Britain’s new prime minister Liz Truss is visiting Scotland to satisfy the Queen at Balmoral, the place she will probably be invited to type a authorities following her victory over Rishi Sunak within the Conservative Party management contest.
Despite being born in Oxford and spending her teenage years in Leeds, Ms Truss really lived in Paisley, Renfrewshire, for eight years as a toddler within the Eighties, the place she attended West Primary School.
The daughter of left-wing dad and mom, she has recalled attending Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament demonstrations on the Faslane naval base and chanting anti-Thatcher slogans equivalent to “Maggie, Maggie, Maggie! Oot, oot, oot!” a far cry from her present Iron Lady posturing.
While that may trace at an affinity for Scottish independence, she has already made clear her opposition to the Scottish National Party (SNP)’s dedication to stage a second referendum on the query in 2023.
The final independence vote was held on 18 September 2014, ending with 55.3 per cent victory for the “no” marketing campaign, however the UK Supreme Court is scheduled to listen to a authorized case in October that may decide whether or not a second may be held with out the consent of Westminster, with the hostile affect of Brexit on Britain fuelling recent want for a breakup of the union north of the border.
The Sunday Times reported over the weekend {that a} Truss administration may legislate to make it harder for a “yes” vote to move, requiring 50.1 per cent of all the voters to again such a transfer, not only a majority proportion of the turnout on the day in query.
SNP chief Nicola Sturgeon responded to that in an interview with Sophy Ridge on Sky News by warning the brand new PM to not “gerrymander the rules”.
“Just because you fear losing a democratic contest, it’s not an excuse or doesn’t make it acceptable to rewrite the rules of democracy,” she mentioned.
Speaking in Exeter throughout final month’s husting occasions for the management contest, Ms Truss was extremely important of her Scottish counterpart, paving the best way for bother forward: “I feel like I’m a child of the union, I really believe we’re a family and we’re better together and I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her.
“She’s an attention-seeker, that’s what she is.
“What we need to do is show the people of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales what we’re delivering for them and making sure that all of our government policies apply right across the United Kingdom.”
At one other hustings in Perth, the place pro-independence demonstrators staged a loud demonstration exterior town’s live performance corridor, Ms Truss mentioned she would “not allow” one other vote.
“If I am elected as prime minister, I will not allow another independence referendum,” she continued.
“At the time of the 2014 referendum, it was agreed by the SNP that it was a once-in-a-generation referendum.
“I believe in politicians keeping their promises, and Nicola Sturgeon should keep her promise. What she should do, rather than agitating for another referendum, is dealing with the very real issues in Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon has said Liz Truss will be a ‘disaster’ as PM if she governs how she has campaigned for the Tory leadership
(PA)
“There is a backlog in the Scottish National Health Service – I know that is a priority for the Scottish people and that is what we should be talking about, that is what the Scottish government should be dealing with.”
Elsewhere, she pledged to carry the Scottish Parliament to account over its “failure” to ship high quality public providers, once more attacking the SNP.
“I will never let anyone talk down Scotland’s potential,” she mentioned.
“As a nation we are stronger together and the UK needs Scotland as much as Scotland needs the UK.
“For too long, people in Scotland have been let down by the SNP focusing on constitutional division instead of their priorities. That won’t happen under my watch.”
She continued: “I’ll make sure that my government does everything to ensure elected representatives hold the devolved administration to account for its failure to deliver the quality public services, particularly health and education, that Scottish people deserve.
“As prime minister and minister for the union, I will deliver on my ambitious plan to capitalise on the opportunity we have to turbocharge the growth and business investment required to get Scotland’s economy moving.”
At one other hustings in Darlington, she mentioned the topic of North Sea oil drilling licences, which she regards as a key a part of the answer to the UK’s current vitality woes.
According to The Times, Ms Truss plans to supply as much as 130 new licences and encourage firms with present platforms in place to speculate extra and ramp up manufacturing, a place that once more dangers placing her at odds with Ms Sturgeon, who might proceed to choose to prioritise the pursuits of the setting.
“I also want to make sure we’re exploiting all of the gas reserves and the capacity we have in the UK,” she informed her Conservative viewers within the north east.
“It is important we increase the supply of energy, and there are more resources to be used in the North Sea.”
Source: www.unbiased.co.uk