individual to realise their dreams, to reach for their hopes, to meet their ambitions. | Defining the social wage as a "pact" between politicians, public services and the people, the first minister said: "We shall deliver the social and economic circumstances that allow for people to dream, to aspire and to be ambitious - but it is for the individual to realise their dreams, to reach for their hopes, to meet their ambitions. |
| "People understand that public spending must be restrained, and, in return, we will stand alongside the family in Dumfries that wants to send their daughter to university. | "People understand that public spending must be restrained, and, in return, we will stand alongside the family in Dumfries that wants to send their daughter to university. |
| "We will support the commuter in Dunfermline who travels daily across the Forth or the family in Ayrshire who would otherwise have to choose which medicine they can afford this month. | "We will support the commuter in Dunfermline who travels daily across the Forth or the family in Ayrshire who would otherwise have to choose which medicine they can afford this month. |
| "And we will protect the pensioner in Inverness who lives off her savings and fears ever-rising prices and bills." | "And we will protect the pensioner in Inverness who lives off her savings and fears ever-rising prices and bills." |
| Mr Salmond said the SNP's planned Scottish Futures Fund would tackle "endemic problems" with support for young people, transport, housing and new, digital technology. | Mr Salmond said the SNP's planned Scottish Futures Fund would tackle "endemic problems" with support for young people, transport, housing and new, digital technology. |
| And the government would also prioritise the "internationalisation" of Scotland's economy, in areas such as renewable energy. | And the government would also prioritise the "internationalisation" of Scotland's economy, in areas such as renewable energy. |
| Hitting out at the UK government, Mr Salmond said: "Elsewhere on these isles, the tolerance of the poor is being tested - budgets slashed, priorities changed, hope crushed in the braying tones of people who claim to know best. | Hitting out at the UK government, Mr Salmond said: "Elsewhere on these isles, the tolerance of the poor is being tested - budgets slashed, priorities changed, hope crushed in the braying tones of people who claim to know best. |
| "We should aspire to be different. In Scotland the poor won't be made to pick up the bill for the rich." | "We should aspire to be different. In Scotland the poor won't be made to pick up the bill for the rich." |
| Mr Salmond again called for Westminster to devolve control over increased borrowing powers, corporation tax, excise duties, control over the Crown Estate, broadcasting and increased influence in Europe. | Mr Salmond again called for Westminster to devolve control over increased borrowing powers, corporation tax, excise duties, control over the Crown Estate, broadcasting and increased influence in Europe. |
| And, turning to the referendum, Mr Salmond told MSPs: "The age of benign dictat is over. | |
| "This parliament is not a lobby group, begging Westminster for what is already ours. This parliament speaks for the people of Scotland and they shall be heard." | "This parliament is not a lobby group, begging Westminster for what is already ours. This parliament speaks for the people of Scotland and they shall be heard." |
| Outgoing Labour leader Iain Gray called on the first minister to make his referendum plans clear at the earliest opportunity, saying the issue was creating uncertainty over Scotland's economic future. | |
| Mr Gray said of Scotland: "I think it is big enough, rich enough in talent and certainly smart, creative and educated enough to take every opportunity being part of a bigger social and economic unit affords it." | |
| Tory leader Annabel Goldie, who is also standing down from her role, said she was proud to be both Scottish and British - but argued it was not possible to be for both independence and extended devolution within Britain. | |
| She said the Scotland Bill on more powers for Holyrood, currently going through Westminster, was "the way ahead". | |
| "Alex Salmond's is not the only mandate," said Miss Goldie, adding: "Scotland by referendum has voted for a devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers - that is the settled will." |