Queen urges politicians to calm down and embrace a new sense of optimism
By Simon Johnson SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR THE QUEEN has urged political leaders to calm down in the wake of the chaos triggered by the Brexit vote and told MSPs they should feel “hope and optimism” about the next five years.
The monarch used her address at the opening of the fifth session of the Scottish Parliament to tell the UK’s political class to allow “room for quiet thinking and contemplation” before deciding their next move.
Alluding to the political and economic turmoil that has enveloped the country since the vote to leave the European Union, she said that Britons “live and work in an increasingly complex and demanding world” with events and developments occurring at “remarkable speed”.
The Queen admitted that “staying calm and collected” in such circumstances can be hard but argued that a hallmark of leadership is the ability to take a step back.
She argued that this would allow for a “deeper consideration of how challenges and opportunities can be best addressed”. The opening of the fiveyear parliament was a time for hope and optimism, the Queen continued, with a “real sense of renewal” thanks to the large number of new members returned in May’s Holyrood election.
Her call for a period of contemplation, her first intervention on the subject since the referendum result was announced, suggests she does not ap- prove of demands by Jeremy Corbyn and some European leaders for the UK immediately to invoke the Article 50 process to leave the EU.
But Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, appeared to defy the Queen’s call not to rush to judgment by delivering a speech to the parliament in which she said Scotland should play its part in a stronger Europe. Ms Sturgeon has repeatedly said a second independence referendum is “highly likely”.
Referring to the EU referendum, in which 62 per cent of Scots backed a Remain vote, the First Minister also pledged to “take forward the will of our people” and praised the contribution of foreign migrants, including European students, to Scotland.
Ms Sturgeon pledged not to “shy away from any challenge” over the next five years, before praising the contribution of European immigration to what she described as “one Scotland”.
She said Scotland was determined to remain an “open and inclusive nation” and, referring to the Remain vote north of the Border, argued the parliament had the “weighty responsibility of taking forward the will of our people”.