Alex Salmond pushed aspiration to the fore as the Scottish Government launched its white paper on independence.
The First Minister and his deputy, Nicola Sturgeon, unveiled the 670-page guide at Glasgow Science Centre on Tuesday with hundreds of media crammed in and more people watching a live stream at home.
Titled Scotland’s Future Your Guide To An Independent Scotland, one of the document’s major commitments is to radically improve childcare and help 35,000 more women into work.
It discusses the negotiations that would need to take place with Westminster in the event of a Yes vote next September but expresses, with no doubt, Scotland would keep the pound as part of a Euro-style Sterling zone with the rest of the UK, become a member of the EU and get a seat at the table of NATO. This led critics to claim it was less a blueprint, more a wishlist.To take part in our special independence survey, click hereThe white paper also sought to give assurances on pensions and benefits.
Mr Salmond said: “This guide contains policies which offer nothing less than a revolution in employment and social policy for Scotland, with a transformational change in childcare at the heart of those plans.”
Ms Sturgeon added: “This is an incredibly thorough and detailed guide, which includes 650 questions about an independent Scotland and delivers on the answers.”
To download a PDF of the white paper, click here.
This was how the announcement unfolded: