Address by Her Majesty the Queen
Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness, you are most welcome once again among us. I want this morning to dwell on the word "among" for, although the Scottish Parliament is only three years old, we have already established some traditions or, in this case, revived old ones.
On the glorious day on which you, in Donald Dewar's word, hanselled our new Parliament in Edinburgh and presented the magnificent mace that is before us today to indicate that we are in formal session, there were a few raised eyebrows when I welcomed you as Queen of Scots. However, as I said then, the relationships between sovereign and Parliament have historically always been notably different north and south of the border. That is true also in how we mark your jubilee.
I enjoyed representing this Parliament at the ceremony in Westminster hall last month. The appearance of your bodyguards of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and the Yeoman of the Guard, the state trumpeters of the Household Cavalry and the gilt and crimson thrones on which you sat above us are all part of Westminster's splendid traditions, along with the slamming of the door of the House of Commons each year in the face of your messenger.
At the last jubilee celebration—that of Queen Victoria in 1897—there was no Scottish Parliament. The Scottish members of Parliament, along with all the others, went in procession to St Margaret's church where, according to a contemporary chronicler, they listened to a 50-minute sermon by Dean Farrar that was "perilously long" and involved
"a gruesome catalogue of sovereigns who had been murdered or abdicated".
The Scottish Parliament's relations with the monarch have always been closer and warmer than any of that. In his sermon last week in Glasgow, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland spoke of the "informality, intimacy even" of Scottish links with the monarchy. You would be entitled to feel that those links are perhaps a little too close—not only do we build our new home next to yours at Holyrood, but now we intrude on royal Deeside. You may note with relief that an early form of the Parliament last met in Aberdeen in 1362 and again in 1462 and so this is not exactly a frequent occurrence.
James III and David II were not present at those meetings, but Scottish Parliaments regularly met with their kings or queens. In fact, the Parliament met outside Edinburgh about 30 times in the presence of the monarch in the 14th century, 10 times in the presence of Robert the Bruce. In 1445, James II agreed to swear not to alter the acts of the Scottish Parliament—the high point of the Scottish Parliament's powers.
Medieval monarchs, of necessity, had to govern with the advice of the people and, between the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 and the publication of George Buchanan's "De Jure Regni Apud Scotus" in 1579, the idea became more firmly established in Scotland than perhaps anywhere else in Europe that monarch, Parliament and people should govern together.
Today, Your Majesty, you add to that history. Indeed, today you create new history, for this is the first time in the life of the United Kingdom that a sovereign has addressed a Parliament in full session with the speech recorded in the Official Report as with any other contribution to our deliberations.
We join on behalf of the Scottish people in congratulating you on the 50 years of your reign. Many are the changes over which you have presided. Our existence is obviously one.
When you succeeded to the throne you were Queen of an empire in transition. Now you are head of the Commonwealth of 54 independent states. We, as a Parliament, acknowledge the outstanding work that Scots did in the creation of that empire and Commonwealth and are glad to have established our own branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association as well as to have welcomed already to our chamber three Commonwealth heads of state: the Presidents of Malawi, Ghana and South Africa.
If we had to sum up your half century as our Queen, it would be in the word "service". Your personal dedication, aided ably by the Duke of Edinburgh, to all aspects of life in your kingdom and your fondness for Scotland are warmly appreciated. You have set an example of devotion to duty and provided a focus of stability in our country in changing times.
Forgive me if I end on a personal note to illustrate those changes. We are a young Parliament in a double sense, given that, of our 129 members, more than 100 were either not born when you became Queen or were too young to remember the event. That includes all the party leaders, who are mere striplings. It is therefore only a minority of the more elderly—"mature" is the word I prefer—who can recall that day.
I recall it vividly because you were in the colony of Kenya at the untimely death of King George VI. Two days before that, you visited the Church of Scotland's newly built St Andrews church in Nairobi, where my father was minister. As Princess Elizabeth, you signed the visitors book, along with Prince Philip, watched closely by, among others, two boys in short trousers at the front of the crowd. Afterwards they pinched the blotting paper you had used which, when held up to the mirror, showed clearly the two signatures "Elizabeth" and "Philip".
I asked my brother recently if he could recall whatever happened to that paper. He said, "You can't possibly mention that to the Queen." "Why ever not?" I asked. "Because," he said, "I seem to recall that you took it to school and went round showing off, saying, ‘Look: Elizabeth and Philip'. You then swapped it for a pair of white mice which you named—". "No", I said, "I can't possibly tell her that." Instead, I will fast-forward a year to the coronation. I recall sitting in a dark curtained room in my aunt's house in Edinburgh with about 20 people, peering at the ceremony on a 12in black-and-white screen on a wonderful new instrument called television.
I mention those two recollections as illustrations of change because, in those days, the cheapest flight to Kenya by Dakota took three days with two overnight stops, in Rome and Khartoum. Today, package tourists get there by jet in eight hours. The flickering grey television has been overtaken by colour pictures sent by satellite of instant news anywhere in the world, not to mention the internet and the mobile phone. Communications have developed out of all recognition during your reign, as have medical and other sciences—indeed, you launched subscriber trunk dialling in 1958. It is difficult to recall the days when every long-distance call had to be connected by operator—now we dial the world. Similarly, we have only distant memories of shillings, sixpences and 12-sided thruppenny bits.
You have referred to enduring features in a rapidly changing world. One of those features has been your personal role and experience in guiding no fewer than 10 United Kingdom Prime Ministers through their periods in office.
We are proud of the enduring traditions and values that have been intrinsic to our way of life over the past 50 years. Openness, tolerance and modernisation have been synonymous with your reign. Those values hold strong today and will develop in the future. We are living in a new era, one in which the Scottish Parliament is strengthening further the ties between sovereign, Parliament and the people. Together, we are renewing public life and strengthening our communities. We can look forward to the next 50 years as a time of opportunity and lasting prosperity.
Your Majesty, on this very special occasion and to show our thanks and appreciation, the Scottish Parliament is delighted to present you with a rowan tree to be planted outside the Parliament adjacent to Holyrood Palace to mark your jubilee. As representatives of your realm of Scotland, we are deeply grateful and wish you and your family many years of happiness ahead.
It is now my privilege to call on you to speak.
Presiding Officer, First Minister, members of the Scottish Parliament, it is a pleasure to be invited to address the Parliament again, particularly in Aberdeen. In your remarks, Presiding Officer, you made reference to precursors of the old Scottish Parliament meeting here during the middle ages. You mentioned the constitutional precedent, but not the financial consequences. The exchequer rolls of the city record, somewhat petulantly, the following reference to the expense of James III's council of 1462:
"Towards the arrival of the King in Aberdeen, although he did not come, by mandate of the treasurer—£20."
On this occasion, the Duke of Edinburgh and I have managed not only to arrive in Aberdeen, but we are delighted to be present. We have been touched by the welcome in the streets outside and by many organisations' celebrations in Duthie park of some of the community's many achievements over the past 50 years.
To mark this parliamentary occasion, Presiding Officer, you will plant two rowan trees in land belonging to the city and to the University of Aberdeen. I, in turn, am pleased to accept your gift of a rowan tree to be planted at the new Holyrood Parliament. The rowan is the ancient Scottish symbol of privacy, peace and sanctuary. In my jubilee year, I trust that all the people of Scotland will enjoy those blessings. The Duke of Edinburgh and I have many vivid and happy memories from the past 50 years of the warmth, honesty and humour of the Scottish people. Your society has given so much to the world. I particularly value your commitment to community, learning, the spirit of enterprise and equality of opportunity for all.
Just under three years ago, the children from your constituencies, representing the future of Scotland, led the procession up the Royal Mile and down the Mound to mark the inauguration of the Parliament. The then First Minister, Donald Dewar, set out a vision of keeping faith with the past, of keeping step with the present and of keeping our promises to posterity. He recognised, of course, that Scotland was never going to build a new political culture overnight. After what might be considered a parliamentary adjournment of almost 300 years, the process will inevitably take time. In an age that often demands instant judgments, we would all do well to remember that.
As a people, Scots like to argue principle. Quite properly, there has been strong debate within the Parliament and close scrutiny of its contribution from without. The volume of work that has been completed in the past three years cannot be denied, nor can the spirit of participation that has been encouraged along the way. In the number of bills introduced, in the work of the committees and in the introduction of new practice and procedure, you are in the process of moulding an institution to be both in tune with the 21st century and true to the principles that were laid down for it—principles of accessibility, accountability, equality of opportunity, and the sharing of power between Executive, Parliament and people.
There is much concern these days about public disengagement from the political process. As this legislature carefully and over time refines its new forms of governance and its devolved responsibilities within the United Kingdom, the way in which you share power will be the key to connecting the people with their Parliament. In this age of new constitutional relationships and of unity based on diversity, I value the distinctive contribution that Scotland is making to strengthen the bonds that link the nations and regions of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and Europe.
Presiding Officer, First Minister, members of the Scottish Parliament, at the opening of the Parliament in Edinburgh on 1 July 1999, I said that I trusted the good judgment of the people of Scotland, that I had faith in your commitment to their service and that I was confident of the future of this country. Today, here in Aberdeen in this my jubilee year, I reaffirm that trust, that faith and that confidence.
Your Majesty, on behalf of the people of Scotland, I thank you and the Duke of Edinburgh for the honour of your presence here this morning. Your words to us today reflect your continuing involvement with your people in Scotland and your continued interest in their Parliament.
In this year, when we have shared your sadness, we also join in the nation's celebration of your jubilee. Yours is a celebration richly deserved. It marks a lifetime of service and dedication to the people of Scotland, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. From the first days of your reign, you have shown your determination and desire to be Queen to all of your people. In the past week, people across Scotland have taken the opportunity to thank you for your service to them and for the stability and leadership that you have shown as our nation has changed.
It is fitting that you should address us here in Aberdeen, for this is a Parliament for all of Scotland. The Parliament represents people from our towns and cities, our islands and rural communities. It reflects the ideas and aspirations of our citizens, young and old. In it, we seek to celebrate the richness of our history and the diversity of our culture.
Your presence here today reminds us of the challenges that you identified at the Parliament's inauguration: to be open and accessible, to understand our past and to build a better future for Scotland. The past three years have seen us take our first steps to meet those challenges. We have grown together and have matured with each year. We have passed good laws and we have made a difference.
Since 1999, we have had many good days, but we have had some bad days too. There will be more of both to come. However, this young Parliament has grown and will grow still. We will continue to serve Scotland. We have responded to the needs of our elder citizens and have respected the experience that they bring and the contribution that they make to our communities. We are creating opportunities for our young people, by seeking to nurture their emerging talent and by celebrating the energy and optimism of their youth.
Together in this Parliament, whatever our differences in debate or ideas, we are committed to building a new Scotland that is renewed in energy and enterprise. We will take strength from our past and harness the values and talents of all our people for the future. We will build a renewed Scotland that is founded on the first principles of social justice and equality of opportunity. We have taken our first steps and we have begun our journey, but we know that we have far still to travel and much still to do.
You have spoken again today of the enduring qualities of the Scottish people—qualities of co-operation and learning, of entrepreneurial flair and of national pride. We Scots have a great national pride, but too often we lack self-confidence. We can march to the sound of the pipes and drums, and we can celebrate better than most after a night at the football—win or lose. But we can also hesitate when challenged to take a risk, express emotion or praise ambition or success.
Scots are inventive and entrepreneurial, but can be slow to start a business; we are proud of our health service, but seem unable to take better care of our health; we are a caring people, but too many of our young men still seek solutions in violence. These and other challenges cut across party politics in this chamber. Their solutions require more than good laws: they need leadership—leadership that is consistent, fair and responsive.
Your Majesty, in Glasgow last Thursday two women told me as I met them in George Square, "If you can be like her, Mr McConnell, you will be a good First Minister." Their advice was good advice. It represented the sentiments of people all over Scotland who admire and respect your service as our Queen. But it also served to say to me, and to all of us in this Parliament, that we must always strive to win respect and confidence.
Your Majesty, we are proud that you are with us again today. We thank you for your encouragement and your counsel. I and all of my colleagues here today share your confidence in the future of Scotland. Today we commit ourselves again to meeting our responsibilities as the first members of this Parliament—responsibilities to be met with wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity. Those timeless values are enshrined in the mace you gave us as we started our journey.
It is our honour to rededicate ourselves, in your presence, to carrying forward our work—true to those timeless values and true to the people of Scotland.
Meeting suspended until 14:30.
On resuming—