UK PM Candidates Dismiss New Scottish Independence Referendum
The two candidates battling to be
Britain's next prime minister vied to present themselves as defenders of
Scotland's place in the United Kingdom on Tuesday, promising more scrutiny of
Scotland's government to undermine a new push for independence.
The Scottish National Party (SNP), which heads Scotland's
semi-autonomous government, wants to hold a second independence referendum next
year, which could rip apart the world's fifth-biggest economy.
The
bonds holding together the four countries that make up the United Kingdom —
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — have been severely strained
over the last six years by Brexit and the government's handling of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Liz
Truss, the foreign minister and frontrunner in the leadership race, and Rishi
Sunak, a former finance minister, set out their policies for Scotland as they
appeared at the only Conservative Party hustings in the country on Tuesday.
At
the hustings in Scotland, both Sunak and Truss ruled out granting another
independence referendum if they become prime minister, saying the issue was
settled when the last one was held eight years ago.
"To
me, we're not just neighbours, we're family. And I will never ever let our
family be split up," Truss told Conservative party members.
However,
about a quarter of Scots are likely to support independence regardless of which
Conservative candidate wins, according to an opinion poll published by Survation
and Diffley Partnerships.
The
SNP said Scotland loses no matter who wins the contest, and attacked the
British government's failure to deal with the worst cost-of-living crisis in
decades.
The
real value of average British workers' pay fell at the fastest rate since at
least 2001, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday, as inflation
outstripped wage increases.
Scotland,
which has a population of around 5.5 million, rejected independence in 2014.
But its government says Britain's departure from the European Union, which was
opposed by most Scots, means the question must be put to a second vote.
Earlier,
Truss promised to give parliamentary privilege to members of the Scottish
parliament to allow more scrutiny of the government, and said she would push a
trade deal with India to end longstanding 150% tariffs on Scotch whisky, the
country's biggest single product export.
Sunak
has said if he becomes prime minister, he would order senior Scottish
government officials to attend annual British parliament committee hearings and
ensure data on performance of Scottish public services was consistent with
numbers published for England and Wales.
On
Tuesday, he ruled out freezing a cap on energy prices despite calls from the
opposition Labour party for such a move to help struggling households with
soaring bills.
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