"Delegates, 'the SNP are on a very dangerous tack at the moment.'

We are "trying to build up a situation in Scotland where the services are manifestly better than south of the Border."

Not my words, but the view from Lord George Foulkes in a recent BBC radio interview.

And he was asked: "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," he replied. "But they are doing it deliberately . . . "

Yes, delegates, our approach to government has been rumbled. He has found us out! We are DELIBERATELY making the lives of the people of Scotland better.

Of course Lord George Foulkes thinks we are only doing this to upset the people of England. No George we are doing it to benefit the people of Scotland.

Of course for some people south of the border, it has made them ask why their government isn't acting in a similar way.  For others, like the people of Berwick, it has made them wish they were back in Scotland!

Yes, there is enthusiasm south of the border for the actions we have taken in our first year of government, but it is nothing compared to the enthusiasm here in Scotland. Or as one Labour Councillor – a LABOUR COUNCILLOR - in Glasgow put it "GOD BLESS THE SNP GOVERNMENT"

Under these circumstances it is little wonder that Labour's Scottish leader has run out of things to say – or even questions to ask!

Conference - How things have changed in just 12 months for our nation.  We have a government that puts Scotland first.  An administration that doesn't shut up for London but stands up for Scotland.  A government that is focused first and foremost on creating a more successful Scotland.

AND HOW HAVE WE DISCHARGED THIS RESPONSIBILITY ON THE THINGS THAT MATTER TO OUR PEOPLE?

We have SECURED the historic concordat between central and local government - freezing the Council Tax for families across Scotland – and giving local government the flexibility and funding to meet the priorities of our people.

WE have CUT business rates for 150,000 small firms across Scotland – enabling Scotland's wealth creators to invest in growth and provide new jobs in local communities – a key step to building a wealthier Scotland.

We have ABOLISHED tolls on the Forth and Tay and are piloting a Road Equivalent Tariff to the Western Isles. - providing a level playing field for businesses in the east and in the west - removing barriers to investment and success.

Every thing we do as Government commits us to a more successful Scotland

We are also committed to a healthier Scotland.

We have cut the cost of prescriptions and by 2011 will have scrapped this tax on the sick and vulnerable.  We have provided the funds for better access to NHS Dental Services, particularly for children and funded a third dental school for Scotland in Aberdeen.

We have expanded support for carers, including carer training and local carer centres; and providing over £500 million a year to fund major new hospital developments across Scotland.

And delegates this is investment not only in a healthier Scotland, but in a fairer Scotland where access to health services is based not on money but on clinical need.

A Scotland, more successful, heathier, fairer but one which also needs to be smarter with access to education, the key to the future.  That is why we have abolished the Graduate Endowment fee, restoring the historic principle of free education in Scotland.

Delegates

We know Scotland's proud record of invention and our huge contribution, through the Enlightenment, in the development of the ideas that form the foundation of our modern world.  When I was at school I wasn't taught much or indeed any Scottish history but I did learm that we had invented lots of stuff – television, penicillin, the fax machine even the bicycle!

But no-one ever told me WHY Scots were able to invent so much.

It was because of our greatest invention of all – universal education. Without that Scottish innovation James Watt would never have invented the steam engine, Adam Smith would not be the father of economics and Robert Burns would have blushed unseen with his sweetness wasted on the desert air.

FREE EDUCATION IS BACK - FOR ALL SCOTS AND IN ALL PARTS OF SCOTLAND - AND SCOTTISH HISTORY – THE HISTORY OF OUR OWN COUNTRY - WILL NOW TAKE ITS PLACE IN THE CLASSROOM JUST LIKE IN EVERY OTHER NORMAL NATION.

Delegates some people say that we live in an age of miracles

Just before the election Scotland's lone Tory MP MP David Mundell said a "miracle" would be needed to save the Crichton Campus in Dumfries.

Just after the election Fiona Hyslop stepped in to save it. Delegates it is official – even the Tories admit it - MIRACLES HAPPEN UNDER THE SNP GOVERNMENT.  AND THEY HAPPEN IN EVERY PART OF SCOTLAND.

Last Summer I caused a little consternation among my colleagues by banning holidays – or at least making the Cabinet meet throughout the summer. I wanted to make sure that the new Government got off to a fast start.

This year I have some other news for the recess.

I intend the Cabinet to move out of Bute House and around Scotland – to places such as Dumfries where miracles happen, to Inverness where Lloyd George once held a Cabinet to agree the Irish Free State, to Skye where the teaching of the Gaelic Language is flourishing, to the great City of Glasgow which will proudly host the 2014 Commonwealth Games and to Aberdeen where this week we confirmed funding for a 50m swimming pool – the first legacy announcement of Scotland's Commonwealth Games.

WE WILL TAKE DECISION MAKING AROUND THE COUNTRY BECAUSE WE ARE SCOTLAND'S FIRST TRULY NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

NYE BEVAN SAID – YOU DON'T NEED TO CONSULT THE CRYSTAL BALL WHEN YOU CAN READ THE BOOK.

LET NO-ONE BE IN ANY DOUBT . THIS GOVERNMENT – YOUR GOVERNMENT – HAS DELIVERED FOR SCOTLAND, IS DELIVERING FOR SCOTLAND AND WILL KEEP DELIVERING FOR SCOTLAND.

That is why we now look forward to the next stage in our journey, to the next year.

We have a strong and clear sense of purpose. We are a government with energy, ideas and vision – total confidence in Scotland's ability to succeed.  Our every action is based on the firm belief that our nation can be wealthier, fairer, greener, healthier and safer.

We can always do better.  We can always reach higher.  There should be no limits on our ambition or our success.  And we work best when we work together across this nation.

I am delighted to confirm today that the Chief Executives of all the major UK supermarkets have now agreed to attend that summit.

We can open the door to a fair deal for Scottish farmers and an increase in the availability of fresh Scottish produce.

And this same approach – working with partners across Scotland – has been central to Kenny MacAskill's efforts to provide new opportunities for young Scots as he invests the proceeds of crime into initiatives designed to protect our communities and enhance the lives of young people across Scotland.

Already we have joined with the SFA and the SRU in a £3 million initiative to provide coaching and playing opportunities for 60,000 young people.

We have partnered with YouthLink in £3 million scheme to provide funding for projects to support young people involved, or at risk from violence, alcohol or drugs.

And as we move forward, I am pleased to announce today that thousands more Scottish youngsters will benefit from the money seized from drug dealers and other criminals in Scotland.

We will invest £2 million in a new sports facilities fund and a further £1.8 million to offer new opportunities in arts and culture.

And we are determined to do more, to recover even more money to be invested in a safer Scotland. That's why last year, we spent an extra £400,000 to increase the size of the two crack units within the Crown Office tasked with seizing the proceeds of crime.

BAD NEWS FOR THE CRIMINALS AND GREAT NEWS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN SCOTLAND.

A healthier Scotland, a greener Scotland and a safer Scotland – and in the months ahead we will be progressing with plans to build a wealthier and fairer Scotland.

Council tax is unfair and regressive. It hits people on low incomes, particularly pensioners, who can least afford to pay it. We have frozen it for three years to great relief and support across the country.

DELEGATES IT IS TIME TO SCRAP IT.

In contrast, under our local income tax MSPs will lose £600, while the average single pensioner will save almost £400, the average pensioner couple over £700 and the poorest 20% of Scots, will on average save £350.

I remember the sight of those Labour MPs celebrating on the back benches as Gordon Brown's Budget doubled the 10p tax – leaving 500,000 Scots households worse off – they look less happy now that their seats are at risk.

And now I watch Labour MSPs in the Scottish Parliament locked in a fatal embrace with the Tories defending a Council Tax that leaves our most vulnerable citizens out of pocket.

The Labour Party has not only lost its way, it has forgotten its values and abandoned its roots.

Self-interest has become an art form and it is at the expense of the people they are elected to represent.

And so, the next time you hear a Labour or Tory politician attack our plans for a fair local income tax remember that they are among the few that will pay a little more.

I will stand proudly on the side of the hard-working families, on the side of the almost half a million Scottish pensioners who will benefit from our plans.  A fairer Scotland, with local tax based on ability to pay.

IMPROVING SERVICES AND LOWER, FAIRER TAXES. THAT IS OUR SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC CONTRACT WITH THE PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND.

Delegates

The Government is respected because we govern totally and exclusively for Scotland's benefit – not just in the changes we have made but in the challenges we have faced.

We – Scotland – faced down the terrorist attack and emerged the stronger from it.

We – Scotland – rose to the challenge of foot and mouth and guided our rural communities out of trauma.

Now we have an impasse between management and unions at Grangemouth, threatening the disruption of fuel supplies.  Let our message – Scotland's message – be crystal clear. Both sides should stop debating with each other over the airwaves, return to the negotiating table, and stay there until they resolve their differences.

Delegates,

Over the last year I have had the honour to represent our nation - from Sri Lanka to the USA. I can tell you the world is taking note of Scotland's new ambition.  Winning the 2014 Commonwealth Games was a huge vote of confidence; in Scotland from right across the world.

Just a few weeks ago, Scotland was recently named European Region of the Future in a major survey by the Financial Times Group.  (Though I'm not too sure about the regional part of it!)

And in statements to mark Tartan Day earlier this month, all three US Presidential candidates, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton and John McCain, recognised the huge contribution Scotland and Scots have made to America's success.

The door is open to Scotland internationally.

DELEGATES WE HAVE AN ORGANISATION - A GOOD ORGANISATION CALLED GLOBAL SCOTS – INTERNATIONAL SCOTS OF RENOWN WHO ARE SIGNED UP TO HELP SCOTLAND.

BUT IT IS TIME NOT JUST FOR GLOBAL SCOTS BUT FOR A GLOBAL SCOTLAND.

So when Gordon Brown speaks of global issues that are shared matters of interest, I agree.

But I believe that Scotland has a distinctive contribution to make as we unite internationally to meet these challenges.  And in so many ways Scotland's contribution would be more progressive.

On climate change, Britain says more nuclear. Scotland's message to the world is quite different.

We have a quarter of Europe's marine renewable resource and the ambition and determination to harness this clean, green energy.

That is why we launched the £10 million "Saltire Prize" in Washington during Scotland Week. The Saltire Prize is the world's largest single innovation award for marine renewables – it was hailed by National Geographic as a prime example of how a SMALL country can make a BIG impact on a GLOBAL challenge. That is what global Scotland can be like.

Scotland can make a big impact – not by hosting weapons of mass destruction – but by the scale of our ideas and our ambition.

Our nation ranks first in the world in terms of number of research citations per head of population, and second in the world for the impact of our research.  We produce 10 TIMES our population share in world published research.  In the past Scottish science has given birth to many innovations such as the telephone, anaesthesia, penicillin, television, tarmacadam and tyres.

More recently, Scotland has been the home of world-leading breakthroughs in medicine such as keyhole surgery, beta blockers and Dolly the sheep.

We have huge opportunities in renewable generation, and are at the cutting edge of life sciences.

And it is in life sciences that Scotland has another global contribution and leading role to give.

That is why last month we announced the creation of a new Life Sciences modern apprenticeship to provide the firm foundations in skills to underpin this growing sector – as we align our skill base to areas of growth.

AND IT IS WHY TODAY I AM ABLE TO CONFIRM THE CREATION IN THE CITY OF DUNDEE - A NEW LIFE SCIENCE INSITITUTE UNDER THE DIRECTION OF SIR PHILLIP COHEN – ONE OF SCOTLAND'S LEADING SCIENTISTS.

This is an important addition to Scotland's research capability and will enhance the work that is taking place across the country.

And it is a contribution that I believe will bring significant benefits to Dundee, and to Scotland with our £1 billion life sciences sector, as we commercialise our world-leading research.

It is by becoming independent that nations can maximise their influence in our interdependent world.

Delegates there is a debate under way  Some people say that good Government from the SNP will mean that Scots are satisfies with their lot in the union – elect the SNP but keep the union.

I say that good Government from the SNP will increase support for independence.

Just look how the unionist parties squirmed last weekend when independence moved into an opinion poll lead.  Attempts by these same parties to keep independence out of discussions are doomed to fail and let me welcome the acknowledgement of this fact by Henry McLeish last week and today by Steven Purcell of Glasgow Council and the STUC – the real national conversation is inclusive and forward looking.

And make no mistake the negative attitude being shown to the Scottish Government and Scotland by the UK government is getting a strong reaction in Scotland.

Westminster's unreasonable behaviour now encompasses threatening to withhold Council Tax benefit, trying to block local income tax, refusing to properly apply Barnett consequentials to prisons and health spending and Olympics regeneration funding in London,

It even stretches to demanding payment from Tayside and Fife constabularies for the security costs of the G8 and St Andrew's summits – a stance by the MoD so ludicrous that it was even resisted by our supine predecessors.

The more that Westminster tries to lay down the law north of the Border in clearly devolved areas, to bully the Scottish Parliament, the greater the support there will be for independence and equality for Scotland.

However delegates we are moving into a period where the balances of power can be fundamentally changed.

Last year I charged the Party to win 20 new seats in the Scottish Parliament. Some said that it couldn't be done.  You did …. We are the Government.

Now I say let us build a Scottish block of at least 20 MPs in the Westminster Parliament –ready willing and able to defend our Parliament and our people.  If we achieve that then all the Westminster Noes will suddenly become Yes-s.