Amongst other things they promised more money for nurses, smaller classes and 1,000 extra police officers.

John said “Today I want to talk about ambition.

My ambition is to release our country's potential. To make much of ourselves. To play our full and rightful part in the world. My ambition is for my country to be independent.

To be independent means we must take responsibility at home. And equally to be independent means we must take responsibility for the forces that shape the planet on which we live. When those forces press in on us - the issues of world peace and world security - they require a principled response.

Two weeks ago in the Scottish Parliament, I initiated a debate on the current international situation in Iraq. Our opponents attacked me for even daring to do so. For them the Scottish Parliament is a place where free speech is restricted and where the big matters of the day cannot be addressed, lest that offends their political masters in London. They try to shout me down when I stray from the devolved agenda