The 2014 vote WAS once in a generation. Now we need to work hand in hand to build a better future for everybody

COVID-19 is the greatest threat to lives and livelihoods many have us have ever faced – and certainly the greatest in my lifetime. That’s why, throughout the pandemic, the UK Government has ensured the whole of the UK has benefited from the strength of the Union, through an unprecedented package of economic support.

Huge financial backing, some of the most generous in the world, has been a lifeline for many Scottish people and Scottish businesses.

Scotland needs both its governments to work together to build a successful future for all of us.

That is why I made clear last week that we expect the SNP to honour its once-in-a-generation promise on an independence vote.

We’ve seen what we can achieve when our governments work together – for example, with our city and growth deal programme.

But on other schemes, the Scottish Government has too often been half-hearted in its support, or even openly hostile.

The Scottish Mail on Sunday’s readers will recall this newspaper’s front page story in late August on how the Scottish Government threatened to delay preparations for our exciting UK Festival 2022, an event that will showcase the best of British culture, design and science to the rest of the world.

Ridiculously, Nationalist Ministers in Edinburgh objected to any references to ‘the UK’ or ‘Britain’. They continue to snub the Union

Connectivity Review, claiming wrongly that it undermines devolution. And they are dragging their heels in backing our Freeports plan, despite interest from a number of sites in Scotland.

Sadly, it seems that the SNP’s determination to start a row with Westminster outstrips its desire to support Scotland’s economy and Scottish jobs.

The Nationalists consistently put the nationalist interest ahead of the national interest.

SNP Ministers need to take the batteries out of the grievance machine, stop stirring conflict with the UK Government, and seek to work with us instead.

They will not be forgiven if they place their obsession with separating from the UK above the huge effort we must all make to bounce back from the misery of this global pandemic.

Sadly, the coronavirus crisis continues to cause devastation worldwide, with new restrictions in place in each part of the UK.

That is why the UK Government has given businesses and people across the UK certainty over the coming winter months, with further support announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak last week – including extending the furlough scheme until March. We have already protected almost ten million UK jobs through the generous staff furlough scheme.

At their peak in the summer, our furlough and self-employed schemes were supporting more than 930,000 jobs in Scotland.

In total, we are providing a £200 billion UK-wide package of support.

This also includes UK Government-backed loans and grants for businesses. So far, to date, more than 76,000 businesses in Scotland have benefited from UK Government loan schemes, worth more than £9.4 billion.

The Chancellor also announced on Thursday an additional £1 billion in Barnett consequentials for the Scottish Government to support our hospitals and public services, taking their additional Covid funding to £8.2 billion.

The UK Government is investing billions to help people get back into work when the time is right, including through our £2 billion Kickstart Scheme to get young people into jobs.

There is extra help from work coaches in Jobcentres, helping unemployed people of all ages and backgrounds get back into work by focusing on skills.

Scotland’s hospitality and tourism businesses are benefiting from a VAT cut which will run until March 2021. And it is not just financial support to protect jobs and our economy, but the work we are doing to test people for the virus and help protect them from this illness.

The UK Government is providing the bulk of Covid testing in Scotland, with our network of centres and the Glasgow Lighthouse Lab.

I am incredibly proud of the actions we are taking, and they have been welcomed across numerous sectors.

As well as being at the forefront of tackling the virus, we know we need to ‘build back better and greener’ across the UK, as the Prime Minister has promised.

That’s why we are putting in place bold, ambitious plans to boost our economy and create jobs for the future.

Through our city and growth deals programme, the UK Government is investing £1.5 billion across Scotland.

We are backing a huge range of projects, large and small, that will kick-start local economies and generate tens of thousands of jobs. And we want Scotland to be better

SNP Ministers need to take the batteries out of the grievance machine

Nationalists consistently put the nationalist interest ahead of the national interest

60% of our ‘exports’ go to England, Wales and Northern Ireland

connected with the rest of the UK – not least because that’s our biggest market, with 60 per cent of our ‘exports’ going to our neighbours in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

To achieve that, the Prime Minister has announced a Union Connectivity Review to examine how we could improve key routes, such as the A1 between Scotland and England, or the A75, which runs through the South of Scotland – but which is also critical for linking Northern Ireland with the North of England.

New opportunities will open up thanks to our UK Internal Market Bill, which is now going through Parliament.

The legislation will ensure our vitally important UK market continues to operate as it does now, free from damaging barriers to trade after we leave the Brexit transition period.

But it also allows the UK Government to invest directly in policy areas such as the transport structure in Scotland.

We also want to create a network of Freeports around the UK, business-friendly zones that will help revive local economies and create jobs.

When the Brexit transition period ends, we will regain control of funds that are spent here by the EU. Our Shared Prosperity Fund will enable us to spend on our own priorities in Scotland, not the priorities of Brussels.

But to succeed, and really take advantage of these exciting new opportunities, we need the Scottish Government to match our ambition.

It is time for all of us to work together, and ensure we really do build back better.