Parliamentary News Release
038/2003
Wednesday 4 June 2003
Full text of Presiding Officer and Queen's Speeches
Her Majesty The Queen addressed MSPs on Tuesday 3 June, marking the third occasion on which The Queen has met with the Scottish Parliament.
Presiding Officer George Reid said the proceedings, at the start of the Parliament’s second session, were an occasion of “quiet Scots dignity and dedication”.
Mr Reid continued:
“Four years ago, Her Majesty gave Parliament the gift of its mace. We are guided by the words engraved upon it – wisdom, justice, compassion and integrity.
“Four years ago, our first First Minister, Donald Dewar, spoke eloquently of there being a new voice in the land.
“The ceremony will reflect both these aspirations, in a Scottish blend of the formal and informal, as we start on the work of our second session.”
Full text of speeches follows:
The Presiding Officer opened the meeting of Parliament and formally welcomed The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh:
Your Majesty:
This is the third time you have met with the Scottish Parliament. We are honoured that you join us again today.
Fàilte is furan oiribh, Ur Mòrachd, dhan choinneimh seo còmhla ri Pàrlamaid na h-Alba…
Four years ago, your Majesty, our first First Minister, Donald Dewar, spoke movingly of the challenges which are facing Scotland.
He spoke of the echoes of the past – the shout of the welder in the Clyde, the speak of the Mearns, the discourse of the Scottish Enlightenment, the wild cry of the great pipes, the distant din of battles in the days of Bruce and Wallace.
On that day we sought to give Scotland a future for her past. A Scotland guided by the words engraved in your gift of our mace – “Wisdom, Justice, Compassion, Integrity”.
A Scotland in which this Parliament would be a new voice in the land.
The day we sat for the first time was a day of great expectations. A day when some thought Scotland might be transformed straight away.
But as you remarked in Aberdeen last year, your Majesty, we Scots – after a parliamentary adjournment of some 300 years – were never going to build a new political culture overnight….
And so we enter our second Parliament. A bit wiser, hopefully more realistic, needing to concentrate on what really matters, certainly more diverse.
Looking round this rainbow Chamber, no one can say that Holyrood is a pale reflection of Westminster. Yes, we are shaped in the great traditions of British democracy. But we have also drawn on the experience of the Commonwealth and, in all our diversity, we look distinctly European.
In this rainbow legislature your majesty, I have the task of ensuring fair shares for all. There will certainly be days when I think back with nostalgia to the powers of my predecessors in the old Scots Parliament to have recalcitrant Members escorted out by the Lord Lyon to the Market Cross. And there, in the presence of the lieges, to be publicly castigated – according to the Orders of the time, “to the sound of silver trumpets”.
But the sheer diversity of this Parliament holds promise of new ways of doing Scottish business. There is a new voice in the land. It can offer new perspectives, new insights into how we create an enterprising and compassionate Scotland… into how we fit into Britain, into Europe, and into the globalised society of the contemporary world. .
Your Majesty, our First Minister now has a mandate to take forward his programme of government. It will be the task of this Parliament to subject that programme to full scrutiny. We shall do so in accordance with our founding principles.
We shall be accessible to the people of Scotland. We shall continue our open door policy and shall work in full partnership with the people.
We shall be accountable. We shall work in transparency, making clear why decisions have been reached and where money has been spent.
We shall practice equal opportunities. This is a land where all – regardless of origin and belief – are Jock Tamson’s bairns.
And we shall continue to share power between Executive, between Parliament, and People.
The great change in the past four years, is that if we make mistakes, they are now largely our mistakes.
Lastly — your Majesty, our Queen of Scots — the key challenge of the next four years is to build confidence in this Parliament as the place where the issues of devolved Scotts life are clearly delineated, properly debated, thoroughly scruitinsed, and finally decided.
Your Majesty, I now invite to address Parliament.
The Queen responded to the Presiding Officer’s remarks and addressed the Scottish Parliament:
Presiding Officer, First Minister, Members of the Scottish Parliament
It is a pleasure to be invited to address this parliament again and to do so once more here again on the Mound in Edinburgh.
In your remarks, Presiding Officer, you referred to the challenges facing this new, diverse, legislature. That diversity reflects the nature of Scottish society. There are many different traditions represented in this Chamber and each can contribute to the shaping of Scotland.
Throughout this nation’s long history, the Scottish people have demonstrated many strengths of character: determination, principle, tenacity. All have contributed greatly to the life of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth, and indeed the world. This history is invaluable as a source from which to draw faith and confidence in the future. Many of the characteristics of this new Parliament, such as its single chamber, the importance it accords to committees, the role of the Presiding Officer, can trace their origins to the old Scots Parliament as it developed over the centuries leading up to 1707.
We see in this new Parliament, even after four short years, clear
signs of a legislature that is distinctly Scottish, a legislature that
is working, as you said, Presiding Officer, to fit contemporary Scotland
into Britain, into Europe, and into the wider world. It is a modern
reaffirmation of the ancient bond that has linked crown, parliament
and people for hundreds of years. The days when Scotland was limited
to a few Acts each year are now over. Today, across a whole range of
important areas, this Parliament is carving out a distinctly Scottish
position.
I commend you, in particular, for your commitment to work in partnership
with the people. At a time when in many countries there is disengagement
from politics, parliaments everywhere can draw on your experience
with your petitioning process, from the regular meetings of your
committees throughout the land, from your engagement with young people,
and from your determination to employ the latest technology to reach
out to the electorate.
Shortly, we shall become neighbours when this Parliament moves to
its new campus at the bottom end of the Royal Mile. The old Scottish
parliament house was the first purpose-built legislature in the British
Isles. It is a building of great distinction and charm, sitting in
the High Street, close to the people. The new Holyrood Parliament will
be rooted in the land of Scotland, in an ancient part of this capital
city, dramatically linking this country’s future with its past.
I hope that it too will be close to the people and be seen as a bold
statement of Scotland’s standing in the world.
Presiding Officer, when I addressed Members of the Scottish Parliament
last year in Aberdeen, I said that I had confidence in your commitment
to the service of the Scottish people. I reaffirm that confidence
today as you embark on this second parliamentary session. I wish
you well in your discussions in such a diverse Chamber. The different
perspectives to which you referred can, indeed, enrich debate and
the contributions of all shades of opinion will be listened to with
interest, I am sure, not just here but elsewhere in Britain, in Europe
and the Commonwealth.
The Duke of Edinburgh joins me in wishing this Parliament and its Members every success as you embark on the work of your new session. May God bless your debates and deliberations in the months to come.
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