 The next item of business is a statement by Nicola Sturgeon on the outcome of the UK general election. The First Minister will take questions at the end of her statement and there should therefore be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister, about 10 minutes. Thank you very much indeed, Presiding Officer. I'm grateful for the opportunity to make a statement on the outcome of the UK general election. Firstly, let me take the opportunity to congratulate all those elected or indeed re-elected to serve as members of Parliament. It is the greatest honour to be elected to represent our fellow citizens in Parliament, whether here in the Scottish Parliament or in the House of Commons. It's also, of course, an enormous responsibility and I know that all those taking up seats for the first time will be feeling a combination of pride, excitement and trepidation. I wish them all well as they get down to work on behalf of their constituents. My good wishes also go to those who lost seats last week. My party may have won the election on Thursday, but we also know from past experience what it feels like to lose. So while we may celebrate our success, we take no pleasure in the personal laws that defeated candidates will be feeling. I wish each of them and their families the very best of luck in whatever they choose to do in the months and years ahead. The result last week was of truly historic proportions. The SNP now has the honour of representing 56 out of 59 seats in Scotland in the north, south, east and west of our country. We secured 50 per cent of all votes cast. 1.4 million people in total voted SNP. The largest number of votes that any party has won in Scotland ever. The trust that the Scottish people have placed in the SNP to represent the country's interests at Westminster is unprecedented. We will now work each and every day with determination and with humility to repay that trust in full. I also want to make it clear that we will also work and work just as hard to win the trust of those who did not vote for the SNP last Thursday. As Scotland's Government and as the largest party in Holyrood and now the largest Scottish party at Westminster, we recognise the unique obligation that we have to reach out to and speak for all of Scotland. I pledge today that we will make Scotland's voice heard. We will stand up for the progressive policies that we put right at the heart of the election campaign, but we will also seek in everything that we do to build unity in our country. There is one final point that I want to make today about the nature of our task at Westminster. I spoke often about my desire to build a progressive alliance at Westminster to lock the Conservatives out of office. While Scotland voted for that change, Labour failed to win sufficient support in England and I regret that. Our determination to work with others of progressive opinion across the political spectrum in and out of Parliament remains undiminished. We will build alliances to argue for the protection of the vulnerable against deeper welfare cuts. We will seek to defend our human rights protections, to halt further privatisation of the national health service and to safeguard the UK's place in Europe. A clear majority of people across the UK did not vote Conservative last Thursday and they deserve a strong voice in Parliament. I promise today that the SNP and the Scottish Government will seek to be that voice. We will be a constructive, principled, determined and effective opposition to the majority Tory Government and we will seek to be so on behalf of people not just in Scotland but people right across the UK. The scale of the mandate that the people of Scotland gave to the SNP last week does ensure a much stronger voice for Scotland at Westminster. It also strengthens the hand of this Scottish Government in seeking to secure the very best deal for Scotland from Westminster, which in turn strengthens our ability as a Government to deliver for Scotland. Yesterday, I visited the emergency department of Edinburgh Royal Infirmary to thank our front-line NHS staff for the hard work that they are doing to improve A&E waiting times and to reaffirm our commitment to support our NHS to make the further improvements that are needed. The delivery of healthcare and other public services is, of course, the responsibility of my Government and we will rightly be judged on our performance. It stands to reason, does it not, that we can do more to support and protect our public services if our budget is not being cut year on year by Westminster. It is for those very practical reasons that we put an end to austerity at the very heart of the election campaign and we will now use our mandate to put an end to austerity at the very heart of the Westminster agenda. I spoke to the Prime Minister by telephone on Friday. Yesterday, I wrote to him to seek a meeting at the earliest possible opportunity and we are looking to meet later this week. Let me be clear that public spending and the protection of Scotland's budget will be key issues on the agenda when we do meet. The issue of more powers for the Scottish Parliament must also form part of our discussions. I want again today to pay tribute to Lord Smith of Kelvin. The work that he and his commission did provides us with a strong starting point for the further devolution of power to this Parliament that is so necessary if we are to grow our economy faster, support more people into well-paid work and lift children out of poverty. The Scottish Government welcomed the proposals that Lord Smith brokered, but we have also been consistent in our view that those proposals do not go far enough. The outcome of the election makes abundantly clear that this view is shared by a significant proportion of the Scottish electorate. If the Prime Minister and his Government mean what they say about respecting the outcome of the election in Scotland, they must now agree with us a process that looks again at the Smith commission proposals with a view to extending devolution even further. That must be a process that is made here in Scotland and one that involves wider Scottish society. As my party's manifesto made clear, we believe that the Scottish Parliament should move to full financial responsibility. However, as a matter of priority, we want to see devolution of power's over-employment policy, including the minimum wage, welfare, business taxes, national insurance and equality policy, the powers we need to create jobs, grow revenues and live people out of poverty. It is such a package of priority, job creating, poverty, tackling powers that we will now seek to build support for and agreement on. Let me say this sincerely. I very much hope that Scottish Labour will now become part of this growing consensus. This morning I met the STUC and they agreed to join us in calling for powers over the minimum wage, trade union and employment law, health and safety law, equality legislation and for greater responsibility on welfare to be devolved as a matter of priority to this Parliament. For Scottish Labour to want to leave these powers in the hands of a UK Labour Government was perhaps understandable, albeit not a position I agreed with. For Labour to argue that these powers should remain in the hands of a majority Tory Government with no mandate in Scotland would be simply inexplicable to most people across our country. I genuinely hope that Labour will now think again and join us in arguing for a powerhouse Scottish Parliament equipped with the powers we need to build economic prosperity and foster greater social justice. Last issue I want to address today is one that was ironically talked about much more by our opponents during this campaign than it was by the SNP, the issue of independence. It is no secret to anyone that the SNP supports independence we always will, but I made clear during the campaign that this election was not about independence. It was about making Scotland's voice heard at Westminster. I said clearly to people across our country that I would not take a vote for the SNP as an endorsement of independence or of a second referendum. Let me be absolutely clear that I stand by that. There will only be another referendum on independence if the people of Scotland vote in a future Scottish Parliament election to have one. That is democracy. Of course it cuts both ways. I cannot impose a referendum against the will of the Scottish people, but nor can David Cameron rule out a referendum against the will of the people. It will be the people who decide. What happens to public opinion on this question in the years ahead will depend not just on what the SNP and the Scottish Government do, but also on the respect shown to the decisions that the people of Scotland have made. How David Cameron, his Government and the Westminster system choose to respond to the message that Scotland has sent will be crucial to how we move forward. It is worth reflecting that last week's election did not just result in record high support for the SNP in Scotland. It also resulted in record low support for the Conservatives in Scotland. It was the lowest share of the vote won by the Tories in Scotland since 1865. It seems to me that the Conservatives now have a clear choice. They can ignore the voice of the Scottish people and carry on regardless as if nothing has happened and let people draw their own conclusions about the ability of Westminster to respond to Scottish opinion. Or alternatively, they can choose to demonstrate that Westminster does listen and that it is capable of serving Scotland better. For our part, we will work in good faith to get that better deal for Scotland. We will be constructive and seek agreement with the UK Government on issues where we can find common ground. We will always act in the best interests of all of the people of Scotland. We ask people to vote for us in this election to make Scotland's voice heard at Westminster. People placed their trust in us last week to make Scotland's voice heard loudly and clearly. We now intend in the House of Commons and here in the Scottish Government to get on with that job on behalf of all of the people we are so honoured to serve. I thank the First Minister for early sight of the statement, which I will reflect on in a second. First of all, I take this opportunity to congratulate the First Minister on a remarkable result for her party. Whilst her campaign was led from the top with dignity and fflair, I am sure that she would agree that the hard work and dedication of activists and volunteers cannot go unnoticed. In fact, one sentiment that we can share across this whole chamber is that pride in our democratic process, where people do not just stand up for their beliefs, but they make the case for them in town halls, on doorsteps, in cafes and in workplaces, and then the people decide. They decided to send a strong team of SNP MPs to Westminster, and I wish each and every one of them well. The First Minister referenced human rights protections in her speech. Can I assure her that these benches will do everything we can to oppose any attempt that Tories make to scrap the Human Rights Act. Enacted in the early days of a fresh Labour Government full of hope and aspiration for the future, the act embodies the civil and political rights which are fundamental to any liberal democracy. A threat to the Human Rights Act in my view and the view of these benches is a threat to those very rights, and it must be stopped. Secondly, and in closing, I have met and spoken with a number of constituents this week who are fearful of Tory government plans to further attack disability benefits. From mum's caring for disabled children to adults with long-term conditions, there is fear and trepidation in the air. What reassurances can the First Minister give those individuals that, whilst there is no question that she will give voice to those fears, that she will act here in this Parliament to protect them as well? First Minister. I thank Kezia Dugdale for her very gracious remarks. I can also agree with her absolutely in what she said about the efforts of party activists, the length and breadth of our country, and activists in all parties. I know for my part the SNP victory last Thursday was down to the hard work of tens, of thousands of candidates, activists, supporters and members right across our country, and I want to place on record very publicly today my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of them. I can also say to Kezia Dugdale that I welcome her comments on opposition to repeal of the Human Rights Act. I do think that this is one example of, I hope many examples, where Labour and the SNP in that progressive alliance that I spoke about can work together against some of the wrong-headed measures being put forward by the Conservative Government. Any suggestion that we should move back from human rights protection I think is appalling and completely wrong, and let me say on behalf of the Scottish Government that we will do everything within our power to ensure that vital human rights protections remain in Scotland and remain undiminished, and I welcome the support of the Scottish Labour Party in that respect. And also on threat to the support that people with disabilities rely so heavily on. I think of the mainstream parties in this chamber, and I will be corrected if I'm wrong on this, but I think we were the only party to stand very firmly and oppose the £3 billion cut coming from the Conservative Government to the support of disabled people across our country. In Westminster and here in this Parliament we will do everything we can to oppose that. Disabled people should not be paying the price of balancing the books they deserve, the support that they need to live independent lives. We will also continue as well as opposing these measures in the House of Commons using the new voice that we have in the House of Commons we will continue in this place to do everything we can to mitigate against the welfare cuts that we so passionately disagree with but let me say this and it goes back to what I said in my statement. Rather than us simply standing here in this Parliament trying to mitigate measures from a Westminster Conservative Government I say this in all sincerity to Kezia Dugdale let us join together in saying put the welfare powers in the hands of this Parliament and this Government so that we can stop the attacks in the first place. Members who wish to ask a question of the First Minister should press request to speak. I thank the First Minister for advance notice of her statement and congratulate the Scottish National Party for their performance at the general election. I will add that congratulations to those I have already expressed to David Cameron for managing what no Prime Minister has done since 1955 in increasing both the number of votes and seats that are still already in office. In Scotland we did not manage to add to the seat total we did contribute to the total of votes with 434,000 fellow Scots voting for the Conservative Party the most at any election since devolution. I am naturally delighted that the Conservatives have been returned to government to finish the job of an economic recovery which today's figures notwithstanding has already seen 175,000 more Scots in work over the last five years. Our goal is to reach full employment so that anyone in Scotland who wants a job knows that there is one there for them. In her statement the First Minister revealed a shopping list of requests including over business taxation and measures. Can I ask her what level of support from Scotland's business organisations did the Smith commission receive when it examined this very issue just a few short months ago? First Minister. I really hope that notwithstanding my opposition to the Conservative Government and I congratulated David Cameron on Friday it's no secret I did not want him to continue to be Prime Minister but he won the election and I congratulated him on that but notwithstanding that position I really do hope that in the days following this statement we have perhaps a different tone struck from Ruth Davidson. I said in my statement that the Tories scored their lowest percentage share of the vote in 1965. That is a fact. The SNP scored a record high share of the vote. What that means is that whether it is on more powers over business taxis or welfare powers or whether it is over continued austerity which people in Scotland have voted against I say this very directly to Ruth Davidson and her colleagues in the UK Government it cannot be business as usual because if you simply turn your face against what people in Scotland have debated support for them what you will say to people in Scotland is that Westminster cannot listen does not listen and is incapable of responding. Let's have the discussion about how we want to build on Smith. Ruth Davidson will put forward her views on business taxis I will put forward my views on these matters and others but let us move from this starting point the people of Scotland must be listened to I begin with and I hope it is the one Ruth Davidson will too. Kevin Stewart followed by Willa Rennie I am pleased to hear the First Minister say that SNP MPs will do everything to halt the plan £3 billion cut to disability benefits. Does the First Minister agree with me that the best way to stop the erosion of the welfare state is to devolve all social security to this Parliament? I do want to see social security powers devolved to this Parliament it is no secret and I am on record saying this before that the proposals put forward and broken by Lord Smith do not go far enough they would leave the vast bulk of decisions and the vast bulk of the budget over social security in the hands of Westminster. In a debate between politicians this can often sound as if it is an esoteric academic debate about where power lies this is very real for hundreds of thousands of people across our country there is no difference for disabled people over whether they get the support they need to live independent lives or not now having power in the hands of this Parliament does not put into the hands of this Parliament a magic wand tough decisions have to be taken but we will at least know we are taking these decisions with our values our priorities absolutely uppermost in our agenda that is where decision making should lie so I hope I am not expecting to get agreement today on this from the Conservatives but I do hope in the not too distant future we can form an alliance with Scottish Labour and others in this chamber to say that welfare powers the decisions over support for the most vulnerable in our society should not be in the hands of a majority Tory Government with one MP in Scotland they should be in the hands of the democratically elected Parliament and Government of Scotland Will there be any followed by Jackie Baillie I congratulate Nicola Sturgeon on her party's election victory last week it was a hard result for us we've got lessons to learn which we are absolutely determined to learn but this Parliament has got a job to do every single day of the week just this week police with guns on the streets of Stirling mental health services falling shot, unemployment on the rise accident and emergency times missed for months on end yet this First Minister spends parliamentary time with this self-congratulatory party statement that tells us absolutely nothing Order see they don't like it so can I ask the First Minister can I ask the First Minister when she is going to give us a statement on even just one of these important issues that she's got responsibility for First Minister I'll be standing here in this very place tomorrow at 12 noon to answer First Minister's questions as I do every Thursday at 12 noon I'm not sure if Willie Rennie's got a question tomorrow the strength of his party is such that he doesn't get one every week but that is hardly my fault I think it's really important for this Parliament to reflect on the result of the UK election and to reflect on how we use what people in Scotland said last Thursday to seek to influence the decisions that the Westminster Government takes why do I think that is important because the decisions that the Westminster Government takes are directly on the ability of this Government and this Parliament to serve the people of Scotland so I make no apology for saying that I want to use the mandate given to my party by the Scottish people to say to the UK Government that austerity must stop and that this Parliament must be empowered to serve the people of our country better. The day-to-day work of this Government never stops Willie Rennie mentioned accident and emergency figures and as I said yesterday when I visited Edinburgh Royal to speak first hand to the front-line staff delivering accident and emergency services yesterday there is work to do but yesterday's figures were the best performance since we began publishing weekly statistics. Let us all thank our NHS staff for the work that they do and be determined to support them to do even further and part of that support in my view, Presiding Officer is me as First Minister standing up and saying loudly and clearly I do not want to see further cuts on this Parliament. We have very little time for questions so can I ask the questions that are brief as possible and for my part I will do my best to call as many members as possible. Jackie Bailey for by Christine Grahame. Can I start by congratulating the First Minister on the scale of the SNP victory on Thursday last week. I want to ask the First Minister about national insurance and I know she wants it to be devolved in order that it can be reduced to create jobs. Can I ask whether the First Minister will publish an assessment of the scale of potential job creation that is envisaged and the flip side of the coin what impact it would have on pensions currently linked to national insurance so we can take a considered view of the proposal based on the fullest possible evidence. First Minister. Well as Jackie Bailey knows there is no such direct link there in terms of national insurance and the payment of pensions but that I will put to one side. I will be very happy as the debate about what further powers should be devolved and I hope that following my meeting with the Prime Minister that is a debate that starts in earnest with a proper process around that that allows as many voices and people in Scottish society to be involved as possible and as we go through that process I'll be very happy to publish analysis and assessment and evidence that makes the case that the more powers over job creation the more powers over business taxes the more power over welfare we have in the hands of this Parliament the more successful we can be growing our economy, growing revenues and lifting people out of poverty. Christine Grahame. In building alliances in particular regarding human rights and I'm heartened by the commitment and tenor of Kezia Dugdale's remarks on this issue can I ask the First Minister given the announcement by Theresa May about shipping desperate refugees back to the awfulness of the countries of origin will the First Minister when building alliances and human rights protection across the two parliaments also commit to building that alliance and reach out to the wider UK community? First Minister. I said during the election campaign I wanted SNP voices in the House of Commons to be voices for progressive change and the kind of progressive change we will argue for in Scotland is progressive change that I believe many people across the rest of the UK also want to see so we will continue to seek to reach out with a hand of friendship to build alliances with people of light mind across Scotland but across these islands for the kind of change we want to see I've already made comments about the human rights act I would hope that it will be possible to build an alliance in the House of Commons as well as in wider society against the repeal of the human rights act I think ordinary people across the country are appalled at the idea we would roll back on human rights protection you know these are vital protections for people in all walks of life in many everyday issues and we should work hard to protect them so I will and I say this very clearly the SNP will seek to work with others across all parties and people in no parties to build alliances for the kind of change we want to see and to build alliances in opposition to the kinds of changes coming from the Conservative Government that we don't want to see Iain Gray, followed by Patrick Harvie Had a Labour Government being elected last week it would have abolished the bedroom tax to the United Kingdom and devolved housing benefit to Scotland too I know the First Minister would have supported that instead the bedroom tax is likely to be increased and extended we worked together before to protect Scottish households from the impact of the bedroom tax will the First Minister undertake to work with us again to maintain that mitigation in the face of any extension of this iniquitous measure irrespective of any debate on where powers lie First Minister Yes I will we have mitigated the impact of the bedroom tax and we will continue to do as much as we possibly can within the powers and resources we've got to mitigate the impact of welfare cuts on the most vulnerable in our society and I very much hope that that will be something around which we can unite but you know what and I've said this in this chamber before I didn't come into politics to simply mitigate I came into politics and I want to be First Minister and continue to be First Minister so that we can be the author of the changes that we want to see and the author of the kind of society we want to live in so yes, let's work together to mitigate the bedroom tax but for goodness sake let's also work together to get the power over the bedroom tax out of the hands of the Tories into the hands of this Parliament Patrick Harvie, Paul Vouching Brodie Thank you and can I add my congratulations to those who were successful and commiserations to those who lost their seats in this election I'm glad that the First Minister chose to have an early meeting with the STUC given the very direct threat to the right to strike which is coming from the new UK Government it's ironic that that Government has formed with the direct backing of fewer than one in four of those eligible to vote despite the nature of the proposals they're bringing forward on the right to strike Does the First Minister agree that even if there was a popular mandate for this policy there is no justification for this direct assault on the right to strike of people in Scotland or elsewhere and if the STUC's proposals for workplace devolution come back on the agenda will she ensure that such proposals have no future in Scotland? First Minister I very much agree with that and gave an assurance to the STUC this morning that they would have the backing of the Scottish Government and indeed the backing of my party in resisting any erosion of trade union rights I don't believe that is the priority in Scotland I don't believe it's what a majority of people in Scotland want to see efforts being spent on instead I want as First Minister to work with STUC to make sure that we're doing what needs to be done to increase productivity to extend fair work to get more people onto the living wage to deal with exploitative zero hours contracts these are the priorities we should be focusing on and we need to work together on those priorities so I will and this Government will stand against any attempt by the Conservative majority Government to crack down on trade union rights and I hope perhaps with the exception of the Scottish Conservatives though I live in hope we will be united in this chamber in saying no to those kinds of attacks Chick Brodie followed by Ken Macintosh Does the First Minister agree that if the Prime Minister is successful and brings forward an early European in-out referendum then a double majority must be required to ensure Scotland is not taken out of the EU against its will First Minister Yes I do agree with that the indications are although we'll have to wait and see how solid these indications are that we might see an in-out EU referendum brought forward from 2017 to perhaps as early as next year let me make very clear the SNP opposes an in-out referendum but if there is to be one then we think it is absolutely unacceptable and indefensible for any constituent part of the UK to be put in the position of being taken out of the European Union against its will so we will if there is a EU referendum bill placed before the House of Commons our MPs will lay amendments to that bill to introduce what Chick Brodie rightly described as the double majority rule in order for the UK to come out of the European Union enough simply for the UK as a whole to vote for that each and every member of what remember we were told was a family of nations must also do so and I would hope that we would have support for that from every single quarter of this chamber Ken Macintosh, followed by Stuart McMillan I also begin by thanking those who won the right to represent Scotland in the Westminster Parliament and also thank those who stood down for all their public service to this country there are clearly going to be areas where we continue to disagree but the election revealed areas of agreement too including the need to tackle food poverty in Scotland the First Minister believes that we could do more if we had more powers in this Parliament but does she also agree with me that we could do more using the powers that already exist in this Parliament and if so what actions does she intend to take over the next few years I echo Ken Macintosh's comments about those who stood down I commented on those who won and those who lost but I think that it's a point well made to say that there were MPs who didn't stand for re-election and we wish them well too In the interest of trying to genuinely build agreement I agree with Ken Macintosh we stand in the disagreements we have across this chamber I do believe that the record of this Government stands close scrutiny in using every power and resource we have to seek to mitigate the impact that we have had coming at us from Westminster every year just now and the finance secretary will correct me if I am getting this figure wrong we spend over £100 million mitigating the impact of welfare cuts and we will continue to do that and we will continue to look for ways in which we can do that further and better as part of that investment we are investing money in supporting food banks and in supporting efforts to tackle food poverty and I will always listen to anybody who comes to me with ideas better and more effectively I will always caution this point there is a limit to what we can do to mitigate UK Government welfare cuts from within the fixed budget that we have and everybody has to understand and realise that so yes we will do what we can to mitigate but I will always continue to argue that the most effective thing we can do is get the powers out of the hands of Westminster and into the hands of this Parliament Stuart McMillan Thank you A number of third sector organisations including trade unions have said that the Smith commission proposals fall far short of their aspirations for Scotland and I welcome the agreement signed today between the Scottish Government and the STUC Does the First Minister consider that today's agreement goes beyond the Smith commission proposals which should now be seen as a starting point for more powers as she indicated in her statement? Yes I do agree The Smith commission proposals were published and members will recall that the STUC and I hope I'm not putting words in their mouth were one of the biggest critics of the proposals as they stood and said that they did not go far enough and the agreement that we have reached with the STUC today Scottish Government and the STUC don't agree on absolutely everything in terms of where we should go next in devolution but there are key areas where we do agree and we have agreed to jointly make these calls and all of these areas would take us on the starting point of the Smith commission proposals I think there are two points that when I meet the Prime Minister hopefully later this week there are two points we need to establish. Firstly, is there an agreement on the part of the UK Government to move beyond the Smith commission proposals I think there has to be but I need that confirmation from the Prime Minister and if there is that agreement as I hope there is and I think people in Scotland will be appalled if there is not then what is the process we then put in place to decide and determine the extent to which and the areas in which we move beyond the proposals of the Smith commission now? That process has to be robust it has to be transparent it has to be made in Scotland and it needs to give organisations like the STUC and other civic society organisations the opportunity to input their view so these will be the issues I take up with the Prime Minister and I have no doubt notwithstanding Willie Rennie's objections that I will report back to Parliament Stuart Stevenson, then finally Jameedy Would the First Minister agree that it would be a democratic affront if any politician rejected by the electorate were to return to Westminster by appointment to the House of Lords and in particular given that the Liberals have 101 members they are more even than the total number in the US Senate that now that they are down to 8 it is time for some 80 or 90 of the existing ones to consider resignation First Minister I would go slightly further I think the House of Lords is a democratic outrage in and of itself I look forward to the day which may not come within this time of Parliament now that the Tories are back in office but I look forward to the day when the House of Lords is no more because people with no democratic mandate should not be writing the laws of our land but to directly address Stuart Stevenson's point yes I do think it would be deeply democratically wrong for defeated MPs at this election to find their way back to Westminster via a seat in the House of Lords now my party is in a perhaps a unique position there that we didn't lose any seats in the election last year so we don't have defeated MPs and we don't appoint to the House of Lords anyway but I would hope Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats would each give a commitment that they will not seek to get round the democratic will of the Scottish people in that way and give a clear commitment that no defeated candidate from the election last week will find their way into the House of Lords Thank you When the First Minister meets with the Prime Minister will she make it clear that it is not acceptable for the UK Government to seek to repatriate powers from the European Union to the House of Commons while acting on the roadblock to the legitimate transfer of the further additional significant powers which this country was promised in the closing days of the referendum, powers which the people of Scotland have now demanded so loudly and so clearly in the election result last week First Minister As I think I made clear in my opening statement I will be seeking to have that conversation very directly with the Prime Minister Let us be quite calm and rational about this We have our differences of opinion We will not all agree on what powers should come to this Parliament but one thing I do think we can say very clearly is that there is now substantial opinion in Scotland that the Smith commission proposals however well meaning and well brokered they were do not go far enough so that's the first point we need to establish then as I say we need to put that process in place to determine how we go forward I will end with this simple point and it's a point I've made several times already this week The Conservatives, led by David Cameron simply cannot act as if it is business as usual in Scotland They cannot carry on as if nothing changed in Scotland last week because everything changed in Scotland last week and Westminster must listen That ends the statement from the First Minister Before we go to the next side of business Can I just remind members that we are probably going to have to drop at least one speaker from the next debate because I've allowed all the questioners on this one