Hansard

Before I speak to the motion, I will deal with the point that Robert Brown made. He suggested that the SNP is somehow trying to hijack the saltire and use it for itself. I find that interesting, because I hold here a postcard with the Scottish saltire on it, emblazoned with the words "It's about freedom." It is produced not by the SNP youth wing—the Young Scots for Independence—but by the Scottish Young Liberal Democrats. It is not only the SNP that lays claim to the saltire. I welcome the Scottish Young Liberal Democrats trying to use it as well.

I am delighted that our national Parliament is able to have this debate on the eve of our national day, St Andrew's day. It is surely an opportunity for Parliament to speak with one voice and send out a signal to the country and the world that our national day is of huge importance to us, that we value it and that we want to make the most of it. However, with all the amendments that are before us, it remains to be seen whether we will speak with one voice. I suppose that we will find out at decision time.

The debate is important, because Scotland still has work to do to establish St Andrew's day as a national day that is as significant as those of many other countries. National days around the world have different meanings and different historical roots. St Patrick's day on 17 March is a broad celebration of culture that has close ties to the religious significance of the feast, as it usually falls during Lent, which means that those observing Lent can abstain from their Lenten abstinence. However, St Patrick's day now offers huge commercial and tourism possibilities not only for Ireland itself, but for places wherever parts of the Irish diaspora find themselves, be it Boston, New York or our country. American independence day on 4 July has different origins from St Patrick's day but is just as significant to the American people. It marks the foundation of a nation and the values of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that its founding declaration boldly set out.

I look forward to the day—which is coming soon—when we are able to celebrate our national independence day, too. However, in the meantime, Scotland has yet to establish for itself a national day that has anything like the significance of St Patrick's day, American independence day or many of the other national days around the world. Nobody seems to celebrate devolution day with much fervour, although I like to imagine that, every 12 May—the date on which the Scottish Parliament was reconvened in 1999—wherever he is in the world, Lord George Robertson raises a toast to devolution and the Parliament killing the SNP "stone dead". Perhaps not.

We still have to establish a national day that has the same significance as those of many other countries. Burns night unites Scots and other lovers of the bard's works around the world in a celebration of the life, poetry and song of Robert Burns. However, it lacks the potential for the wider exploration and exposition of our culture and society that is found in the national days of other countries. I welcome the opportunity that is provided by the Scottish Government to mark as best we can our national day, St Andrew's day. The wealth of activities that are being undertaken by the Government and others to celebrate St Andrew's day build on what has gone before, and serve to make this year's series of events bigger and better than ever before.

We have to build on that and strive for yet more—St Andrew's day has so much unharnessed potential. The debate this morning was about tourism, and the tourist potential of a bona fide national day hardly needs explaining. I have already referred to it, but we need only look at the experience in Ireland: tourists pour into Dublin on St Patrick's day for a glimpse of what is possible.

We are moving in the right direction in that regard. The utilisation of St Andrew's day to kick-start a Scottish winter festival is a welcome step. Used properly, that festival can run from St Andrew's day tomorrow, through Christmas and hogmanay to Burns night in January. Taking in those traditional holidays, as well as modern events such as Celtic Connections, provides much-needed coherence and focus, with a continuous celebration of Scottish heritage and culture. St Andrew's day should properly be the launch pad for that. Such a winter festival will go some way to making it the sort of national day to which we aspire.

Noting the context of the debate—Ted Brocklebank mentioned this—it is interesting that Gordon Brown is desperately scrambling around for a date to designate as Britain's national day, although we already have days for each constituent part of the UK, with which people always identify more readily. Gordon Brown would give his eye teeth for a British equivalent to St Andrew's day, St David's day or St George's day, although St Gordon's day does not quite have the same ring to it, I am afraid. Instead of desperately clambering about to create a synthetic British national day, let us get on with the business of establishing St Andrew's day as Scotland's national day. I commend the Government for working towards that aim, with the events that it has set up this year.