GET ON WITH THE DAY JOB, NICOLA
Johnson refuses her Indyref 2 demand and calls for focus on fixing economy, NHS and schools
BORIS Johnson refused to grant a second independence referendum yesterday and urged Nicola Sturgeon to focus on fixing the SNP’s appalling record in government.
Mr Johnson said it was time to end the ‘political stagnation’ which has damaged schools, hospitals and the economy as he rejected her latest demand for another Scexit vote.
The Prime Minister said the SNP leader should follow through on her promise to respect the result of the 2014 independence referendum when a decisive majority voted to stay in the UK.
He warned that another separation vote would ‘continue the political stagnation’ of the past ten years in Scotland, which would mean schools, hospitals and jobs would be left behind again.
Michael Gove also bluntly told Miss Sturgeon to ‘concentrate on the day job’.
The Prime Minister’s one-page letter to Miss Sturgeon, sent via email yesterday morning, was in response to her formal demand last month for the power to hold another independence vote.
Yesterday, the First Minister refused to accept that another referendum will not happen within her preferred timescale of the latter part of this year. She also declined to rule out dragging the issue to the courts, despite legal experts saying any challenge is unlikely to succeed.
In his letter, Mr Johnson pointed out Miss Sturgeon and her predecessor Alex Salmond committed themselves to respect the outcome of the 2014 vote when they signed the so-called Edinburgh Agreement allowing the referendum to take place.
Mr Johnson said: ‘The UK Government will continue to uphold the democratic decision of the Scottish people and the promise that you made to them. For that reason I cannot agree to any request for a transfer of power that would lead to further independence referendums.
‘Another independence referendum would continue the political stagnation that Scotland has seen for the last decade, with Scottish schools, hospitals and jobs again left behind because of a campaign to separate the UK.
‘It is time that we all worked to bring the whole of the United Kingdom together and unleash the potential of this great country.’
Before the 2014 referendum, the Edinburgh Agreement set out that both the UK and Scottish governments would accept the result would be a ‘decisive expression of the views of the people of Scotland that everyone will respect’.
In the vote, which saw the highest turnout of any UK political vote in nearly a century at just under 85 per cent, a majority of 55 per cent of Scots voted No to independence, while 45 per cent voted Yes.
Polls have not suggested any major rise in support for separation. In the last 45 polls where the question was asked, there was only a majority backing independence once. Scottish Secretary Alister
Jack also pointed out that, despite the SNP gaining 13 seats in last month’s election, 55 per cent of Scots voted for pro-Union parties.
Mr Gove, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: ‘We are saying, “No, Nicola, concentrate on the day job”. The Scottish Government is failing when it comes to education, transport, health and crime. It’s important that people in the UK know that those in power are focusing on important issues.’
Chairing a meeting of his Cabinet yesterday, Mr Johnson told ministers his Government ‘has an optimistic vision for Scotland and our whole country in 2020’. He added: ‘We do not want the 2020s in Scotland to repeat the previous SNP’s lost decade when Scottish schools, hospitals and jobs were left behind because of their campaign to separate the United Kingdom.’
Scottish Tory constitution spokesman Adam Tomkins said: ‘This should draw a line under the matter – Scotland will not be dragged back to the divisive and uncertain days of 2014.’
In response to Mr Johnson’s letter, Miss Sturgeon claimed that the Tories are ‘terrified of Scotland having the right to choose our own future’.
She said: ‘While today’s response is not surprising – indeed we anticipated it – it will not stand.
‘It is not politically sustainable for any Westminster government to stand in the way of the right of the people of Scotland to decide their own future and to seek to block the clear democratic man
date for an independence referendum.’ She confirmed she will set out a plan on her ‘next steps’ later this month, when she will also ask MSPs to vote on whether or not there should be a referendum.
Her spokesman refused to rule out a legal challenge, saying: ‘We are not ruling things out but I’m not saying anything beyond that. The First Minister will give a fuller response in due course.’ Pamela Nash, chief executive of the Scotland in Union campaign group, said: ‘The majority of people in Scotland don’t want a divisive second independence referendum.
‘It would lead to deeper divisions in society and cause further neglect of vital public services like schools and hospitals.’