Sunak visits Scotland to push benefits of staying part of the UK

Two-day trip marks his first visit to Scotland as Prime Minister

During his two-day visit to Scotland, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is also set to meet search and rescue workers and a community group. PA

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is seeking to counter Nicola Sturgeon's push for independence during a visit to Scotland, where he will highlight the benefits of remaining in the UK.

On Thursday evening, the Prime Minister will meet the Scottish First Minister behind closed doors before the pair jointly announce millions in UK government funding on Friday.

The money will “create thousands of high-skilled green jobs, drive growth, potentially bring in billions of private sector investment and provide opportunities for people across Scotland”, Downing Street said.

In their informal face-to-face talks, Mr Sunak and Ms Sturgeon are expected to discuss the “shared challenges that people in Scotland and across the rest of the UK face” and co-operation between both governments, according to No 10.

The UK government’s relationship with Ms Sturgeon’s administration in Scotland has been strained not only by the independence issue but also the potential for Westminster to block Holyrood’s gender recognition laws.

MSPs last month passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, approving charges which will allow trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate without the need for a medical diagnosis.

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The Prestwick spaceport in Scotland will offer a horizontal launch pad and is expected to begin operations in 2023 or 2024. Photo: Prestwick Aerospace

The Saxa Vord spaceport in the Shetland Islands. Photo: Scottish Development International

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Downing Street said no decision has yet been made on whether to invoke Section 35 of the Scotland Act, which would block royal assent.

The move is still being looked at before a deadline next week, said the Prime Minister’s official spokesman, who added: “There is a process to consider it and then he will be given advice to make a decision, that’s still taking place.”

During his two-day visit, Mr Sunak is also set to meet search and rescue workers and a community group.

Rishi Sunak through the years — in pictures

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On board Border Agency cutter HMC Seeker during a visit to Dover in June 2023. Getty Images

Mr Sunak alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the G7 Summit in May 2023. Getty Images

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Mr Sunak arrives inside Number 10 in October 2022. Photo: Simon Walker/ No 10 Downing Street

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Mr Sunak poses with the budget box at 11 Downing Street in March 2021. Getty Images

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Rishi Sunak visits a Pret A Manger in Westminster in July 2020. HM Treasury

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It will be his first trip to Scotland as Prime Minister, although he has held talks with Ms Sturgeon before and the pair met at the British-Irish Council Summit in Blackpool in November.

At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said he wants to work with the Scottish government on the issue of the North Sea oil and gas industry.

But he claimed Ms Sturgeon’s government does not “want to support the Scottish energy industry and the 200,000 jobs that it produces”.

He was responding to SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who said Scotland’s membership in the UK union “simply doesn’t add up”.

“I’m keen to work with the Scottish government to support the North Sea because it’s something that we’re all very proud of in the UK,” said Mr Sunak.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the new freeports will be at Cromarty Firth, near Inverness, and on the Firth of Forth, near Edinburgh.

The green freeports are aimed at boosting investment and growth through the use of tax incentives.