Ed Miliband speech on Scottish independence

Ed Miliband speech on Scottish independence; Miliband speech SOT - The story of the Scotsman, the Englishman, and the Welshman is not just the start of a good joke. It says something about our history as a United Kingdom. An Englishman, Clement Attlee, who led the most successful Labour Government in history. But that Labour Party was founded by a Scotsman, Keir Hardie. And a Welshman, Nye Bevan, who pioneered that Government's greatest legacy, our National Health Service. These are the achievements of our nations working together. And that's not all. Before we passed the Provision of School Meals Act together, children from Lands End to John O' Groats would go hungry just because their family was poor. Before we built the NHS together, if you fell ill, you would only be treated if you could pay for it. Before we passed the Equal Pay Act together, a woman could do exactly the same job as the man sitting next to her and still only be paid half his salary. And before we established the minimum wage together, you had people doing backbreaking work for less than 1 pound an hour. These progressive achievements do not belong to one nation of the United Kingdom. They are British achievements. Our history is that we have made this country fairer, together. And the challenges of today demand that we once again respond together. We live in the shadow of the banking crisis of 2007 - 2008. The young person joining a dole queue behind a million others. The small business which wants to grow but can't get a loan. And the father who lies awake at night worrying about how to pay the bills. That is the real priority for all of us who want to make this country fairer. That is what I mean when I say that we need to build a more responsible capitalism. That is the true project for social justice in our United Kingdom. It is a big challenge, and one I believe we can only overcome together. Why? Not only because together we are stronger; sharing the risks and rewards in an uncertain ...