 Mae'n dalygu'r cyhoedd iawn sy'n Ysgolffian 2014 yn ymwelidol o'r nyfodol gennym Gylauol. Hwyl ydych chi yn dda i'r dyddion ac yn ymweltyd equipment iawn fel y bydd. Mae'n dod â'r cyhoedd a'r cyhoeddau yn fwy o gwirio newidol mewn cyhoeddus cyhoeddau yn fwy o'r cyhoedd. Fy hoffoedd o'r cyhoedd sydd yn fwy o'r cyhoeddau Is wnaeth bod ynallyn i ddweud bod y gwir-gweithio, fel roedd yn y gwir-gweithio, fel roedd yn â'r Diolch yn teimlo, yn ei ddweud, i ddweud y cyfigurau pan i'r un olygu, yn ei ddylhau rhywbeth a'r effingau, i ddweud ac yn ei ddweud, o米 lleu o'r cookir flyneddol i gynnig. Yr unig o'r llei chi, ond yn yn mynd yn yr effing roedd o'i ddechrau i chi fyddeithasio allan, o'r fawr, a oedd yna yn ychydig yn ysgrifennyddio'u ddeud o'r reffordd yng Nghymru, ac mae'n rhaid i'n gweithio'r gweithio'n gweithio, nad oedd Scotland wedi'i gwneud y c erioed yn ysgrifennyddio'u gweithio'u gweithio'u gwneud. Mae'r grwp yn ysgrifennu yn cefnidol, ac mae'n bwysig i'r bwyllliaeth o'r bwrdd yn ysgrifennu yn Llandd-Dynion, ac mae'r rhannu'n gweithio'n amgylchol â'r cyfathurau o'r cyffredinol i'r lluniau a chyfrinolau yn y rhanol sydd wedi'i gweithio'n gweithio a'u gwasanaethol. Ond ydych chi'n gweld i'r cyffredin o ffynogi i'r ddau yma yma, ac y gallwn i'r ddefnyddio i'r amser o'r rhannu yn gweithio'n gweithio. Scotland's constitutional journey is a long one, which has accelerated in recent decades with the re-establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, culminating in this independence referendum later this year. But home rule efforts go back a long time. Back into the 19th century, following the First World War, the Scottish Traits Union Congress pressed for Scottish representation at the Versailles conference, just like the then British dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The formation of the Scottish National Party in 1934 marked the beginning of serious political efforts to re-establish direct democracy in Scotland and has had permanent parliamentary representation since 1967. At the historic 1967 Hamilton by-election, Winnie Ewing declared, Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on, and so at the heart of Scottish nationalism is an internationalism which has long pursued a desire to play a positive, proactive and direct role in the international community of nations. Even with the limited powers of devolution since 1999, Scotland is sought to reach out to the world, in particular to neighbours on these islands, to our European partners, to nations with a strong diaspora connection such as the United States, and countries with strong ties of history like Malawi. However the powers of devolution are limited. They don't offer the full advantages of bilateral and multilateral relations in a world where normality is independence and growing interdependence. In 1945 the United Nations had 51 member states, now there are 193. Over the same period there has been a proliferation of international organisations which seek to improve national and international conditions, whose members are sovereign states. From the European Union and the biggest single market in the world, the Council of Europe and its Human Rights safeguards, the World Trade Organisation supporting economic growth, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation with defence cooperation guarantees and the list goes on and on. In this age of cooperation it is states of all sizes that determine progress and Scotland is not represented in its own right. This can and I believe will change with a yes vote on the 18th of September 2014. In unique international circumstances the Scottish and the United Kingdom governments have signed an agreement which charts the democratic referendum process. The Edinburgh agreement was signed in the Scottish capital by Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond following the election of a clear majority in the Scottish Parliament in favour of an independence referendum and supported by parliamentarians from the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Green Party and independence. In fact referendum legislation is also being supported by the Labour Party, the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats. The Edinburgh agreement crucially commits both the Scottish government and the United Kingdom government in article 30 and I quote, to continue to work together constructively in the light of the outcome whatever it is in the best interests of the people of Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. So following a yes vote in September 2014 both governments would begin discussions and negotiations about a transition to Scottish sovereignty. There is an 18 month period for this cooperation while Scotland is still part of the United Kingdom. It is during this time that arrangements will be made for Scotland to take its place in the international community including multilateral organisations such as the European Union, NATO, the United Nations, the WTO and so on. While the anti-independence campaign seemed to spend most of their time currently suggesting this will be extremely difficult, even the UK government's legal adviser says the timescale is, in his words, reasonable. And the no campaign's own constitutional adviser believes it would occur with an accelerated procedure. How this will happen and details of the international priorities of the Scottish government are laid out in unprecedented detail in Scotland's future, the white paper on Scottish independence. A copy of which I have here. Well worth a read. I'm not confirming I carry this with me to every event but you'll imagine on a subject like this, it's a very, very important document. And there is no international precedent for a prospectus for a document off this detail in such a constitutional process anywhere. In over 10 chapters, 650 pages and 170,000 words, it details a proposal to move from devolution to sovereignty. It has an extensive question and answer section with clarification on hundreds of common queries. It is extremely well read. Within weeks of the white paper launched last November, 40,000 copies were printed following a third reprint of 10,000. There have been around 1 million online page views of the document. There have been more than 90,000 hits on the PDF download page. It's free for all to download, I would recommend it. Available at www.scotreferendum.com and there's also extensive further documentation on that site. At the heart of the independence prospectus is a proposition that decisions about Scotland will be taken by people who care most about Scotland and that is the people who live and work in Scotland. Our national democratic life will be determined in an independent Scottish parliament elected entirely by people in Scotland which will replace the current Westminster system. Under that current antiquated and inadequate system, elected representatives from Scotland make up just 9% of the 650 odd members of the House of Commons and of course the House of Lords is wholly unelected. Governments in an independent Scotland will always be formed by parties that win elections in Scotland. It will no longer be possible for key decisions to be made by governments that do not command the Scottish electorate. This will end the sorry and unacceptable situation that we are regularly governed by parties we have not entrusted to make decisions on our behalf. For 34 of the 68 years since 1945, Scotland has been ruled by Westminster governments with no majority in Scotland. Policies are imposed on Scotland even when they have been opposed by the majority of our elected Westminster MPs and that includes areas of foreign defence and security policy. With a yes vote in the independence referendum we will put an end to governments policies and priorities which do not have democratic support. With a yes vote Scotland will rejoin the international community as a sovereign state and enjoy the benefits and advantages of a normal country. In the White Paper chapter 6 deals with international relations, defence and security. It explains one, why we need a new approach, two, the opportunities open to Scotland and three, the Scotland we can create in an international defence and security context. The main summary is as follows. Scotland's national interests will be directly represented on the international stage. Scotland's foreign security and defence policies will be grounded in a clear framework of participating in rules based international cooperation to secure shared interests, protecting Scotland's people and resources and promoting sustainable economic growth. We will continue to be a member of the European Union and will have a seat at the top table to represent Scotland's interests more effectively. We will not be at risk of leaving the EU against the wishes of the Scottish people. An overseas network of 78-90 international offices is planned, built on Scotland's existing capacity and our share of the UK's international assets. Scotland will recognise and act on its responsibilities as one of the wealthiest nations on the planet to international development. Our defence plans focus on a strong conventional defence footprint in and around Scotland and the removal of nuclear weapons delivering a £500 million annual defence and security dividend. Scotland's security will be guaranteed as a non-nuclear member of NATO, with Scotland's contributing excellent conventional capabilities to the Alliance. The foreign policy and international relations of the Scottish Government will take place within three overlapping and overarching spheres that will be the cornerstone of Scotland's foreign policy. One, our partnership with the other nations of these islands. Two, our regional role as an active member of the European Union with strong links to the Nordic countries and the Arctic. And three, the global context, our independent role in international and multilateral organisations including the UN and NATO. I'd like to take these priorities in turn to underline why an independent Scotland will be a positive and proactive international partner. Firstly on these islands, we are bound by historic economic and social ties of great value. This importance is not of itself determined by where political decision making lies, but we have the opportunity to do so on the basis of equality. We now have a British Irish Council which brings together governments from across Britain and Ireland. With a sovereign Scotland, there will be three independent governments in the council, together with Scotland, the Irish Republic, the rest of the United Kingdom working with the devolved and island authorities. The secretariat of the council is already headquartered in Edinburgh and there is active cooperation between governments across the widest range of subjects from the health of the environment. Scotland is a bigger trading partner with the rest of the United Kingdom than China, India, Russia and Brazil combined. I could add Japan and South Africa as well to that. Incidentally, this is also true of Ireland relative to the rest of the United Kingdom. Our common travel area, citizenship and voting rights and other cooperation arrangements including the importance of our shared common market through the European Union are critical. It is in all of our interests that these closest of relationships flourish. It is in the interests of all of the peoples of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland and our immediate island neighbours that our cooperation goes from strength to strength. Secondly, in the context of the European Union, it is critical that we continue to safeguard and build on the advantages delivered through the European Union. Decades of peace, economic growth, social rights, free movement of people goods services capital and cooperation in an ever widening European Union are a massive achievement. 28 member states make up the European Union and more seat to join. We look forward to Scotland taking its seat at the EU top table shortly. While there is no doubt there is need for democratic political and economic reform to how the EU works, we need to face up to the threats posed by strong europhobic extremes, especially in UK politics outside Scotland. Even the UK government is planning an in-out EU referendum and are being politically driven by anti-Europeans in the UKIP and the Tory party. This is dangerous to Scottish and Irish interests and also incidentally to England, Wales and Northern Ireland. This weekend prominent Scottish business people wrote the following letter to the media and I'd like to read it in full because it gives you a sense of the context of this important part of the debate in Scotland. I quote from the letter. Access to the common market is vitally important to both Scottish and wider UK companies. We can see from the poor performance of UKIP in elections and successive opinion polls here that the people of Scotland are generally more outward looking and pro-European than the electorate in other parts of the UK. Scottish business people are worried that despite an overwhelming desire to stay connected with our European partners, voters beyond our borders will remove Scotland from the EU against the democratic expression of Scotland's business community and the wider public. This threat may persist no matter what the result of Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague's ongoing negotiation on the terms of membership with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. On this issue as with many others Westminster opinion does not represent the democratic will of all of the constituent parts of the UK. It seems likely that all major political parties with a chance of being in government after 2015 in the Westminster election will commit to holding an EU referendum. This prospect of a dangerous, metropolitan, media driven referendum on EU membership creates great uncertainty. Scotland may no longer be part of the UK at the time of the EU poll and an independent Scotland's approach to negotiating continued EU membership, which experts have said there will be an obligation to have after a yes vote, will ensure continuity of membership and effect. We note in particular the recent positive comments of no campaign policy adviser Professor Jim Gallacher regarding an independent Scotland staying in Europe and its ability to successfully negotiate key opt-outs. Indeed the Scottish people must now see that there is far more uncertainty over Scotland's continued access to the common market if we vote no in the independence referendum on September the 18th this year. A yes vote is the only way to guarantee that Scottish based companies can continue to trade in a UK and European common market for the free movement of capital goods services trade and people. That was the letter signed by a long list of people in the Scottish business community. Scottish independence in a European Union context means that the Scottish government elected by the people will be present at all council of ministers meetings where the big decisions are taken. Scotland will have a nominated commissioner in the powerful European Commission and there will be a fairer Scottish representation in the European Parliament. So Scotland will play a positive and a proactive role in the EU. Moving on to the next dimension which is a key regional priority for us and that is the northern dimension. Scotland is a northern European nation with significant priority shared with our Nordic regional neighbours including Norway, Denmark and Iceland. There are huge environmental challenges posed to the high north and Arctic as well as potential opportunities especially in the energy sectors. Our neighbours are cooperating through a host of bilateral and multilateral organisations and initiatives. Scotland can and must take its responsibility seriously and work with our regional neighbours. This will be a key Scottish priority. Scotland's geostrategic position with the Atlantic to our west, Iceland to our north and the North Sea to our east also has an important security dimension. It is in the interest of all allies, neighbours and friends that there is stability and that is why the Scottish government's white paper outlines in great detail the plans for defence and security arrangements. Scotland will prioritise maritime capabilities including maritime patrol aircraft, something incidentally that Ireland has but the UK does not. We will work with our NATO allies just like the overwhelming number of other members as a non-nuclear state to fulfil the objectives and mutual defence, appropriate capabilities, stability and peace. Moving on to the wider global context, something to offer. In a global context an independent Scotland has something particular to offer. On international developments a strong commitment has been made by the Scottish government with an aspiration to be a global leader championing best practice and innovation. The white paper explains that being a global leader in an international development context is not necessarily just about the size of aid given in absolute monetary terms but the impact that can be made across government policy. Aid is however an extremely important dimension and an independent Scotland would ensure a legislative commitment to spending 0.7% of gross national income on official development assistance and have an aspiration to reach 1% of GNI in time. Success and global impact will be pursued by delivering a coherent approach to international development across all Scottish government policies, crucially trade environment defence and finance. On peace and reconciliation there is a long standing commitment to make Scotland the ideal place to support international initiatives. Scotland has already hosted the St Andrews Northern Ireland discussions, also meetings from the South Caucasus and there is a significant Scottish NGO peace and reconciliation experience such as beyond borders Scotland. A sovereign Scottish government can do so much with our particular experience of civic, non-ethnic, democratic and peaceful constitutional change. Scotland is known and liked around the world, this is an ideal way of being able to contribute to a better world. On helping the vulnerable we look to a new model with an asylum services separate from immigration. The white paper contains proposals for a Scottish asylum agency to oversee asylum applications and I quote The process will be both robust and humane and we will continue Scotland's present approach of promoting the integration of refugees and asylum seekers from the day they arrive, not just once leave to remain has been granted as is currently the case in the rest of the UK. In an independent Scotland we will close the UK Home Office Detention Centre at Dungavel and the practice of dawn raids and inhumane treatment of those who have exercised their legitimate right to seek asylum. Now while these initiatives will bring international benefits to those from outside Scotland, there will also be tangible benefits to Scotland in Scotland when pursuing its own international agenda. For all of those talented and committed people wanting to work in the diplomatic service on international development and a defence and security, there will be a full Scottish headquartered career path. Home postings will be in Scotland and the relevant government departments will be based in Scotland. International partners will be directly represented in Scotland with embassies and diplomatic staff and international organisations will also seek enhanced representation in Scotland. So for all of those involved in the voluntary charitable and academic sectors in Scotland which deal with international affairs, it will be possible to work with government departments, agencies and decision makers at all levels in Scotland. In conclusion ladies and gentlemen, independence will mean Scotland taking its place in the international community and playing a positive proactive international role. We will be able to promote a bigger role for the British Irish Council that brings together the home nations, work constructively within the European Union, join our northern European neighbours to fully address the challenges and opportunities of our region. Scotland will be a trusted security partner for our allies, play a full role in the Commonwealth, properly carry our burden towards international development and have an ambition to support peace and reconciliation efforts around the world. This contrasts with an ever-growing parochial anti-European agenda at Westminster. Sadly politics at a UK level is massively influenced by the anti-immigration, urophobic agenda of UKIP and large swathes of the Tory party. Their priorities are leaving the EU, walking away from European human rights commitments and ignoring the opening gulf in political priorities and aspirations within Scotland. The time has come for people in Scotland to embrace a better international future and grasp the huge exciting opportunity offered by the independence referendum with a yes vote. Thank you very much.