Views: 0
Rishi Sunak has rejected Nicola Sturgeon’s demands for a second independence referendum by telling the SNP to “respect” the clear ‘No’ vote in 2014.
The new Prime Minister told MPs he was “pleased” to speak with Ms Sturgeon on his first day in office and said he had offered to “work constructively” with her administration in Edinburgh.
Her readout of their conversation on Tuesday night said she raised her demand for another independence referendum, but Mr Sunak said he was prepared to “disagree” on the issue.
Urging Ms Sturgeon’s Government to focus instead on its domestic responsibilities, he said he hoped to “collaborate” with the SNP on cutting violent crime in Scotland, which surged by a further nine per cent last year.
In a direct attack on her record in office, Mr Sunak referred to official figures showing police numbers in Scotland have nose-dived to their lowest level in 14 years, while the ranks of officers in England are rising.
Liz Truss had attracted criticism for failing to speak to both the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales in an official capacity during her chaotic premiership.
During her successful leadership contest against Mr Sunak in the summer, she had pledged to ignore Ms Sturgeon, whom she labelled an “attention seeker”. However, Mr Rishi warned this approach was “dangerously complacent”.
The First Minister has said she will hold an independence referendum on Oct 19 next year if the Supreme Court rules it is within her powers, following a hearing earlier this month.
If the court rules this would be unlawful, as the constitution is reserved to Westminster, she intends to use the next general election as a “de facto” referendum and open divorce talks if separatist parties win more than half the popular vote.
Alyn Smith, the SNP MP for Stirling, challenged Mr Sunak at his First Prime Minister’s Questions over his refusal to allow another independence referendum, asking: “How long does he think he can deny Scotland’s democracy?”
Mr Sunak responded: “He talked about respect, I would generally urge him to respect the result of the (independence) referendum.”
Responding to Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, he said it was “important” for him to speak to Ms Sturgeon on his first day in office.
“I wanted to express my desire to work constructively with the Scottish government so that we can work together to deliver for the people of Scotland and that is what I plan to do,” he said.
“And indeed, I hope crime is one of the things that we can collaborate on, because he will know that violent crime is rising in Scotland and police numbers are falling, whereas here we are increasing police numbers.”
Mr Sunak said he looked forward to working with Ms Sturgeon’s Government “on our shared challenges” as he believed in a “strong United Kingdom”.
Ms Sturgeon said their call had been “constructive”, tweeting: “I expressed hope that we will build a UK/Scottish Government relationship based on mutual respect – including for mandates – and my fear that further austerity will do real damage to people and public services. I look forward to further engagement soon.”
Referring to another separation vote, the Scottish Government said the First Minister “made clear her intention to honour the mandate the Scottish Government received from the people of Scotland at the last election”.
Source:The Telegraph