Good morning and a very Happy New Year to all of you.

I hope you all managed to get a good rest over the festive break – because friends, we’ve got a busy year ahead of us! I spent some much-valued time with my family which was an absolute joy.

Of course, lots of people in Scotland give up time with family over Christmas to help us all.

We’ve had some pretty wild weather in parts of Scotland in the last few days and I am grateful to everyone involved keeping the country moving and keeping people safe.

I also had the privilege last week of visiting the Accident and Emergency Department at Glasgow Royal Infirmary to see at first hand the pressures staff face.

It won’t surprise you to hear I was really inspired by what I saw.

It was busy and staff were working incredibly hard and they were ensuring patients received excellent care.

The public have clearly been following advice on where to go for the best healthcare, so I want to thank everyone for playing their part.

But let’s take this opportunity to thank all those who gave up time over Christmas to help keep our vital public services running and keep us safe and supported.

Before I go any further today, I want to comment on global developments over the weekend.

I am deeply concerned at the situation which has unfolded in Venezuela.

There is no doubt that the Maduro regime was an illegitimate and authoritarian regime.

However, I am clear that all nations must abide by the international rules-based system, and having listened carefully to what has been said by the United States administration in recent days, I cannot see how international law has been respected here.

The international community must ensure that de-escalation, diplomacy, and democracy on the foundations of what follows the events of the weekend.

Friends, we’re here today to talk about the year ahead for Scotland.

There’s a lot we don’t know about, but one thing is already clear: 2026 is shaping up to be a very exciting year.

This summer the Commonwealth Games returns to Glasgow.

We will get to cheer on some of Scotland’s finest athletes as they compete under the Saltire right on our doorstep.

And, it’s a year when Scotland returns to the FIFA men’s World Cup.

The whole nation will come to a standstill in June.

Even more so in July once we’ve seen off Brazil and progressed to the knockout stages.

This is a moment 28 years in the waiting – and I want as many people as possible to share the occasion.

So friends, I can confirm today that I have written to the Privy Council to make the Monday – the day after our opening game – a bank holiday in Scotland.

That will mean that supporters across the country can watch our men’s team in their first World Cup match for almost thirty years, and share in the chance for Scotland to be on the world stage, to attract business development, to create tourism and hospitality interest within the country and to make deep and lasting cultural and sporting connections.

Let’s make 2026 a year where Scotland’s sporting success brings our whole country together.

As we prepare to cheer on Scotland’s sportsmen and women this summer, let us also be inspired by them.

Inspired by what they’ve achieved by giving their very best, by working as a team, by persevering and – above all – by showing belief in what they are capable of.

There’s a lesson there for all of us.

I want 2026 to be a year not just of sporting success – I want it to be a year of opportunity for everyone in Scotland.

We’ve gone through a tough few years as a country.

But despite those tough days, there is a lot to celebrate in Scotland – and I know that we have it within ourselves to overcome the challenges we face.

This party – the national party of Scotland – offers our country the leadership to make us the very best we can be.

And this year, we are going to inspire Scotland like never before. We are going to offer Scotland hope for a better future.

That starts by reminding ourselves of the progress we are making as a country.

Look at our health service.

There was such an inevitable, huge backlog after COVID.

But we start this year with waiting times and waiting lists falling all over Scotland.

GP numbers are up.

And last year, a record number of hip and knee operations were performed.

A lot more still to do, but be in no doubt – the health service in Scotland has turned a corner.

And today we say thank you to Scotland’s magnificent NHS staff who have made that progress possible.

Now look at schools. Last year, young people achieved truly outstanding exam results Literacy and numeracy in schools are both at record levels.

Attendance is rising and teacher numbers are up.

A lot more to do – but Scotland’s young people really are a credit to all of us.

And let us today congratulate our young people on all they are achieving.

And now look at Scotland’s economy.

Think of all the headwinds businesses in Scotland have faced in recent years.

But business investment in Scotland has reached a 20-year high A 20-year high.

And if that’s not enough to celebrate, here’s what two of the world’s leading credit ratings agencies recently found when they looked at Scotland.

They awarded us the same investment rating as the UK.

Higher than some big industrial nations like Japan.

They praised the strength and diversity of Scotland’s economy and its strong institutional framework.

And they cited the Scottish Government’s prudent financial management.

As our National Bard once said, maybe it’s time for us to see ourselves as others see us.

A lot more to do, but when it comes to the economy, let us today send a very clear message – Under the SNP, Scotland is, and always will be, open for business.

Friends, I can say more.

Child poverty in Scotland is falling.

The poverty-related attainment gap in schools is at a record low.

Unemployment is significantly lower than the UK average.

Our renewables industry continues to grow and grow – powering our green economic future.

Scotland is by no means a perfect country.

But by goodness, given everything thrown at us in recent years, Scotland has strong foundations for the future under SNP leadership.

Increasingly the public see that progress.

Here’s what an opinion poll said just before Christmas.

The poll asked people in Scotland which party they trusted most on a range of issues.

Listen to how the SNP’s lead has increased compared to the previous poll in June.

When it comes to which party is most trusted to run Scotland’s NHS, the SNP went from being 6 points ahead to 15 points ahead.

When it comes to managing schools and education, the SNP lead has doubled. When it comes to managing the economy, the SNP lead has more than doubled.

And when it comes to standing up for Scotland, the SNP are now 31 points ahead of our nearest rivals.

That is testament to the SNP’s record in government.

That is testament to the trusted leadership we offer Scotland.

The SNP are getting on with making Scotland a better country – and we’re taking the people of Scotland with us.

Friends, 2026 must be a year where keep up the momentum and build on this progress – and that’s what this SNP Government will be doing.

Over the next few months we’ll begin rolling out a network of walk-in GP clinics across Scotland to make it easier for people to access healthcare.

In the coming days, we’ll set out the next steps to help more families get into affordable housing.

And in our budget next week there will be a major focus on helping households with the cost of living.

We also have an election on May 7th.

That election is not just about the next five years.

It is about taking the next steps for the best possible future.

The chance to empower ourselves to fundamentally address the biggest long-term issues facing us.

We’ve all been on the doorsteps a lot in recent months.

Voters everywhere are telling us the same thing.

The UK economy is broken.

Living standards are flat as a pancake.

Far too many people are living in poverty.

Far too many people are struggling to make ends meet.

Energy costs in energy-rich Scotland are scandalously high.

These are the fundamental issues holding Scotland back.

Anyone telling voters all of this can be addressed with the current powers of the Scottish Parliament is not being with straight with the public.

And the truth is that with each passing day, Westminster becomes ever-more distant from offering solutions to Scotland’s challenges.

The UK is lurching further and further to the right.

Bad decisions like Brexit and the spending cuts from austerity are leaving us all worse off.

And the language in the UK around immigration and asylum has become nothing short of disgraceful.

That is why the vote on May 7th is so important.

In this election, there are those who will seek to obtain power by spreading fear and insecurity.

There are those who will seek to divide us.

And there are those who don’t care about Scotland and instead seek to use the election to further their own interests.

Not the SNP. In this election, we will offer a vision for a very different future for Scotland.

The Scotland we believe in is a modern, progressive, socially democratic Scotland at the heart of Europe.

A country built on the values we share.

Instead of suffering under a broken Westminster economic model…

…an economy built around Scotland’s immense economic strengths – one based on the wellbeing of our people and our planet.

Instead of demonising those who choose to make our country their home…

…welcoming those who enrich our economy, our public services and our society.

Instead of enduring the isolation and economic damage of Brexit…

…rejoining the European Union and returning to the world’s largest single market.

Instead of wasting hundreds of billions of pounds on nuclear weapons…

…Investing that huge resource in Scotland’s future.

And friends, instead of watching as Scotland’s energy wealth flows to Treasury coffers year after year after year

…Putting that immense wealth into the hands of the people in every corner of Scotland.

Bringing down energy bills for everyone and powering Scotland’s future economic success.

That’s what the powers of independence offers Scotland – and that’s why the SNP is offering the chance to vote for independence on May 7th.

Friends,

When we are telling people of the opportunities of independence, we will remind them of this.

None of this is untested.

For countries all around Scotland, it’s all perfectly normal.

Countries with far fewer natural advantages than us – but enjoying far higher living standards.

Let’s at least match their success.

The best thing we can do for Scotland’s health service…

…the biggest step we can take to bring down energy bills across the board…

…and the best way to make daily life more affordable for people…

…is for Scotland to become an independent country.

Friends,

There is hope for a better future for Scotland – but we have to go out and vote for it.

And that time is now.

To become independent, we need a referendum that will be recognised by the international community.

In 2011 Scotland secured a referendum when the SNP won a majority.

It worked in 2011 – and it will work in 2026.

So on May 7th, the SNP’s aim is not just to win – our aim is to win the overall majority that secures Scotland the right to choose our own future.

That is our task. It is an ambitious task.

But friends, ambition is what this party is about.

So let’s get out there and make it happen.

Let 2026 be a year when we rightly celebrate all that we are – but also imagine what we could be.

Where others sow fear and division across Scotland, let us plant the seeds of hope and ambition.

Where others try and tell people in Scotland that they can’t, let us demonstrate that we can.

Let us build a national movement for hope – one that reaches into every community in the land.

Let us build a Scotland all of us can be proud of.

A country all of us can call home.

And a future in which all of us have a stake.

A future made in Scotland.

On May 7th, let’s offer Scotland trusted leadership.

A renewed focus on the priorities of the people.

And a fresh start with independence.

https://www.snp.org/a-national-movement-of-hope-first-minister-john-swinneys-speech/