Mr Swinney marked the occasion by joining SNP activists in distributing the SNP's Vision publication, which has been produced to celebrate one year in power.

Mr Swinney said of the event: "For me, as a Member of the Scottish Parliament and as a Cabinet Minister in the first SNP Government, it has been the most thrilling year I could ever have spent involved in politics.

"I would thank the voters of North Tayside for giving me the opportunity to take part in this fantastic period of change in Scotland.

"Many people believed that the election outcome would be unstable as no one party had emerged dominant and in fact no coalition could be put together to command an absolute majority in Parliament.

"Nothing could be further from the truth. The Scottish Parliament has been liberated by the absence of an entrenched, dogmatic majority that got its way even though it was often wrong. Instead, Parliament considers issues on their merits and the SNP Government - working without a majority - has to reach out to others to find common ground.


"That approach also stretches outside the Parliament where the Government is more engaged with the public to find the solutions that really meet public expectations and aspirations. In my travels around the constituency, I meet farmers who feel the Government is addressing their concerns, business people who feel the Government is trying to help them grow their business and public servants who believe the Government has released them from bureaucratic burdens to deliver their best in the community.


"In the last twelve months the Government has achieved a great deal. We have abolished bridge tolls on the Forth and Tay bridges. We have introduced the Scottish Rural Development Plan to safeguard investment in rural Scotland. We have started the moves to abolish prescription charges and to keep our healthcare local. We have abolished the tuition fees imposed by the last Administration. We have started to put more police in our communities and have offered investment to keep young people out of trouble by creating new community opportunities. We have given our local towns a competitive boost by cutting business rates and the shopkeepers I spoke to on Saturday were profoundly grateful for the help we have offered. And by constructing a new relationship with local government through the Concordat, we have secured a focus to deliver our priorities including a freeze in the Council Tax.


"There is much more the Government plans to do. We are working to abolish the Council Tax and replace it with a fair local tax based on the ability to pay. We are preparing a new Climate Change Bill that will put Scotland in the driving seat of tackling this major issue. We are determined to make the planning system more efficient so decisions are taken more quickly and the economy benefits. We want to ensure our education service gives young people the best start in life and the health service gives people the support they require to live healthier lives.

"We have supported people in working to realise their own ambitions and we are working as a country to fulfil our ambitions. This is an exciting time for Scotland. We have a Government focused on delivering higher aspirations for Scotland. We have politicians of all parties being forced to work together. And we have all levels of Government - local and national - working for shared goals and ambitions.


"This is Scotland's time. And it is great for all of us who live here to have the chance to turn our Scotland into a more successful, confident, ambitious and prosperous nation."