That spirit kept Scotland independent for another four hundred years. But we have not been free for almost three centuries. And as the years have past we have paid a higher and higher price for this bankrupt and out of date Union.
With control or our own resources Scotland would be the eighth richest nation in the industrial world - and yet we are not permitted to decide on anything for ourselves. We have nearly 70% of Europe's crucial oil reserves, and yet we must stand outside the door when the decisions are taken in Brussels. We produce more, save more and export more than those south of the border, and yet we are told that we live off London taxes. We know that we have the skills, the wealth and the determination to be free. And more and more of us are saying so.... the return of the Stone is the result of pressure from Scotland for change. London is worried about the mood of Scotland and the overwhelming desire for a parliament. London is beginning to hear us and pay attention. But the return of the Stone is only a beginning. We need more than symbols in Scotland. We need real power and a real parliament.
We need a real Parliament to represent the real Scotland. We need independence. It is independence that will allow us to make our own decisions about our own future. And it is independence that will give us the confidence to take responsibility for those decisions. We already pay our way in the world - now we must speak for ourselves as well. We need the substance, not just the symbols. We need more. Things are changing in Scotland. After nearly seven centuries at Westminster the Stone is coming home. And after more than six hundred and fifty years, the words of the Declaration of Arbroath are coming true.
For freedom is the most important thing. Freedom from poverty, from unemployment, from homelessness, from the threat of nuclear weapons. And those modern freedoms can only come with our freedom - with freedom for the ancient nation of Scotland. We can build on the stone. We can win our freedom. We can - we must be - a nation again.
