The front-runner to be the next Prime Minister has said Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland are not four separate nations but one great country. She also criticised the devolved governments, saying they are "playing political games" instead of making people’s lives better.
In comments reported on The Telegraph, she criticised the SNP, Welsh Labour and Sinn Fein and, if she successfully beats Rishi Sunak to be the next leader of the Conservative Party, pledged to put an end to "constitutional division".
Speaking ahead of a visit to Scotland on Tuesday, Ms Truss said: "Having grown up in Paisley before going to a comprehensive school in Leeds, I consider myself a child of the Union. When I say I will deliver for our country, I mean all of it. As prime minister, I would also hold the role of Minister for the Union and seek to strengthen it.
Read more : Firefighters battle major fire throughout the night
"Mark Drakeford’s Labour in the Senedd rely on the endorsement of nationalists and have failed to invest in key infrastructure in Wales, she said. In Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein remains eager to drive a wedge between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and push themselves further and further away. In Scotland, instead of delivering on people’s priorities, the SNP are preoccupied with independence."
Foreign Secretary Truss said: "We are not four separate nations in an agreement of convenience, as some would have us believe. We are one great country which shares a history and institutions, but also family and friends, memories and values. I would ensure that our entire family continues to get the attention, support, and investment that it deserves."
Ms Truss said that she would “open new markets” for “Scotch whisky, Welsh lamb and ships in Northern Ireland" and repeated that she will build an M4 relief road in Wales and to upgrade the A75 between Gretna and Stranraer in Scotland. She was criticised for her claims, often made by the current PM Boris Johnson that the UK Government can overrule the Welsh Government's decision not to pursue an M4 relief road, as roads are a devolved matter. You can read that here.
Earlier in the Tory leadership race, the Foreign Secretary sparked controversy when she said she would “ignore” the Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who she branded an "attention seeker". When she appeared at the hustings in Cardiff, she criticised the way Wales is being run by Labour. You can see the details of what was said here.
Read more:
Met Office warns of flash flooding as Wales braced for heavy rain
The Welsh villages named the poshest in the UK
Top food critic tours Wales and loves it, finding 'the world's best sandwich'
Live updates as second week of Ryan Giggs trial gets underway after jury played 999 call
'Kind, funny, thoughtful and beautiful' woman killed in car crash
