John Swinney has said people are "absolutely desperate to get rid of this awful, awful Conservative government", as he launched the Scottish National Party's election manifesto. The SNP leader added Scotland will win its independence through the "power of democracy" and that Scotland could then become an EU member in its own right for the first time. Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn
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00:00Through the power of democracy that we will win our independence, there is no other way to do it.
00:05We must never lose faith in the power of the democratic voice of the people of Scotland.
00:11But we know that the Westminster system is broken, no matter how much we try to mitigate its impact.
00:19The arbitrary Tory fiscal rules adopted by Labour bake in more eye-watering cuts,
00:25£18 billion of cuts. The SNP manifesto argues for new, sensible fiscal rules that will end the cuts,
00:36reverse the £1.3 billion cut to Scotland's capital budget, and invest in public services,
00:43starting with the health service. In an independent Scotland, we could be back in the EU
00:49for the first time as an equal member in our own right. We would be part of the huge single market,
00:56which by population is seven times the size of the UK. We would enjoy once again the benefits
01:03of European freedom of movement, vital for so many Scottish businesses. Our young people would
01:10have the opportunity again to study and to work freely across Europe, and in turn we would welcome
01:17our fellow Europeans to Scotland. People are desperate to get rid of the Tories,
01:21absolutely desperate to get rid of this awful, awful Conservative government, and they are
01:29considering, and I put it no further than that, considering voting Labour. But I find it my duty
01:35to say to people, be careful what you wish for, because the Labour Party is going to pick up
01:41where the Tories left off with spending cuts and that will be a disastrous outcome for Scotland
01:46as a consequence of this election, without SNP MPs in office to protect the people of Scotland
01:52from Labour cuts that will fall hard on the heels of Tory cuts.
01:56Just let me say, one of the things you said in your question, Simon, was that I claim to have,
02:02I claim there is a mandate for independence. I don't claim that. That was what the people voted
02:08for in 2021, and it should be put into effect. Thank you all very much, and we'll see more of
02:13you on the campaign trail. Thank you very much.