ANY QUOTES USED MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO MURNAGHAN, SKY NEWS

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Well now, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has said he will try to, in his words, ‘accommodate’ different opinions on the future of Britain’s nuclear deterrent despite his own belief it should be scrapped.  It is after a warning that ditching support for Trident would be barmy.  Well Trident is based in Scottish waters of course and the country’s First Minister has made her opposition to renewal clear and Nicola Sturgeon joins me now from Glasgow, a very morning to you First Minister.

NICOLA STURGEON: Good morning.  

DM: We can see there that you are going to be speaking at the Unite conference and I’ve just been speaking to their General Secretary Len McCluskey.  Do you share any of his and his members’ concerns about the effect on jobs of scrapping Trident?

NICOLA STURGEON: Well this union has expressed concerned about the impact on jobs if Trident is scrapped and I want to see Trident scrapped and as any union is right to do, it’s right to focus on the implications for its members.  I’ve always argued and the SNP has always argued that along with the scrapping of Trident we need to look at defence diversification and how we can use the money that would be saved if we don’t renew the Trident nuclear system to invest elsewhere in our economy.  So I think there is common ground between my position and that which would be articulated by Unite, the union and I shall shortly speak to Len McCluskey myself and I am sure it is one of the issues we will discuss but my view on Trident is a long-held view, it is rooted in principle and it’s based firstly on defence considerations.  I think given the nature of the threats we face in the modern world Trident nuclear weapons are not the way to protect us against those threats.  I think instead we need to see properly resourced conventional defence capabilities and secondly, in a time in continued austerity, austerity that I don’t support, the idea that we would choose over the next few years to invest £167 billion on latest estimates on Trident nuclear weapons instead of investing that in good conventional defences but also in health and education and giving our young people the best start in life, I just think represents fundamentally and morally the wrong choice to make.

DM:  So how do you view Labour’s defence review?  Are you hoping that they join the SNP in unilateralism or would that then dilute your distinctive offering to the people of Scotland?

NICOLA STURGEON: No, I want to see us in a position where the renewal of Trident doesn’t go ahead and I would love to see Jeremy Corbyn’s position on Trident prevail in the Labour party.  I have to say I have some considerable doubts as to whether or not it will because Labour is deeply, deeply divided and while I agree with Jeremy Corbyn on this issue, his big challenge is to get his party to agree with him.  The chances of that I think look questionable at best at the moment.  There is also an issue of timescale, while Labour is contemplating its own navel on this issue, the Tory government is pressing ahead with plans to renew Trident so what we need to see is a united anti-Trident position from the Labour party as quickly as possible because the real danger is the Tories will have pressed ahead and taken the decision to renew Trident while Labour is still immersed in an internal debate and divide.  So I hope very much that Jeremy Corbyn on this issue quickly stamps his authority on the Labour party but I have to say I’m saying that right now more in hope than in expectation.  

DM: Can we just stay with another dimension of the economy and those overall figures, particularly the overall UK figures highlighting how Scotland isn’t doing so well.  We have the total output for the whole of the UK at 0.4% between July and September last year, Scotland just in positive territory on 0.1%. What does that say about the SNPs stewardship of the economy?

NICOLA STURGEON: We have now had three years of continuous economic growth in Scotland, that’s the longest period of continuous economic growth in the lifetime of the Scottish parliament.  We have also got an employment rate in Scotland that is higher than it is in any other part of the UK.  We’ve seen new figures published today from the Resolution Foundation that show that median wages in Scotland are now for the first time ever slightly higher than they are in England so the Scottish economy faces the same headwinds from lower growth in countries like China for example, the strength of sterling that the economy elsewhere in the UK and in terms of the global conditions that economies across the world face but we continue to be focused on making the decisions that support growth in our economy, that lead to higher wages – we’ve got a higher proportion of our workforce paid the living wage now than any other of the UK outside I think London and the South East. So there is no room for complacency on the economy and the growth figures not just in Scotland but across the UK underline that point but that is why we as a government remain focused on the things we need to do to support growth and continued growth in the economy.

DM: But there are people, as I phrased in that question there, who say the SNP isn’t doing too well, isn’t very good at economic policy and economic forecasting.  Let me just remind you, and the oil price plays a big role in all this doesn’t it in terms of Scotland’s output, this is what you said to me about fifteen months ago, about which way the oil price would go.

NICOLA STURGEON: The oil price right now is a feature of factors around supply and demand in the global market. The majority of independent forecasts suggest that oil prices will rise again next year, I think the projection is that oil prices will be over $100 a barrel next year, OPEC also projects and forecasts rising oil prices, so the outlook
DM: Those aren’t the forecasts I’ve read Ms Sturgeon.  

DM: Okay, that was 15 months ago and no one can be Mystic Meg on any commodity but wow, I mean you are thanking your lucky stars are you not that you didn’t win independence?  You’d be going straight to the IMF as soon as you got the keys of the door.
NICOLA STURGEON: No, we wouldn’t.  Let me make two points there, I was struggling to hear but I think I got the gist of the point you just put to me there.  I

DM: $100 a barrel.

NICOLA STURGEON: I heard that big.  I was quoting in that clip independent forecasts, I think I was quoting the forecast that at that time OPEC made.  The forecasts that the SNP and the Scottish government have made on oil have not been out of line with external independent forecasts, that’s the first point to make.  The second point – I’ll make three points actually, the second point is the impact of the lower oil price is being felt right now in the north-east of Scotland, in the North Sea oil and gas sector.  Many companies are struggling, many people are facing redundancy so my first responsibility and priority as First Minister is to make sure we are doing what we can to help individuals and companies come through this because as we heard, Oil and Gas UK say just a couple of weeks ago, as we heard BP one of the biggest oil companies in the North Sea say just last week, notwithstanding current difficulties, if we do the right things now the North Sea continues to have a very strong future ahead of it and we saw the first increase last year in production out of the North Sea for many, many years but the third point I’ll make is about independence.  The case for independence never has been and never will be resting solely on the oil price or on the contribution of oil to the Scottish economy.  I’ve just quoted figures about Scotland’s economic performance, if you take oil out of the Scottish economy our economic output is broadly comparable to that of the rest of the UK, we’ve got higher employment rates than any other part of the UK, we’re seeing wages going higher than in other parts of the UK for the first time. Scotland has got a strong economy, our onshore revenues over the next number of years are projected to increase so oil is important in our economy but it’s not the be all and end all of our economy and it never has been.

DM: Quick thoughts about Donald Trump.  If Scotland were again going independent would you like to accept Candidate Trump or even President Trump on to Scottish shores again?  

NICOLA STURGEON: I fundamentally disagree with Donald Trump on many, many, many things and I found some of his recent comments particularly on the Muslim community and the Islamic faith to be deeply, deeply offensive.  Who is the next President of the United States is of course not a matter for me, it’s a matter for the people of America and I think that innate good sense of the people of the United States of America will prevail over the next few months.

DM: Okay Nicola Sturgeon, thank you very much indeed, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon there.  


SKY NEWS – MURNAGHAN – 10.00 – 17.01.16 – INTERVIEW WITH NICOLA STURGEON, MSP, FIRST MINISTER FOR SCOTLAND

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Well now, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has said he will try to, in his words, ‘accommodate’ different opinions on the future of Britain’s nuclear deterrent despite his own belief it should be scrapped.  It is after a warning that ditching support for Trident would be barmy.  Well Trident is based in Scottish waters of course and the country’s First Minister has made her opposition to renewal clear and Nicola Sturgeon joins me now from Glasgow, a very morning to you First Minister.

NICOLA STURGEON: Good morning.  

DM: We can see there that you are going to be speaking at the Unite conference and I’ve just been speaking to their General Secretary Len McCluskey.  Do you share any of his and his members’ concerns about the effect on jobs of scrapping Trident?

NICOLA STURGEON: Well this union has expressed concerned about the impact on jobs if Trident is scrapped and I want to see Trident scrapped and as any union is right to do, it’s right to focus on the implications for its members.  I’ve always argued and the SNP has always argued that along with the scrapping of Trident we need to look at defence diversification and how we can use the money that would be saved if we don’t renew the Trident nuclear system to invest elsewhere in our economy.  So I think there is common ground between my position and that which would be articulated by Unite, the union and I shall shortly speak to Len McCluskey myself and I am sure it is one of the issues we will discuss but my view on Trident is a long-held view, it is rooted in principle and it’s based firstly on defence considerations.  I think given the nature of the threats we face in the modern world Trident nuclear weapons are not the way to protect us against those threats.  I think instead we need to see properly resourced conventional defence capabilities and secondly, in a time in continued austerity, austerity that I don’t support, the idea that we would choose over the next few years to invest £167 billion on latest estimates on Trident nuclear weapons instead of investing that in good conventional defences but also in health and education and giving our young people the best start in life, I just think represents fundamentally and morally the wrong choice to make.

DM:  So how do you view Labour’s defence review?  Are you hoping that they join the SNP in unilateralism or would that then dilute your distinctive offering to the people of Scotland?

NICOLA STURGEON: No, I want to see us in a position where the renewal of Trident doesn’t go ahead and I would love to see Jeremy Corbyn’s position on Trident prevail in the Labour party.  I have to say I have some considerable doubts as to whether or not it will because Labour is deeply, deeply divided and while I agree with Jeremy Corbyn on this issue, his big challenge is to get his party to agree with him.  The chances of that I think look questionable at best at the moment.  There is also an issue of timescale, while Labour is contemplating its own navel on this issue, the Tory government is pressing ahead with plans to renew Trident so what we need to see is a united anti-Trident position from the Labour party as quickly as possible because the real danger is the Tories will have pressed ahead and taken the decision to renew Trident while Labour is still immersed in an internal debate and divide.  So I hope very much that Jeremy Corbyn on this issue quickly stamps his authority on the Labour party but I have to say I’m saying that right now more in hope than in expectation.  

DM: Can we just stay with another dimension of the economy and those overall figures, particularly the overall UK figures highlighting how Scotland isn’t doing so well.  We have the total output for the whole of the UK at 0.4% between July and September last year, Scotland just in positive territory on 0.1%. What does that say about the SNPs stewardship of the economy?

NICOLA STURGEON: We have now had three years of continuous economic growth in Scotland, that’s the longest period of continuous economic growth in the lifetime of the Scottish parliament.  We have also got an employment rate in Scotland that is higher than it is in any other part of the UK.  We’ve seen new figures published today from the Resolution Foundation that show that median wages in Scotland are now for the first time ever slightly higher than they are in England so the Scottish economy faces the same headwinds from lower growth in countries like China for example, the strength of sterling that the economy elsewhere in the UK and in terms of the global conditions that economies across the world face but we continue to be focused on making the decisions that support growth in our economy, that lead to higher wages – we’ve got a higher proportion of our workforce paid the living wage now than any other of the UK outside I think London and the South East. So there is no room for complacency on the economy and the growth figures not just in Scotland but across the UK underline that point but that is why we as a government remain focused on the things we need to do to support growth and continued growth in the economy.

DM: But there are people, as I phrased in that question there, who say the SNP isn’t doing too well, isn’t very good at economic policy and economic forecasting.  Let me just remind you, and the oil price plays a big role in all this doesn’t it in terms of Scotland’s output, this is what you said to me about fifteen months ago, about which way the oil price would go.

NICOLA STURGEON: The oil price right now is a feature of factors around supply and demand in the global market. The majority of independent forecasts suggest that oil prices will rise again next year, I think the projection is that oil prices will be over $100 a barrel next year, OPEC also projects and forecasts rising oil prices, so the outlook
DM: Those aren’t the forecasts I’ve read Ms Sturgeon.  

DM: Okay, that was 15 months ago and no one can be Mystic Meg on any commodity but wow, I mean you are thanking your lucky stars are you not that you didn’t win independence?  You’d be going straight to the IMF as soon as you got the keys of the door.
NICOLA STURGEON: No, we wouldn’t.  Let me make two points there, I was struggling to hear but I think I got the gist of the point you just put to me there.  I

DM: $100 a barrel.

NICOLA STURGEON: I heard that big.  I was quoting in that clip independent forecasts, I think I was quoting the forecast that at that time OPEC made.  The forecasts that the SNP and the Scottish government have made on oil have not been out of line with external independent forecasts, that’s the first point to make.  The second point – I’ll make three points actually, the second point is the impact of the lower oil price is being felt right now in the north-east of Scotland, in the North Sea oil and gas sector.  Many companies are struggling, many people are facing redundancy so my first responsibility and priority as First Minister is to make sure we are doing what we can to help individuals and companies come through this because as we heard, Oil and Gas UK say just a couple of weeks ago, as we heard BP one of the biggest oil companies in the North Sea say just last week, notwithstanding current difficulties, if we do the right things now the North Sea continues to have a very strong future ahead of it and we saw the first increase last year in production out of the North Sea for many, many years but the third point I’ll make is about independence.  The case for independence never has been and never will be resting solely on the oil price or on the contribution of oil to the Scottish economy.  I’ve just quoted figures about Scotland’s economic performance, if you take oil out of the Scottish economy our economic output is broadly comparable to that of the rest of the UK, we’ve got higher employment rates than any other part of the UK, we’re seeing wages going higher than in other parts of the UK for the first time. Scotland has got a strong economy, our onshore revenues over the next number of years are projected to increase so oil is important in our economy but it’s not the be all and end all of our economy and it never has been.

DM: Quick thoughts about Donald Trump.  If Scotland were again going independent would you like to accept Candidate Trump or even President Trump on to Scottish shores again?  

NICOLA STURGEON: I fundamentally disagree with Donald Trump on many, many, many things and I found some of his recent comments particularly on the Muslim community and the Islamic faith to be deeply, deeply offensive.  Who is the next President of the United States is of course not a matter for me, it’s a matter for the people of America and I think that innate good sense of the people of the United States of America will prevail over the next few months.

DM: Okay Nicola Sturgeon, thank you very much indeed, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon there.  


SKY NEWS – MURNAGHAN – 10.00 – 17.01.16 – INTERVIEW WITH NICOLA STURGEON, MSP, FIRST MINISTER FOR SCOTLAND

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Well now, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, has said he will try to, in his words, ‘accommodate’ different opinions on the future of Britain’s nuclear deterrent despite his own belief it should be scrapped.  It is after a warning that ditching support for Trident would be barmy.  Well Trident is based in Scottish waters of course and the country’s First Minister has made her opposition to renewal clear and Nicola Sturgeon joins me now from Glasgow, a very morning to you First Minister.

NICOLA STURGEON: Good morning.  

DM: We can see there that you are going to be speaking at the Unite conference and I’ve just been speaking to their General Secretary Len McCluskey.  Do you share any of his and his members’ concerns about the effect on jobs of scrapping Trident?

NICOLA STURGEON: Well this union has expressed concerned about the impact on jobs if Trident is scrapped and I want to see Trident scrapped and as any union is right to do, it’s right to focus on the implications for its members.  I’ve always argued and the SNP has always argued that along with the scrapping of Trident we need to look at defence diversification and how we can use the money that would be saved if we don’t renew the Trident nuclear system to invest elsewhere in our economy.  So I think there is common ground between my position and that which would be articulated by Unite, the union and I shall shortly speak to Len McCluskey myself and I am sure it is one of the issues we will discuss but my view on Trident is a long-held view, it is rooted in principle and it’s based firstly on defence considerations.  I think given the nature of the threats we face in the modern world Trident nuclear weapons are not the way to protect us against those threats.  I think instead we need to see properly resourced conventional defence capabilities and secondly, in a time in continued austerity, austerity that I don’t support, the idea that we would choose over the next few years to invest £167 billion on latest estimates on Trident nuclear weapons instead of investing that in good conventional defences but also in health and education and giving our young people the best start in life, I just think represents fundamentally and morally the wrong choice to make.

DM:  So how do you view Labour’s defence review?  Are you hoping that they join the SNP in unilateralism or would that then dilute your distinctive offering to the people of Scotland?

NICOLA STURGEON: No, I want to see us in a position where the renewal of Trident doesn’t go ahead and I would love to see Jeremy Corbyn’s position on Trident prevail in the Labour party.  I have to say I have some considerable doubts as to whether or not it will because Labour is deeply, deeply divided and while I agree with Jeremy Corbyn on this issue, his big challenge is to get his party to agree with him.  The chances of that I think look questionable at best at the moment.  There is also an issue of timescale, while Labour is contemplating its own navel on this issue, the Tory government is pressing ahead with plans to renew Trident so what we need to see is a united anti-Trident position from the Labour party as quickly as possible because the real danger is the Tories will have pressed ahead and taken the decision to renew Trident while Labour is still immersed in an internal debate and divide.  So I hope very much that Jeremy Corbyn on this issue quickly stamps his authority on the Labour party but I have to say I’m saying that right now more in hope than in expectation.  

DM: Can we just stay with another dimension of the economy and those overall figures, particularly the overall UK figures highlighting how Scotland isn’t doing so well.  We have the total output for the whole of the UK at 0.4% between July and September last year, Scotland just in positive territory on 0.1%. What does that say about the SNPs stewardship of the economy?

NICOLA STURGEON: We have now had three years of continuous economic growth in Scotland, that’s the longest period of continuous economic growth in the lifetime of the Scottish parliament.  We have also got an employment rate in Scotland that is higher than it is in any other part of the UK.  We’ve seen new figures published today from the Resolution Foundation that show that median wages in Scotland are now for the first time ever slightly higher than they are in England so the Scottish economy faces the same headwinds from lower growth in countries like China for example, the strength of sterling that the economy elsewhere in the UK and in terms of the global conditions that economies across the world face but we continue to be focused on making the decisions that support growth in our economy, that lead to higher wages – we’ve got a higher proportion of our workforce paid the living wage now than any other of the UK outside I think London and the South East. So there is no room for complacency on the economy and the growth figures not just in Scotland but across the UK underline that point but that is why we as a government remain focused on the things we need to do to support growth and continued growth in the economy.

DM: But there are people, as I phrased in that question there, who say the SNP isn’t doing too well, isn’t very good at economic policy and economic forecasting.  Let me just remind you, and the oil price plays a big role in all this doesn’t it in terms of Scotland’s output, this is what you said to me about fifteen months ago, about which way the oil price would go.

NICOLA STURGEON: The oil price right now is a feature of factors around supply and demand in the global market. The majority of independent forecasts suggest that oil prices will rise again next year, I think the projection is that oil prices will be over $100 a barrel next year, OPEC also projects and forecasts rising oil prices, so the outlook
DM: Those aren’t the forecasts I’ve read Ms Sturgeon.  

DM: Okay, that was 15 months ago and no one can be Mystic Meg on any commodity but wow, I mean you are thanking your lucky stars are you not that you didn’t win independence?  You’d be going straight to the IMF as soon as you got the keys of the door.
NICOLA STURGEON: No, we wouldn’t.  Let me make two points there, I was struggling to hear but I think I got the gist of the point you just put to me there.  I

DM: $100 a barrel.

NICOLA STURGEON: I heard that big.  I was quoting in that clip independent forecasts, I think I was quoting the forecast that at that time OPEC made.  The forecasts that the SNP and the Scottish government have made on oil have not been out of line with external independent forecasts, that’s the first point to make.  The second point – I’ll make three points actually, the second point is the impact of the lower oil price is being felt right now in the north-east of Scotland, in the North Sea oil and gas sector.  Many companies are struggling, many people are facing redundancy so my first responsibility and priority as First Minister is to make sure we are doing what we can to help individuals and companies come through this because as we heard, Oil and Gas UK say just a couple of weeks ago, as we heard BP one of the biggest oil companies in the North Sea say just last week, notwithstanding current difficulties, if we do the right things now the North Sea continues to have a very strong future ahead of it and we saw the first increase last year in production out of the North Sea for many, many years but the third point I’ll make is about independence.  The case for independence never has been and never will be resting solely on the oil price or on the contribution of oil to the Scottish economy.  I’ve just quoted figures about Scotland’s economic performance, if you take oil out of the Scottish economy our economic output is broadly comparable to that of the rest of the UK, we’ve got higher employment rates than any other part of the UK, we’re seeing wages going higher than in other parts of the UK for the first time. Scotland has got a strong economy, our onshore revenues over the next number of years are projected to increase so oil is important in our economy but it’s not the be all and end all of our economy and it never has been.

DM: Quick thoughts about Donald Trump.  If Scotland were again going independent would you like to accept Candidate Trump or even President Trump on to Scottish shores again?  

NICOLA STURGEON: I fundamentally disagree with Donald Trump on many, many, many things and I found some of his recent comments particularly on the Muslim community and the Islamic faith to be deeply, deeply offensive.  Who is the next President of the United States is of course not a matter for me, it’s a matter for the people of America and I think that innate good sense of the people of the United States of America will prevail over the next few months.

DM: Okay Nicola Sturgeon, thank you very much indeed, First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon there.