ALEX Salmond will tell the SNP conference today that the clarity and popularity of the independence message will deliver success in the referendum on Scotland's constitutional future.
But he will also say that short of full independence the “devolution max” option is a “legitimate proposal” and say he is willing to include it as a second option on the ballot paper.
In recent weeks Labour figures such as Edinburgh North and Leith MSP Malcolm Chisholm and former First Minister Henry McLeish have said the Calman Commission proposals do not go far enough and the party should consider the extra powers devolution max would deliver such as fiscal responsibility.
Mr Salmond will say: “Fiscal responsibility, financial freedom, real economic powers is a legitimate proposal. It could allow control of our own resources, competitive business tax and fair personal taxation. All good, all necessary, but not good enough.
“Trident nuclear missiles would still be on the River Clyde, we could still be forced to spill blood in illegal wars such as Iraq and we would still be excluded from the councils of Europe and the world. These things only independence can bring.”
In the main speech of the conference this afternoon, Mr Salmond will say: “We have the talent, resources and ingenuity. The only limitations are our imagination and ambition. So give Scotland the tools, put the people of Scotland in charge and see our nation flourish as never before.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article