The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
‘Now not the time for independence talk’
Chancellor Rishi Sunak visits firms in Scotland and insists everyone’s focus should be on UK’S economic recovery
Now is not the time to discuss Scottish independence, the chancellor has said on a trip north of the border.
Following a visit to generator manufacturers Peak Scientific in Glasgow yesterday morning, Rishi Sunak said he believes Scotland is one of the UK’S “power brands” in the tourism sector and could drive the recovery of the whole country.
The chancellor – the fourth UK Cabinet minister to visit Scotland in recent weeks – also said new fiscal powers for the Scottish Parliament should be decided in a “proper way” through a review of the fiscal framework.
That is the agreement between the UK and Scottish governments on funding arrangements.
Mr Sunak said: “I don’t think now is the time to be talking about these constitutional questions, I think everyone’s sole focus and my sole focus right now is doing what we can to protect people’s jobs and their livelihoods at what is an incredibly difficult time for our economy.
“That’s what I think everyone should be focused on, let’s not focus on these
“Tourism is a really important industry for the UK, and Scotland is one of our power brands when it comes to UK tourism, and Scotland can help drive our recovery in that regard. CHANCELLOR RISHI SUNAK
divisive constitutional questions, let’s focus on rebuilding for the future.”
The chancellor echoed the sentiment expressed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson when asked about Scottish independence, saying the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of the union to Scotland and how it will prove just as important in the economic recovery to come.
Mr Sunak added: “Tourism is a really important industry for the United Kingdom, and Scotland is one of our power brands when it comes to UK tourism, and Scotland can help drive our recovery in that regard.
“Which is why the UK initiatives like ‘eat out to help out’ or the VAT reduction for tourism and hospitality can disproportionately benefit the Scottish economy and Scottish jobs and in doing so help drive the UK recovery.”
As the chancellor visited Glasgow, Scottish Finance Secretary Kate Forbes said on Twitter she doubts his understanding of the urgency for more fiscal powers for the Scottish Parliament – something that has been requested several times during the pandemic.
Ms Forbes said most of the new powers sought would not cost the Treasury a penny, and claimed Mr Sunak therefore “either doesn’t care... or it’s purely a political position”.
Constitution Secretary Mike Russell has said extending the borrowing powers of the Scottish Parliament could lead to the furlough scheme in Scotland continuing past the October cancellation date.
In response, Mr Sunak said: “The fiscal framework is big and important and should only be changed after a proper process, that process is due to happen, I think, next year.”
Boris Johnson is facing calls to “set the record straight” and prove his chief aide Dominic Cummings did not make a second trip to Durham during the lockdown.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner called on Downing Street to publish the evidence the adviser says he has to show he did not make the additional journey during the peak of the coronavirus crisis.
Dave and Clare Edwards, a couple who say they saw Mr Cummings walking in Houghall Woods on April 19, the weekend after he had returned to work in London, have criticised Durham police’s investigation into the adviser.
They have filed an official complaint to the police watchdog, the Guardian and the Mirror reported.
Mr Cummings told a press conference in May that photos and data on his phone prove the allegation about the second trip was false.
Ms Rayner said: “The public have a right to know whether the prime minister’s chief adviser made a second lockdown-breaching trip to Durham, and it is surely therefore only right that this evidence is produced.
“If Dominic Cummings was in London during both the morning and afternoon of the April 19, and not in Durham as has been alleged, I’m sure that he the prime minister will welcome this opportunity to set the record straight.”
The new allegation follows publication of research which said Mr Cummings’ trip to Durham while suffering from coronavirus drastically undermined public trust in the government’s handling of the pandemic.
The analysis, published in The Lancet and carried out by University College London, found that his actions reduced people’s willingness to follow social distancing rules.