Keith brown’s address to conference #snp24 — scottish national party

Friends, it is my pleasure to welcome everyone to our 90th annual SNP conference. A lot has happened since we last gathered in Aberdeen and I want to begin my remarks by paying tribute to

Humza Yousaf. Throughout his leadership, Humza conducted himself with the utmost grace and integrity. He demonstrated the values of inclusion and international solidarity that this party

prides itself on. In particular, his passionate advocacy for peace in Gaza during what were times of unimaginable torment for him and his family showed the mark of the man and demonstrated

the true leadership which was so sadly lacking from the Westminster parties. I know that Humza will continue to make an important contribution to the SNP and the cause of independence, and I

want to thank him for all that he did for our party and our country. Conference – we now have a new party Leader, John Swinney. A man of unparalleled experience in Scottish politics, who

has stepped up a time when his party and his country needed him most. A man who has dedicated his entire adult life to the cause we all hold so dear. I can think of no one better to be

leading the SNP into our next chapter. And as we face the challenge of a renewed onslaught of Westminster austerity, there is absolutely no one I would trust more to stand up for Scotland

and to demonstrate the leadership we need to defend Scotland’s values. This past year has tested our resolve and our commitment to our shared cause. We’ve faced significant challenges within

our Party over the last 12 to 18 months. In July, we had to bid farewell to too many dedicated ambassadors of independence, along with the hardworking staff who supported them. I want to

extend my deepest gratitude to each and every one of them. I look forward to continuing our journey towards independence together, in whatever capacity they choose. Delegates, in the

aftermath of the General Election, John Swinney has ensured the SNP has been thoughtfully discussing the challenges we face as a party. He has facilitated discussions with our members, the

length and breadth of Scotland. We’ve spoken with activists, candidates and reached out to every single member in our party to listen and learn from everyone’s experiences, and to share

ideas about how we should move forward together. I am deeply grateful to everyone in the party who has engaged over this time, and I was delighted that so many of you contributed in the

culmination of this discussion this morning. And now, as a party, it is time for us to move forward – learning lessons from the past, but focussed, relentlessly, on Scotland’s future.

Because there has never been a more important time for the SNP to be standing up for Scotland. Our opponents would have you believe that the SNP and the cause of independence are over. They

suggest it’s time to pack up and go home. The same people who claimed that winning 56 or 48 out of 59 Westminster seats, or securing 63 or 64 seats in Holyrood, weren’t sufficient mandates,

now tell us that a party not achieving a majority of seats must accept defeat and abandon hope. These are rules that seem to apply only to us—does anyone remember these voices calling for

Labour to abandon their cause – if they still have one – when they won only 1 out of 59 seats, or for the Tories to give up when they won 0 seats in Scotland? It’s absurd. Let’s not forget

that the same flawed First Past the Post system that benefited us in 2015 has now given Labour their ‘jackpot,’ with 37 out of 56 seats despite only 35% of the vote, while the SNP secured

nearly 30% of the vote but far fewer seats. The idea of independence has faced bigger setbacks in the past With our Party’s finances stabilized and growing, our membership still larger than

all of the other party’s in Scotland combined, and with the greatest number of MSPs in our National Parliament. I predict we will regroup, redouble our efforts, and continue our mission to

achieve Scotland’s independence – when we get knocked down, we get back up again. Now, we face a Labour Party in power, claiming victory on a message of ‘change.’ Yet, tens of thousands of

our pensioners are about to experience the harsh reality of that ‘change.’ Stripping away the Winter Fuel Allowance while allowing a 10% increase in the energy price cap condemns many to a

winter of freezing misery. Labour’s promise of ‘change’ was a lie. Anas Sarwar told us to read his lips when he vowed no tax hikes, no more austerity — but we see now that those were empty

words  – and as we approach the 2026 election, I believe Mr Sarwar will come to regret his part in deceiving the Scottish people. Labour under Keir Starmer is doubling down on failed Tory

austerity. The black hole in their finances, predicted by economists, the IFS, John Swinney and even the dogs in the street has now been admitted to. Rather than the first year of a new

government, we’re about to enter the 15th year of government defined by David Cameron and George Osborne. This isn’t what people voted for. Those who hoped to vote out the Tories were

deceived by Labour’s illusory ‘change.’ Is this the endless cycle of misery Scotland must endure? Alternating between Tory and Labour bouts of austerity, all while being isolated in a broken

Brexit Britain? It doesn’t have to be this way. We can create a Scotland that rejoins the largest market in the world, the EU, where our pensioners live with dignity, not fear. A Scotland

where our abundant natural resources—once squandered oil billions, soon to be our renewable energy wealth—fund strong public services and decent wages. Conference, the SNP is showing the

people of Scotland this every single day. In government are using all the powers we have to transform the lives of people in this country every single day. The evidence is clear. Since the

people of Scotland put their trust in us and entered government in 2007, we have provided: Free university tuition. A massive expansion of free childcare Higher pay for nurses, teachers, and

other key public sector workers And the Scottish Child Payment which is contributing to keeping around 100,000 children in Scotland out of poverty. All of these policies improving lives

here in Scotland are because of choices the SNP have made. The SNP is using the limited powers of devolution to make life better for people and build a better Scotland but this ambition is

constantly held back because we are suffering the consequences of not being independent. So the question persists: ‘How do we achieve independence?’ Unionists ask this with a sneer, hoping

that they have diverted Scotland into a constitutional dead-end. They ignore the election results and mandates they dislike, pretending that Scots are bound by an arbitrary ‘once in a

generation’ rule that they themselves cannot define. Labour and Tory alike claim the right to decide when, or if, Scotland can vote on its future—spoiler alert: they’ve decided it can’t.

They claim to support the principle of ‘self-determination,’ but how can a country truly determine its own future when the right to vote on that future is denied by another? This question

also comes from those who passionately support independence and yearn for the opportunity to vote for it. How do we achieve it in the face of the UK’s undemocratic obstinacy? Friends, this

question strikes at the heart of our campaign for independence—and it will be, in my view, central to our success in the 2026 election. We must first acknowledge Westminster’s stance.

They’ve been clear: neither Labour nor Tory will ‘allow’ the people of Scotland to choose their own future. Fine, let’s take them at their word. But let’s also take the decision out of their

hands. What higher power exists than Westminster? What stands supreme over the UK Supreme Court? The answer is simple: the people of Scotland, the sovereign people of Scotland. In 2026, the

people of Scotland must know that supporting the SNP, or those standing on our shared platform, means endorsing the right of our Party to advocate for independence. It means backing a

‘Convention’ of all democratically elected representatives—in the Scottish Parliament, at Westminster, in our Councils—who support Scotland’s right to choose. This Convention will unite with

every willing element of civic Scotland, committed to the principle of self-determination. We need to demonstrate this support through every democratic means available, and we will activate

the growing international backing for Scotland’s right to self-determination. Through this Convention, we will seize every opportunity to advance the mandate provided by the majority of

representatives elected to Scotland’s national parliament. Delegates, it has never been more important for us to persuade the majority of the people of Scotland of the merits of

independence. At the election, it was clear that we did not convince enough people that independence was their immediate priority which would improve their lives. It’s up to us to change

that. When Keir Starmer says ‘things are going to get worse”, he says it like it’s inevitable. Conference, we know it is not. It is a choice. A choice the Tories made. And a choice Labour is

also making. Keir Starmer has said that the UK has gone to ruin – but delegates, Scotland does not have to live amongst the rubble. There is an alternative future available to us. That

future is independence – and delegates, it is up to us in this room to get out there and make the case, together, to our fellow citizens. The campaign for independence is not over. It has

moved on to its next phase. Let’s commit today to doing exactly that. Thank you.