JimMcDonald

Today on a visit to Faslane I announced the funding for the biggest upgrade of our naval bases since the end of the Cold War. £26bn will be spent in the next decade in a massive effort to improve availability, and warfighting readiness of our naval bases.

We are calling on the Plaid Cymru Government to withdraw their supplementary budget today, negotiate with the teaching unions, and bring back another supplementary budget in the summer with more investment for additional learning needs.

But what matters most is living standards. Since devolution, median weekly earnings have risen by 23% in Scotland, versus 15% in England, 16% in Wales and 20% in Northern Ireland. Scotland has overtaken England and now has the highest earnings of all UK nations.

Average incomes can conceal how growth is distributed. Among all UK regions and nations, Scotland has the lowest proportion of workers earning below the Living Wage. This has been aided by deliberate policy choices, including Scotland's Fair Work agenda.

Scotland has also outperformed most of the UK on household disposable income, which includes earnings and benefits, net of taxes. Real GDHI per head has grown faster than in every English region except London.

Since 1999, Scotland has recorded the fastest GDP growth per capita of any UK nation. Edinburgh now has the highest GDP per capita of any UK city. Productivity tells a similar story. Since the financial crisis, Scotland's productivity has grown at roughly twice the UK's rate.