What did John Swinney’s speech actually say about his plans for Scotland in the coming years? Absolutely nothing - other than “trust me, it will be better with independence.” It’s nonsense. There was no plan, no vision of how to better Scotland’s businesses, growth, jobs and households. His speech was full of the same tired “promise” that independence will make everything better. He knows it’s a great distraction. He celebrated sharing a stage with Sinn Fein… and wondered why it “upset some of our opponents.” Does he really need a history book? He said they would get rid of our nuclear deterrent…but want to stay in NATO (a nuclear alliance!). He listed at length the “free stuff”, conveniently forgetting to mention that the SNP have made Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK to pay for the giveaways. They have no plan for pensions, but are delighted to be able to have a fight with a Westminster about them. Talk about wanting powers over energy…but are still anti-civil nuclear and still can’t say unequivocally they support oil & gas. His ambition and vision for Scotland is based on nothing but a lack of ideas of how to use the vast powers the Scottish government, alongside the economic and fiscal strength and support of the rUK, to make the lives of people across Scotland better today. Because they have no ideas, they need a big distraction. That distraction continues to be the promise of independence.