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Scottish Tory Party conference: David Cameron says 'our Union' protects jobs | Scottish Tory Party conference: David Cameron says 'our Union' protects jobs |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Prime Minister David Cameron has told a gathering of Conservative Party members in Stirling that "our Union" protects jobs in Scotland. | Prime Minister David Cameron has told a gathering of Conservative Party members in Stirling that "our Union" protects jobs in Scotland. |
Members of the Scottish Tories are holding their two-day annual conference. | Members of the Scottish Tories are holding their two-day annual conference. |
UK leader Mr Cameron began by saying there were "huge battles coming". | UK leader Mr Cameron began by saying there were "huge battles coming". |
He said 2014 was about saving the UK; 2015 was about giving Britain the Tory government it needed and 2016 was about giving Scotland "strong alternatives". | He said 2014 was about saving the UK; 2015 was about giving Britain the Tory government it needed and 2016 was about giving Scotland "strong alternatives". |
Voters in Scotland will go to the polls on 18 September next year to take part in a referendum on independence. | Voters in Scotland will go to the polls on 18 September next year to take part in a referendum on independence. |
They will be asked the yes/no question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" | They will be asked the yes/no question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" |
The Scottish Conservative Party, led by Ruth Davidson, is the last of the four main parties to hold a 2013 conference. | The Scottish Conservative Party, led by Ruth Davidson, is the last of the four main parties to hold a 2013 conference. |
Mr Cameron was the keynote speaker on the first day. He told delegates that in Ms Davidson they had the "ideal leader". | |
He said: "Ruth wasn't born into the Conservative Party - she chose it. And she understands that to win we've got to be a party for all of Scotland." | |
A deal setting out terms for a Scottish independence referendum was signed by Mr Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond in October last year. | A deal setting out terms for a Scottish independence referendum was signed by Mr Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond in October last year. |
The agreement, struck in Edinburgh, has paved the way for a vote which will also allow 16 and 17-year-olds to take part. | The agreement, struck in Edinburgh, has paved the way for a vote which will also allow 16 and 17-year-olds to take part. |
During the address Mr Cameron questioned the SNP's plans for keeping the pound in the event of Scottish independence, saying that a shared currency could only work with political union. | |
He added: "We said we're better together as one economy with a shared currency. | |
"Alex Salmond said no - let's go our separate ways but let's still keep the pound. | |
"How would that work? Has Alex Salmond not seen what's happened in Europe over the past two years? You can't make a currency union work without a political union. | |
"We said we're better together to protect jobs in Scotland's great defence industry. Alex Salmond said no - we're scaremongering. " | |
Mr Cameron continued: "But what's the evidence? There are 12,000 people across Scotland employed by defence companies - backed by a British defence budget that is the fourth largest in the world. | |
"Make no mistake - our Union protects jobs. " | |
The speech did not just focus on the future of the UK. | |
The prime minister also spoke about tackling the deficit, encouraging enterprise and cutting the country's welfare bill. | |
Mr Cameron said one of the biggest challenges was "sorting out welfare". | |
He argued: "Our welfare system has become unaffordable: last year we spent £24bn on housing benefit alone. That is a lot more than we spent on doctors' salaries in our NHS. | |
"It has become unsustainable - one in every £7 we spend is on working age benefits. Not pensions - benefits for people of working age. | |
"It's become unfair - for years now, the income of those on benefits has risen faster than wages. | |
"And so that's why we're rolling out a benefits cap - so a family on benefits can't earn more than the average family in work." | |
Mr Cameron said dealing with "our debts" was not an "optional extra - it was an absolute necessity". | |
He added: "We all know the risks we take if we keep on running a massive deficit. | |
"You can't borrow your way out of a debt crisis. | |
"You know how much we spent just on servicing Labour's debt last year? Forty-seven billion pounds. | |
"That's equivalent to the entire NHS budget in Scotland for the next five years. That can't go on." |