Johnson calls Union summit as he shrugs off Indyref2

BORIS Johnson has called a Union summit with the devolved leaders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as he said the UK was “best served when we work together”.

The Prime Minister wrote to Nicola Sturgeon last night, following her party’s resounding success at the Holyrood elections, saying he was “recommitting” to working with the Scottish Government.

Mr Johnson also claimed “Team UK” and working together is the best way to serve the people of Scotland.

It comes after Mr Johnson said on Friday that now was not the right time for another referendum on the constitution, and he would not support one.

He described it as “irresponsible and reckless” and suggested that the SNP had “moved away” from the idea of holding a vote.

However, Ms Sturgeon reiterated her plans for another referendum during her victory speech in Glasgow yesterday, and other senior figures in the SNP have said similar.

Last night, the Prime Minister paid tribute to NHS staff in his letter to Ms Sturgeon, and said: “I believe passionately that the interests of people across the UK and in particular the people of Scotland are best served when we work together. The UK Government’s ability to procure vaccines at scale has benefited people in all parts of our country. The dedicated and hardworking staff of NHS Scotland have ensured jabs have been put into arms from Gretna to John o’ Groats. This is Team UK in action, and I recommit the United Kingdom Government to working with the Scottish Government in this cooperative spirit.”

The Prime Minister warned that the “damage runs deep” from the pandemics, and said: “Covid19 has also posed significant challenges for our public services, from hours of lost school learning, to backlogs in the NHS and courts. Overcoming them will require us to show the same spirit of unity and cooperation that marked our fight against the pandemic.”

He invited the First Minister to a four nations summit, alongside the Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford and Northern Ireland’s leader who is yet to be selected. Mr Johnson said the meeting’s purpose was to “discuss our shared challenges and how we can work together in the coming months and years to overcome them”.

Andrew Bowie, the Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, told The Herald the PM was “absolutely right” to say there should not be another referendum.

He added: “At the beginning of this election, the SNP said multiple times ‘Scottish National Party majority’. People know they are the party to vote for if you want independence. They didn’t get the majority, therefore, they do not have a mandate.”