It is a great pleasure to be in Dunfermline.

If federal conference is an opportunity to catch up with colleagues, Scottish conference is a time to be among friends.

And I am delighted to see so many of you here today.

Michael Moore MPThis is one of our best attended autumn conferences in years.

And that sends one clear message.

That for the all of the challenges of the past year.

For all the attacks, all the provocations, and all the set backs, our party – the Scottish Liberal Democrats – remains positive, determined, and united.

That is not to play down our losses in May of this year.

We lost some very good friends and colleagues from Holyrood.

The Scottish Parliament has lost some exceptional people.

And our public life will be the poorer for that.

So today I want to pay tribute to all of those activists who knocked on doors.

To all those candidates who fought tirelessly throughout the campaign.

And to the man who led our party with all the energy, determination and passion that we could wish for.

Our friend, Tavish Scott.

He made a tough call after the election, but he was clear that he would stand down as leader.

We all acknowledge the enormous contribution he has made to the party.

And will continue to make.

Of course, we couldn’t wish for a better new leader than Willie Rennie.

I have worked with Willie on election campaigns, at Westminster and in government.

In each of these roles he has shown charisma, drive - and always an eye for the key issues.

Now he is bringing those qualities to the leadership of our party and providing real opposition – the only opposition – to the SNP government in the Scottish Parliament.

It is a privilege and a pleasure to work with Willie, to promote our shared values and to campaign for what we all believe in.

Looking around the hall, I know there are many things that have inspired your liberalism.

Of course, we have had a long line of inspirational leaders.

And in the Borders there was a guy called Steel who inspired me.

But it’s the issues that define each of us.

The fight against apartheid.

The fight for Home Rule.

The arguments against nuclear power.

The arguments for welfare reform.

The campaign against authoritarian justice.

The campaign for the environment.

And for me, as a young student, there were three that got me motivated.

I was appalled by a clapped out political system that denied people their voice.

Angered by a welfare system that failed the poorest and enshrined inequality.

Inspired by the universal power of human rights as the battle played out between the Solidarity movement and the authoritarian regime in Poland.

But whatever motivated you, we all know that Scotland needs liberal values in its government and for its people.

We alone stand for those.

And we must be resolute in our defence of those values in difficult times.

As we look to the next three and a half years we can see all sorts of challenges ahead.

An international economy that remains unstable.

Public services that must go further on less.

The possibility of the UK being take apart by manipulation or stealth.

Our best response – our only response – must be to stand tall, proclaim what we believe in, and show the difference that we are making for Scotland in the toughest of times.

Of course, we liberals – we don’t take the easy option.

We don’t scurry down the path of least resistance.

We take whichever road leads to the Scotland we believe in.

A Scotland where diversity is celebrated, opportunity is embraced and human rights are cherished,

A Scotland where ignorance is tackled, conformity is meaningless and discrimination is banished.

A Scotland where power is devolved, people are free, and the environment is protected.

That’s the Scotland that Liberal Democrats believe in - now and always.

And there’s a market out there for our values.

A market where liberalism pays dividends.

Why else would the SNP have spent so much time and so much effort stealing our clothes?

Over recent years the Nationalists have copied our language, they’ve lifted our policies – they’ve even nabbed our artwork.

And now they make regular and direct appeals to Liberal Democrat voters in speeches, pamphlets and full-page newspaper advertisements.

And let’s be honest, one or two have made that journey.

But for those who are tempted by the Nationalist brand, let me attach this big health warning.

The Scottish Nationalists are not who they say they are.

The SNP is not a liberal party.

Liberalism and nationalism are not the same.

In fact, they are antagonistic, not complementary.

Liberalism is based on inclusion; nationalism is based on separation.

That’s why Liberal Democrats take down borders between nations, while the SNP plots to build new ones.

Liberalism encourages diversity; nationalism seeks conformity.

That’s why Liberal Democrats encourage debate, while the SNP shouts down its questioners.

And liberalism demands the devolution of power to communities and individuals; while nationalism sucks authority to an all-powerful centre.

That’s why Liberal Democrats believe that by empowering the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people, we will strengthen Scotland within the UK.

While Nationalists believe that by chip, chip, chipping away they can hollow out Scotland’s Westminster government and move further towards a centralised government in a separate state.

Our experience with the Scotland Bill is no exception.

Our Bill will deliver the largest single transfer of financial power from Westminster since the creation of the United Kingdom.

It will empower the Scottish Parliament with new tax and borrowing powers, while making it more accountable to the Scottish people.

It is a small ‘l’ liberal Bill, taken through Parliament by capital ‘L’ Liberal Democrats, in the interests of the Scottish people.

And it is a great step on the road to Home Rule.

Home Rule has always been liberal policy.
It’s still our aim.

And I am delighted by the decision of this conference to set up our new Home Rule Commission.

It will do the serious thinking and detailed work needed to assess the potential for further devolution.

To create a liberal Scotland in a modern UK.

Once again we will lead the debate.

And then work with others to find common ground – to build the consensus – on which we can make further progress.

Just as generations of liberal thinking on devolution fed into the Convention that led to the Scotland Act.

So too with the Calman Commission which underpins the Scotland Bill.

But for the Nationalists, more is never enough and common ground is not their aim.

Until May they wanted the Scotland Bill re-written to deliver fiscal autonomy.

A Trojan horse for independence, based on one outdated academic paper, and without precedent in any comparable country.

Since May, they’ve changed tactics.

Now they want six amendments.

And we have said that we will consider their proposals.

But with the Bill now in the House of Lords, timing is tight and the details are scant.

On excise duty, for example, the paper they published on Thursday contradicts itself.

When one page proposes devolving the tax base, and another says the revenue only, the only thing on offer is confusion.

But on policies as important as these we need clarity, not confusion.

And now they want commencement orders so that even when the Bill is passed, they can pick and choose the bits they want, and discard what doesn’t suit them.

The SNP may want to sound reasonable.

But never has there been a party so obsessed with being seen to be reasonable, nor less interested in actually being reasonable.

And the Bill is a case in point.

It is not reasonable for one party to seek last-minute constitutional change without proper proposals.

Any changes to the Scotland Bill must pass three clear tests.

They must be based on detailed evidence and materially improve the bill.

They must maintain the cross-party consensus on which the bill is based.

And they must be without prejudice to the rest of the UK.

That is only fair – and reasonable – and right.

That is the approach we believe in – the approach we are taking as a party of government.

Last May we took the opportunity to move from the sidelines at Westminster to the heart of Whitehall.

Not for its own sake but to put our values – freedom, fairness, sustainability – at the heart of government.

We all know the difference that Liberal Democrats made in coalition government at Holyrood.

Free personal care, free eye and dental check ups, and fair votes in council elections.

We all know the difference that Liberal Democrats are making in local government.

In the Borders, in Edinburgh – and right here in Fife too.

Or the contributions of Elspeth and now George in Brussels.

As we go forward we need to make sure people in Scotland know the difference we are making in the UK government too.

That we have a record of delivering for the Scottish people.

On freedom, it is Liberal Democrats in government who have scrapped id cards, ended child detention and protected the basic human rights on which we rely.

On fairness, it is Liberal Democrats in government who have clamped down on tax evasion, increased the state pension, and taken 91,000 low paid Scots out of income tax altogether.

And on the environment, it is Liberal Democrats who are reforming the Crown Estate, changing the CAP and creating a Green Investment Bank.

Paving the way for investment in marine technology, renewable energy and a generation of new green jobs.

A majority Labour government could have done these things, but didn’t.

A minority Conservative government could have done these things, but wouldn’t.

But a coalition government, working together, has delivered on these and more.

That’s a government working in the national interest.

That’s Liberal Democrats in government, working for Scotland.

But the biggest challenge is of course the economy.

When you bring together a record deficit, a banking crisis and international uncertainty, the obstacles to growth are significant.

And the current crisis in the eurozone is a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted.

Today, in our communities, people are anxious.

They feel that their livelihoods are under threat.

And on this issue, let me tell you, people don’t want to see triangulation or differentiation or manoeuvring of any sort from their politicians.

They just want a government that confronts reality, shows courage and takes action.

Now more than ever, Scotland needs game-changing policies, not game-playing politicians.

So we are taking the serious steps that lead to a strong future.

Because turning the economy around – getting back to growth – this underpins everything.

Generating new jobs in our communities.

Creating opportunity for our children.

Raising the revenue that will pay for our hospitals, schools and roads.

That’s why we have moved quickly and decisively.

Getting the deficit down to stabilise our finances.

Cutting corporation tax to give our companies a competitive edge.

Ensuring that our banks lend to business to keep people in work.

And just this week the Chancellor announced that he is looking at new ways that government can get money to the businesses that need it, without pushing up the deficit.

All of these actions will benefit Scotland’s economy.

But Scotland’s government at Westminster is also taking specific action to boost the economy in communities north of the border.

By investing £70 million in superfast broadband for our rural communities.

By Danny’s work with the European Commission to cut the cost of fuel in the isles.

And by providing Scotland with the money it needs for new enterprise zones.

In the Scotland Office, we are determined to identify and remove the specific barriers to business success in Scotland.

That’s why I have formed a Scottish Trade and Economic Growth Board.

That Board consists of senior people from across the key sectors of the Scottish economy.

And it will examine, sector by sector, the challenges that Scotland faces, looking for constructive ways to unlock success and get the Scottish economy moving.

Let me tell you, there is plenty potential.

Over the past two weeks I’ve been travelling across Scotland.

I’ve been to North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Glasgow, Argyll, the Hebrides, Inverness, and Perthshire.

I’ve seen engineering plans, pharmaceutical factories, tweed companies, social enterprises, seaweed processors, farms, dairies and many more besides.

And again and again I see evidence of ambition, determination and potential.

These businesses are ready to grow.

And our party, in this government, will do all it can to help that happen.

Their success is our success – measured in jobs, opportunity and growth.

So, others can play politics with this stuff if they want to.

You can whip out your plan B, your MacB, or your spell B.

Whatever gimmick comes to hand.

But people aren’t stupid.

They know the difference between the concerted action we are taking, and the press releases, two-page papers and easy soundbites that flow from our opponents.

And the vapidity of their stunts is laid bare by the economic realities in our country.

There is no easy way to cure the ills that we have inherited.

Getting our economy back to black comes only with a credible plan, hard graft and the will to see it through.

That is what Liberal Democrats bring to the table.

Friends, none of us joined this party because we thought things would be easy.

We joined because we’re liberals.

We believe in a country where individuals are free to realise their potential.

But where society is fair and opportunity is for all.

Where our environment, our communities and our children are nurtured and strengthened.

Today, in the toughest of times, we are creating that country.

We are rebuilding, rebalancing and reshaping our economy.

And restoring freedoms.

And creating fairness.

And protecting our environment.

We stand true to our values, and united in our purpose.

And our best days are yet to come.