'What could be more foolish?' SNP's Blackford humiliated as Johnson dismantles IndiRef bid
BORIS JOHNSON has humiliated the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford by labelling him "foolish" for trying to enact "trade barriers" between Scotland and the rest of the UK.
PMQs: Boris mocks Ian Blackford over Scottish independence
The Prime Minister was addressing accusations made by Ian Blackford that the UK Government was holding Scotland back and that independence would allow the nation to thrive. Boris Johnson suggested that the work done post-pandemic cooperatively with all members of the UK was “astounding” and that served as evidence of the importance of unity.
Mr Johnson said: “Mr Speaker, I think the figures speak for themselves. The UK has record numbers of people in payroll employment.
“That is an astounding thing given where we were during the pandemic.
“That was because of the UK working well together, as [Mr Blackford] will remember, with the vaccine, with testing, over which Scotland and the rest of the country cooperated brilliantly.
“And, Mr Speaker, he talks about a trade war. What could be more foolish than a project that actually envisages trade barriers within parts of the United Kingdom? That’s what we’re trying to break down.”
Earlier, Mr Blackford said: “Mr Speaker, the Prime Minister can afford to live in his own little world, his own little Britain, but people have to live with the reality of a failing Westminster system.
“A cost of living crisis worse in the UK than any other G7 country. An inflation rate double that of France.
“The second worst economic growth forecast in the G20 next only to sanctioned Russia. And now, the threat of a trade war with our European friends triggered by a law-breaking Prime Minister.
“That is not a vision for the future of Scotland. Our nation is big enough, rich enough, and smart enough. Isn’t it the case, Prime Minister, that Scotland simply can’t afford to remain trapped in the failing Westminster system? Scotland wants to get on.”
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Debate over the possibility of a second Scottish independence referendum was rehashed yesterday as the Scottish National Party published the first of a series of papers detailing how a vote would come about.
The first paper was described as a “scene setter” as they broached the topic of how Scotland would ensure a legally-binding vote without a section 30 order from Westminster.
As it stands, Scotland requires permission from the UK Government to hold a legal referendum, a possibility that Boris Johnson has denied.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon spoke at a press conference in Edinburgh yesterday ahead of the first paper to field questions on the referendum.
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This morning, constitutional minister Angus Robertson set a provisional date for the second vote.
He said that a second referendum would take place in October 2023, though he gave no details about whether that would be done without a section 30 order.
It was the first time the SNP has set a date for the vote to take place.
However, a former aide to Ms Sturgeon Cambell Gunn suggested the “timescale was very difficult” and that a vote would not be able to take place so quickly.