Uk-wide World Cup bid might buoy the Union, says Davidson
THE home nations should stage a joint bid to host the World Cup to counter declining emotional attachment to the Union, Ruth Davidson has suggested.
The Scottish Tory leader made the proposal at a think tank conference in London after expressing concern that more Scots’ view their support for the Union as “transactional” since the Brexit vote, based on economic security rather than them feeling “a sense of shared values”.
Ms Davidson warned this is “a shallow basis for an enduring relationship” and support for the Union could be eroding “beneath the numbers” shown by opinion polls.
Citing the 2012 London Olympics as an example of how sport can bring the country together, she suggested that a joint Uk-wide World Cup bid be tabled.
Her intervention came after Nicola Sturgeon pledged to “restart” her inde- pendence campaign this week by publishing the findings of her growth commission, which aims to revamp the economic case for separation and recommend a currency. The First Minister insisted that the 400-page report would be “frank about the challenges” a separate Scotland would face.
Ms Davidson said she would advise the Prime Minister to give the same “now is not the time” response as last year if Ms Sturgeon repeats her demand for another vote.