A political group whose membership would once have struggled to fill a venue half the size held its annual conference in Aberdeen’s AECC. Regularly trailed as the Scottish National Party’s “biggest conference yet” there was a confidence amongst delegates that after the 2016 Holyrood elections an even larger venue would be needed.
Independence
The conference was thick with talk of independence with a clear divide amongst the membership. As always there are those who would quite happily have a second referendum at the weekend while others want to wait until the time is right and majority support is clear.
Nicola Sturgeon argued that the success of the Conservative Party in the UK general election only strengthened the case for independence and suggested that a second referendum would be held when support has stood at 60% for at least a year. This was a clearer articulation of “the Scottish people will decide when the time is right” position which has been the party line since the independence referendum. The party leadership urged the membership to go forth and spread the message of independence and build support.
Land Reform
The Land Reform bill, a proposal introduced by Nicola Sturgeon shortly after becoming First Minister, was voted down by her party for not being radical enough. Delegates voted 570 to 440 for their party to have a more robust policy. The decision is likely to alarm landowners who have already voiced concerns about the current bill and its implications.
Speakers said the legislation did not do enough to challenge Scotland’s highly concentrated rural land ownership. Other delegates were disappointed the Scottish Government did not seek a cap on the size of land holdings and that requirements for public disclosure of all ownership had been softened. Aileen MacLeod told conference that she was listening and would look at ways to strengthen the bill. However, the vote may ultimately have little effect on the bill being passed.
Fracking
Fracking has continued to be a controversial issue for the party despite a commitment from ministers to extend the current moratorium to include underground coal gasification. Delegates argued that the SNP policy should go further and wanted to outlaw fracking altogether. The motion was one of the most highly charged debates of the conference with delegates launching a full out attack on fracking but the vote ultimately fell short of an all-out ban with the motion defeated by 554 votes to 424. It will have been a source of some relief to the leadership that they managed to win such a key conference vote.
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola sturgeon closed the conference by informing delegates that it was time to build on the success of the Westminster elections in time for next year’s Holyrood elections. She went on to depict David Cameron as a Prime Minister with no interest in Scotland and warned him to “Ignore Scotland at your peril”, adding “Know that people are watching and listening”.
Turning her attentions to recent scandals, notably the suspension of Michelle Thompson following an investigation into her business practices and the recent resignation of Police Scotland’s Chief Constable, Nicola Sturgeon told conference “I won’t pretend we are perfect. Or that I am perfect. But I will promise this: We will always strive to be the best we can be”.