PM talks up benefit of Union in tackling Covid before Scotland trip

27 January 2021, 22:37

Boris Johnson will use a visit to Scotland to argue that the Union has been integral in administering the coronavirus vaccine, providing Covid testing and giving economic support north of the border during the pandemic.

The Prime Minister has spoken before his trip on Thursday about the "great benefits of co-operation" that the Union has brought while dealing with the coronavirus crisis, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives in the UK.

The visit comes as calls grow for a second independence vote for Scotland.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is arguing that should her SNP group win a majority at the Holyrood election - currently still scheduled for May - then that would be grounds for a new border poll.

Ms Sturgeon, who has said Mr Johnson's visit to Scotland is "not essential" during the current lockdown, this week accused the Conservative Party leader of being "frightened of democracy" in his refusal to back another poll on the union, following 2014's independence defeat.

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Downing Street plans to stress the benefits of being in the UK for Scotland, with Mr Johnson highlighting the support afforded Scots during the Covid-19 crisis.

Officials said the UK Government had delivered more than one million rapid lateral flow test kits to Scotland so far and is funding testing sites across the country - including seven drive-through centres, 27 walk-through sites and 21 mobile testing units, along with the Lighthouse Lab in Glasgow.

Westminster cash has provided 62% of testing kits in Scotland, Number 10 added.

Speaking ahead of his visit to Scotland, the Prime Minister said: "The great benefits of co-operation across the whole of the UK have never been clearer than since the beginning of this pandemic.

"We have pulled together to defeat the virus, providing £8.6 billion to the Scottish Government to support public services whilst also protecting the jobs of more than 930,000 citizens in Scotland.

"We have a vaccine programme developed in labs in Oxford being administered across the United Kingdom by our armed forces, who are helping to establish 80 new vaccine centres across Scotland.

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"That's how we are delivering for the people of Scotland so we can ensure the strongest possible recovery from the virus.

"Mutual co-operation across the UK throughout this pandemic is exactly what the people of Scotland expect and it is what I have been focused on.

"The people of the UK have stood together during this pandemic: from our doctors and nurses in our hospitals to our shop workers, scientists, lorry drivers and teachers - working together as one truly United Kingdom is the best way to build our Covid recovery."

SNP depute leader Keith Brown said the Prime Minister's jaunt was evidence that he was in a "panic" about the prospect of another referendum.

The MSP said: "Clearly, Boris Johnson is rattled. By branding this campaign trip as 'essential', this is clearly a Prime Minister in panic, who knows the Tories are losing the argument on independence.

"Twenty polls in a row have shown that a majority of voters believe Scotland's future should be in Scotland's hands - not Boris Johnson's.

"Scotland didn't vote for this Tory Government, we didn't vote for Brexit and we certainly didn't vote for Boris Johnson. Yet, in the middle of a global pandemic, we've been ripped out of the world's biggest single market against our will causing havoc for businesses and piling even more pressure on our NHS.

"No wonder that more and more people in Scotland want the right to choose their own future."