译者 wizky
Independent Scotland will be able to make more innovative policy decisions – like the one to ban smoking this cake was made to celebrate. Photo: David Cheskin/PA
独立的苏格兰将能制定更多的创新决策——正如这个蛋糕所庆祝的禁烟令。照片：David Cheskin/PA
The Scottish National party will campaign confidently for independence, not just as an end in itself but as the means by which the people of Scotland can best fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations; by which the Scottish economy can grow more strongly and sustainably; and by which Scotland can take its rightful place as a responsible member of the world community.
苏格兰民族党将会自信地为独立而进行活动，这不是为独立而独立，而是一种方式，通过这种方式，苏格兰人民能充分地发挥潜能并实现心愿；通过这种方式，苏格兰经济能更强有力、更可持续地增长；通过这种方式，苏格兰能得到应有的地位——国际社会负责任的一员。
When I was in Liverpool last year for an appearance on BBC Question Time, I received an enthusiastic response. Perhaps the strongest support I got was when I made a plea to the audience not to let the three biggest Westminster parties destroy England's National Health Service – just one of many issues where the Westminster class are out of touch with the people of England.
当我去年在利物浦出席BBC《质询时间（Question Time）》节目之时，我获得了热烈的回应。也许我得到的最强有力的支持是当我在观众面前承诺不让三大威斯敏斯特政党破坏英格兰的国民医疗保健制度——威斯敏斯特阶级与英格兰人民不接触联系的许多事务中的一个。
Looking at the chaos of health reform in England now, I thank the heavens that Westminster's writ no longer runs in Scotland on health issues. But the looming issues of welfare reform exemplify why Scotland needs the powers to make our own policies to meet our own needs and values.
看看目前英格兰医疗改革的乱象，谢天谢地，医疗问题上威斯敏斯特的法令不在苏格兰实行。但正在逼近的福利改革问题展示出为何苏格兰需要权力来使我们自己的政策符合我们的需求与价值观。
For instance, we have promoted what we call a "social wage" for our citizens. We have made a conscious decision to provide certain core universal services, rights and benefits, some of which are no longer prioritised by political leaders elsewhere in the UK – such as free university tuition, no prescription charges, and free personal care for the elderly.
举例来说，我们为公民提高了所谓的“社会福利工资”。我们做出了明智的决定，提供某些核心普遍服务、权利与利益，其中一些内容联合王国其他地区的政治领袖已不再优先解决——例如大学免学费、免收药费和老年人免费个人护理。
We do this because we believe such services benefit the common weal. They provide a sense of security, wellbeing and equity within communities. Such a sense of security is vital to a sense of confidence – and as we have seen over the last three years, confidence is essential to economic growth.
我们做这些是因为我们相信诸如此类的服务惠及公共福利。它们提供了安全感、幸福感和社区间的公平感。这样的安全感对自信感至关重要——正如过去三年我们所见，自信对经济增长必不可少。
We will provide a secure, stable and inclusive society. And by doing so we will encourage talent and ambition. Scotland will be a place people want to visit, invest, work and live in. Doing this has required some difficult decisions – such as major efficiency savings and a freeze in public sector pay. But those are easier to implement if your policies clearly have fairness at their heart.
我们将提供一个安全、稳定和包容的社会。通过这样做，我们将鼓励才华与雄心。苏格兰将成为人们乐于游览、投资和居住之地。这样做需要一些难以做出的决定——例如大幅提高效率和冻结公共部门薪酬。但如果你的政策本质上明显是公平的，那么这些实施起来就更为容易。
The concept of a social wage exemplifies one reason why people in Scotland want additional powers for their parliament: they largely like what we have done with the powers we already have.
社会福利工资的概念展示了一个苏格兰人民希望议会获得额外权力的理由：大部分苏格兰人民喜欢我们藉由已获得的权力做出的工作。
There are many examples of how the ability of Scotland to make independent decisions has had a beneficial effect on wider policy debates. An obvious one is the introduction of a smoking ban before the rest of the UK. And we have championed minimum pricing for alcohol – a policy that is attracting substantial interest south of the border and elsewhere.
关于苏格兰做出独立决定的能力已经对更广泛的政策辩论产生有益效果，有许多例子。明显的一例是在联合王国中率先出台禁烟令。我们也支持酒类价格最低——一项吸引了边境以南（指英格兰）与其他地方的实质利益的政策。
This innovation benefits Scotland – which can respond to specific Scottish problems and circumstances. But it also benefits the rest of the UK, and potentially the wider world, by providing a working precedent for policies other countries can then either adopt or not.
这一革新使苏格兰得益——其能对特定的苏格兰问题和情形作出回应。但通过提供其他国家日后采纳与否的政策先例，它亦使联合王国的其它部分得益，并可能使更大范围的世界获益。
An independent Scotland can be a beacon for progressive opinion south of the border and further afield, addressing policy challenges in ways that reflect the universal values of fairness and are capable of being considered, adapted and implemented according to the circumstances and wishes within the other jurisdictions of these islands and beyond.
并且，独立的苏格兰能成为边境以南（指英格兰）及更远范围的进步意见的指路明灯，以能反映公平的普世价值并能根据形势与诸岛及更大范围内其它行政辖区的意愿被考虑、改造并实施的方法解决政策挑战。
That, I believe, is a far more positive and practical Scottish contribution to progressive policy than sending a tribute of Labour MPs to Westminster to have the occasional turn at the Westminster tiller – particularly in the circumstances ofas the opposition's policy increasingly converging with that of the coalition on the key issues of the economy and public spending.
我相信，比起送工党议员到威斯敏斯特偶尔掌舵，这将是苏格兰对进步政策做出的更积极、更实际的贡献——特别是在经济与公共开支的关键问题上反对党的政策日渐与执政联盟一致的情形下。
The problem with Scotland's current constitutional settlement is that we cannot innovate as much as we would like. Policy choices made in Westminster – by parties whose democratic mandate in Scotland is negligible – are constraining the policy choices made in Scotland, for which there is an unequivocal mandate.
苏格兰目前的宪法解决所存在的问题是，我们无法像我们所愿意做到的那样革新。威斯敏斯特的政策选择——做出这些政策选择的政党在苏格兰的民主授权是微不足道、可以忽略的——束缚了苏格兰做出的政策选择，而其具有明确的民主授权。
The shift from administrative to legislative devolution was, of course, momentous in itself. But it still left Scotland with fewer powers than the German Länder, most American states, parts of Spain or, within these islands, the Isle of Man. The economy is where this is felt most deeply. What independence would do is to give us the tools – corporation tax, for instance, or alcohol excise duty – which we could use to get on with the job of promoting recovery and improving our people's lives.
从行政权下放到立法权下放的转换就其本身而言当然是意义重大的。但其留给苏格兰的权力依然比德国联邦州（Länder）、大多数美国州（states）、西班牙部分地区或马恩岛（Isle of Man）要小。这在经济方面感受最深。独立将给予我们工具——例如公司所得税或酒类消费税——我们能使用这些工具来促进经济复苏并改善人民生活。
Importantly, economic policy could be implemented in a co-ordinated way so that welfare, tax and enterprise policies would be in harmony with each other. And independence would allow Scotland – finally – to make the most use of its own energy resources.
重要的是，经济政策能以协调的方式施行，以便福利、税收与企业政策能和谐共处。并且独立允许苏格兰——最终——充分利用自身的能源资源。
Scotland as an independent nation would play an active and responsible role in the international community, contributing on issues where it could, but without delusions of grandeur. I find it inconceivable, for instance, that an independent Scotland would ever have participated in the invasion of Iraq.
作为独立国家，苏格兰将在国际社会中扮演一个更为积极、负责任的角色，为力所能及的事务做贡献，而没有狂妄自大的对地位权势的幻想。例如，独立的苏格兰若参与对伊拉克的入侵，这将是不可思议的。
Independence for Scotland would still leave us free to work together in the many areas where we do share common values and interests. The British Irish Council already provides a model of how all the people of these islands can work together on shared interests. Does anyone seriously believe the council would look massively different with three independent states rather than two?
苏格兰的独立也将给我们在许多共享价值观和利益的领域合作的自由。不列颠-爱尔兰议会（British Irish Council）已经提供了一个诸岛人民如何在共同利益上合作的模范。有没有人真的相信，三个独立国家而不是两个将会使该议会看上去大为不同？
But most of all, in addition to these institutional, cultural, economic and practical links, Scotland shares ties of family and friendship with our neighbours on these islands which never can be obsolete and which will continue and flourish after Scottish independence.
但最重要的是，除这些制度上的、文化上的、经济上的和实际上的联系外，苏格兰与这些岛上的邻居间共享家庭与友谊的联系，这般联系永远不会被废弃，并将在苏格兰独立后持续下去，蓬勃发展。
And when you consider our shared economic interests, our cultural ties, our many friendships and family relationships, one thing becomes clear. After Scotland becomes independent we will share more than a monarchy and a currency. We will share a social union. It just won't be the same as a restrictive state which no longer serves the interests of either Scotland or England.. This is an edited extract of the Hugo Young lecture he is delivering tonight
当你考虑到我们共同的经济利益、我们的文化联系和我们许多友谊与家庭关系，一件事情变得清晰。苏格兰独立后，我们共享的将不只是一个君主政体和一个货币体系。我们将共享一个社会联盟。这将与一个既不为苏格兰也不为英格兰的利益服务的受限制的国家不同……本文编辑并摘取自阿历克斯·萨尔蒙德将于今晚在雨果·杨讲座（the Hugo Young lecture）上发表的演说
from 译言-每日精品译文推荐 http://article.yeeyan.org/view/241865/247607
