I have often talked about my paternal grandfather, Muhammad Yousaf, over the past few months. I have commented on his journey from Pakistan to Pollokshields, where he first lived upon arrival in this country. What I have not spoken about is the difficult circumstances that followed shortly after he arrived here in Scotland, in a country where he could barely speak the language and had little to his name. Unfortunately, five years after arriving in Scotland, my grandmother, Muhammad Yousaf’s wife, died at the age of 33, leaving my grandfather having to raise five children. He remarried but was left with five devastated children, including my father and my uncle, who was still a young baby.

My grandfather went on to become a successful small business owner, and although he has now passed away, his wife, my step-gran, still to this day works in the convenience store in Mayfield, and she tells me that Daniel Johnson is wont to pop in on occasion.

I mention my grandfather’s story because there is no way that, all those decades ago, he could have supported his five children and been a successful small business owner if it had not been for the support of society and the state. At a time when he really needed it, the Government was there to support him financially. That in turn helped to unleash his entrepreneurial spirit, and over the decades he created jobs and contributed significantly to society, not least through the taxes that he paid.

There is no doubt in my mind that economic growth goes hand in hand with tackling poverty, as it did for my grandfather all those years ago. The programme for government that I am publishing today is unashamedly anti-poverty and pro-growth, and it has a focus on supporting women—who are disproportionately affected by the pressures of modern life—including through expanding our childcare offer.

When I became First Minister, I promised that I would lead a Government for the whole country. In this chamber, we must never forget that although we disagree—sometimes, quite rightly, passionately—there is far more that unites us than divides us. Over the past two years, the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Green Party have successfully worked together to build a greener, fairer Scotland. In a world full of uncertainty, people rightly expect their elected representatives to work together constructively, and that is exactly what we have done.

So, to all the parties represented in this chamber, I repeat the offer that I made on becoming First Minister. You will sometimes disagree with things that we do, but, when you can, work with us. You will find that my door is always open. I have already shown my willingness to work with others in recent months.

However, we should remember the words of the late David McLetchie, who warned about

“worshipping the false god of consensus”.—[

Official Report

, 9 June 1999; c 376.]

In that vein, the Government that I lead will not simply coalesce around the lowest common denominator. For the good of society, for our future and for our children, where we need to pick a side, we will. In particular, while other political parties are abdicating their responsibilities to tackle the climate emergency, we will be unapologetic in taking the action needed to ensure a sustainable future for our children and our planet.

This programme is an opportunity to be explicit about the driving mission of the Government. Let me make it abundantly clear: we are a Government that will maximise every single lever at our disposal to tackle the scourge of poverty in our country. We have adopted progressive tax and spending policies to face those challenges, and I will never shy away from the belief that those who earn the most should pay the most. However, let me be equally clear and say without equivocation that we also need to support economic growth, not for its own sake but so that we can tackle poverty and improve our public services.

The unfortunate reality is that the Scottish Government is operating with one hand tied behind its back. Scotland has had no control over the fallout from the United Kingdom Government’s disastrous mini-budget or Brexit or more than a decade of austerity, but we still have to deal with the devastating consequences of those actions. To give just one example, in the past five years, we have spent more than £700 million in countering the impact of Westminster welfare cuts alone. That is why this Government will never stop believing that decisions about Scotland should not be made by a Government that is based in Westminster, but by the people of Scotland. [

Interruption

.]