Boris’s Cabinet to meet in Edinburgh ... just a mile from where Nicola’s sits
Turf war over PM’s new bid to bolster Union
BORIS Johnson will dramatically lay down the gauntlet to Nicola Sturgeon by holding UK Government Cabinet meetings in Edinburgh – a stone’s throw away from her office.
In an escalation of his battle to strengthen the Union, the Prime Minister is determined that he – and other senior UK Ministers – should be more visible in Scotland, and is prepared to go as far as bringing the entire Cabinet to meet in the Scottish capital for the first time ever.
A special meeting room has been created at Queen Elizabeth House, the new UK Government hub in Edinburgh which is set to open this autumn, near Waverley station – and close to the headquarters of the Scottish Government at St Andrews House.
As a result, the Prime Minster will be able to host Cabinet meetings only 500 yards from the First Minister’s office, and just over a mile from where her Cabinet meets at Bute House.
The new hub will also house Scotland Office and HMRC staff and is designed to ensure the UK Government is at the heart of public life in Scotland – although Nationalists will likely see the UK Government meetings north of the Border as an inflammatory move.
Senior officials from Whitehall departments will travel to Scotland for direct talks with industry bosses and civic leaders.
A UK Government source said: ‘Scotland has two Governments and it’s absolutely right that the UK Government should be visible and meeting in Scotland.’
A No 10 source said Ministers planned to hold meetings in all four nations of the UK as a ‘sign of our commitment to the Union’, adding that there were similar plans to provide facilities for Cabinet meetings in Wales and Northern Ireland.
It is understood that could be a full Cabinet, led by Mr Johnson, or the new Union Policy Implementation
Cabinet sub-committee, led by Michael Gove, and including Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Scottish Secretary Alister Jack and his Welsh and Northern Irish counterparts.
More ministerial visits to Scotland are due to be announced in the coming weeks, as the UK
Government cranks up its efforts to defend the Union.
Last night, Scottish Tory constitution spokesman Murdo Fraser said: ‘This is a great opportunity for the UK and Scottish Governments to work together and deliver for the people of Scotland.
‘The UK Government has made it abundantly clear that they are a Government for all of the UK and will continue to support Scotland through this incredibly challenging period.
‘The SNP Government must now put their separatist agenda to one side and put the people of Scotland first.’
The new meeting room at Queen Elizabeth House has been designed especially for UK Cabinets, in terms of size and security detail.
Unlike the 18th Century Cabinet meeting room at 10 Downing Street, with its enormous windows, Corinthian pillars and large bookcases, the Edinburgh version is a more modern and modest affair, although there are plans to line the walls with loaned Scottish artwork.
The UK Government Cabinet has met in Scotland on three times before – the first convened by David Lloyd George at Inverness Town Hall, in 1921.
Gordon Brown reintroduced regional Cabinet meetings in 2008 and held one in Glasgow’s SECC in April 2009, with David Cameron hosting another in Shell’s Aberdeen headquarters in February 2014.
Last week, Mr Johnson ordered Ministers back to Westminster for top-level talks about the SNP surge in the polls and threat to the Union.
He also visited Orkney and the RAF bases Kinloss and Lossiemouth, in Moray.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The organisation of the UK Cabinet is a matter for the UK Government.’
‘The UK Government is for all of the UK’