Dave Thompson MSP

On the 15th October, the First Minister and the Prime Minister signed a historic agreement that grants legal powers to the Scottish Parliament to hold a referendum on Scottish Independence. This is but one step in Scotland’s Home Rule journey and, importantly, the Edinburgh Agreement ensures that the Scottish Parliament will design and deliver the referendum for the people of Scotland.

The signing of this agreement marks the beginning of the end of the campaign to secure independence for Scotland. The Scottish Government will present a positive, ambitious vision for a flourishing, fairer, progressive, independent Scotland, and I am confident that we will be able to deliver a yes vote in Autumn 2014.

On 27th September I spoke in the debate on CAP reform in the Scottish Parliament. I am concerned that the new Environment secretary in London, Owen Paterson, intends to argue for a move towards an increasingly open market. This is a position that would be hugely damaging to Scotland’s agriculture, favouring large industrial farms at the expense of crofters and hill farmers.

In 2008 the Royal Society of Edinburgh revealed a worrying tendency of the UK Government to ignore the distinctive needs of the devolved administrations, and nothing I have seen since then suggests that the UK government is any more inclined to argue for the needs of Scotland and particularly the Highlands and Islands now than it was in 2008.

This highlights why it is essential for Scotland to have a strong voice in CAP negotiations. Agriculture is of such critical importance, and any move towards an open market would not only be disastrous for Scotland’s crofting communities, but would also threaten Scotland’s food security.

I also spoke in John Mason’s debate on the proliferation of gambling. There appears to have been a huge increase in betting shops and new forms of gambling which target the poorest people in our communities.

The postcode lottery is one form of gambling that I am particularly concerned about. Everyone in the country is entered by default, but must pay to be eligible for a share of the prize if their postcode wins. People are therefore under psychological pressure to enter, in the same way as someone who always plays the same lottery numbers each week cannot stop, in case their numbers came up. The difference with the Postcode lottery is that this pressure exists on folk who have never played.

A large proportion of bookmakers earnings comes from those with serious gambling problems. A gambling addiction does not just affect the individual who places the bets, but also their friends and family, particularly if there are young children in the house. It is important that a balance is struck which allows people the opportunity to gamble if they wish, but also protects the most vulnerable from the ill effects of a gambling addiction.

Until a few weeks ago, there was a broad political consensus in Scotland that elderly people shouldn't be charged for their personal care or bus passes, that medicine should be free at the point of need, that access to university education should be based on the ability to learn not the ability to pay, and that the council tax should remain frozen to relieve the pressure on family budgets.

But that consensus was shattered when Labour leader Johann Lamont said that all of these policies should be reviewed. Johann is wrong – not wrong to say that budgets are under pressure, but wrong to conclude that the people who should bear the brunt of Tory cuts are pensioners, the sick, hard-pressed families and working-class kids who aspire to a university education.

When she claimed that Scotland has a 'something for nothing' culture, she insulted all those who work hard and pay taxes. Universal benefits are important in that they give something back to people who contribute their taxes to pay for these benefits.