Billion-pound promises by First Minister in waiting

Sturgeon outlines a vision of ‘a fair society underpinned by a strong economy’.

The battle against poverty will be Nicola Sturgeon’s “personal mission” when she takes over as First Minister this week.

The new SNP leader gave a clear signal that working families and tackling inequality will be at the heart of the party’s 2016 Holyrood manifesto.

Multi-billion pound promises to increase free childcare and NHS spending are early indications of the new approach, a move underlined by plans to give firms which pay the living wage a better chance of winning Scottish Government contracts.

The next few weeks will see Miss Sturgeon give voters a sense of what life will be like under Scotland’s first female First Minister. Her first Cabinet meeting will take place a week on Tuesday and the delayed programme of business for Scottish Government will also be unveiled next week.

Addressing the SNP Conference in Perth yesterday, Miss Sturgeon said she wants to “eradicate the poverty that scars the lives of too many.”

She added: “One million of our citizens 220,000 of our children are living in poverty. In the 14th richest country in the world, that is a scandal. Tackling poverty and inequality and improving opportunity for all will be my personal mission as your First Minister.

“Welfare isn’t the route out of poverty. Nor is it how we break the cycle of deprivation. We will tackle poverty now and in the future with better paid jobs and better life chances for our children.

“Those are the objectives I will carry with me into the office of First Minister.

“In-work poverty is one of the biggest challenges we face as a nation. Half of all children in poverty today live in a household where at least one adult works. People who work hard every day should not struggle to feed their children or make ends meet.”

She added: “The agenda of a fair society underpinned by a strong economy is one that will be the daily business of the party and Government I lead.”

Miss Sturgeon will be formally confirmed in the post on Thursday morning before she tackles First Minister’s Questions.

The first big job she faces will be a mini-cabinet reshuffle. It has been widely tipped that Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill will be axed but there will be other movement with Sturgeon still to appoint a Deputy First Minister.

However, wholesale changes are not expected as it would make too much of a statement about the previous regime.

It is expected Miss Sturgeon will take a less bombastic approach to the job of First Minister, raising the prospect of a more consensual approach to politics in Scotland.

In her speech yesterday the Nationalists leader made an appeal to No voters to back the SNP in next year’s General Election and cemented her pitch to replace Labour as the party to take on the Tories.

She said: “Be in no doubt we are Scotland’s party. I speak to those beyond our party ranks. To No voters as well as Yes voters.

“To those who want a stronger devolved Scottish Parliament, as well as to those who support independence. To those who have never voted SNP in a Westminster election, as well as to those who always do.

“I speak to everyone across our land who wants to see the promise of a powerhouse Scottish Parliament delivered. Let us come together, this time, as one Scotland.

“You’ve got to vote Labour, they’ll say, to keep the Tories out. That is the biggest con in Scottish politics and we must not fall for it again. Scotland did vote Labour at the last General Election, but we still ended up with the Tories.”

Despite savaging Labour, Miss Sturgeon raised the prospect of dealing with the party if they win next year’s General Election without a majority. The SNP spelled out that scrapping Trident would have to form part of any official or unofficial pact.

She said: “Think about how much more we could win for Scotland from a Westminster Labour government if they had to depend on SNP votes. They’d have to deliver real powers for our parliament. They’d have to rethink the endless austerity that impoverishes our children. They’d have to think again about putting a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons on the River Clyde.”

Miss Sturgeon has said she doesn’t plan to use the official residence, Bute House, as much as Alex Salmond preferring to commute from Glasgow.

Being in charge of an enlarged party will pose challenges for Miss Sturgeon. To keep the different factions happy will be hard work, especially those pressing for another referendum soon.

Miss Sturgeon reiterated her commitment to independence but stopped short of promising a referendum anytime soon.

She said: “Our cause remains un-won. But know this it will be won. Scotland will become an independent country.”

Reflecting on the referendum process, Miss Sturgeon said Scotland was a revitalised nation because of the poll, adding: “Our country is alive, engaged, restless for the next stage of our journey”.

She added: “1.6 million Yes votes for independence is an achievement our forebears could only dream of.

“But it becomes our base camp and from here the summit is in sight. The challenge is great, but our determination is even greater. Because the prize is prosperity, equality, opportunity. The prize is independence.”

Miss Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, is SNP chief executive and yesterday the party moved to strengthen its organising committee, which insiders say is a nod towards keeping the couple’s powerbase

in check.