Indyref2 is ‘last thing Scots need right now’, says Johnson
Boris Johnson has said plans for a second independence referendum show the SNP have the wrong priorities, labelling plans for a second vote as “incredible”.
In a speech to the Scottish Conservatives virtual conference on Sunday, the Prime Minister also launched an attack on Scottish Labour, labelling them “too weak” to be trusted to take on the SNP and stop Indyref2.
Mr Johnson also highlighted the successes of the UK government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic including the delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE), testing and the vaccination programme, describing it as demonstrating “the United Kingdom’s collective strength”.
The speech comes as support for the Union rises in Scotland, bucking a trend during the Covid-19 pandemic of a lead for Scottish independence.
Mr Johnson’s speech also follows the decision by the UK government to move hundreds of civil service jobs to Glasgow as part of a Cabinet Office relocation and reports of plans for the House of Commons
to sit in Edinburgh for two weeks each year amid a charm offensive to bolster support for the Union.
The Prime Minister said: “I just find it incredible then that the SNP would choose this moment to again push their campaign for separation.
“Just when everything is beginning to reopen again, when we will soon be reunited with our friends and family, the SNP think that this is the time to turn us all against one another, to start another political fight.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised–it is their party’s obsession. Yet surely even they have a sense of priority, of what is important right now.
“The SNP can see – after the impact of coronavirus – that people want time to renew their lives and to rebuild relationships that have become stretched. They know that workers are concerned primarily about their jobs and businesses concerned for their future.
“How can the SNP say that a referendum is the priority to them? It is the last thing they need right now.
“It is clear, though, that the SNP are not listening. They are intent on pushing for a referendum, regardless of the cost to Scotland and the whole of the UK.”
Mr Johnson said that for indyref2 to be stopped, voters must back the Scottish Conservatives and not other unionist parties such as Scottish Labour.
He said: “Labour are too weak and they cannot be trusted to stand up to the SNP.
“They would rather work with the SNP to be seen as anti-conservative than stand up for the unity of the United Kingdom.
“We cannot put the future of our country in Labour’s hands, not in Edinburgh or in London.
“So, it is up to the Scottish Conservatives to again stop the SNP from winning a majority in May just like they did in 2016. The only party that can cut the SNP down to size.”
Finishing his speech, Mr Johnson added: “The SNP want to divide us, to turn Scotland against itself, at this of all times.”