Rishi Sunak has pledged to ‘drive down support’ for Scottish independence, effectively putting an end to Nicola Sturgeon’s dream.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has recently relaunched its campaign to hold a second referendum on Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom by the end of October 2023. Boris Johnson has insisted that this is incorrect and that leaders should instead “respect” the 2014 election results.
Both candidates for Tory leader and Prime Minister are likely to keep the same job.
Mr Sunak outlined his strategy for preventing a second referendum, saying he would “drive down support for independence.”
Ms Sturgeon has stated that if the Scottish people had known in 2014 that Brexit was on the horizon, they would “undoubtedly” have voted to leave the UK.
She recently told Holyrood that they “said ‘yes'” to the referendum by electing “a clear majority of MSPs committed to that outcome” in May.
However, the former Chancellor has insisted that he will turn this alleged situation around, in part by emphasising the benefits of UK membership to the UK.
In the Mail, he stated that he would “stand up to the SNP.”
“The SNP are wrong to try to tear the country apart when we should be pulling together,” Mr Sunak said.
“Just as I want to be more accountable to people in every corner of the United Kingdom, so too does the SNP need to be more accountable for their responsibilities.
He believes the Conservative Party must “drive down support for independence.”
He added: “We need to win the argument and show that you can be a patriotic Scot and a proud advocate of our United Kingdom at the same time.
“One is not exclusive to the other.
“That’s also why it’s so important that we have an energetic UK Government that is on the side of the Scottish people, delivering on their priorities.”