RISHI Sunak will be running a “UK-wide” government that works in devolved areas – and Nicola Sturgeon should not play “student politics” about it, a Scottish Tory MSP has suggested.
Craig Hoy, who sits on the UK Tory Party’s board as the chair of the Scots Conservatives, told the BBC that the circumventing Holyrood and providing councils directly with UK Government funding was “a very important sign that the Union is working”.
Before Brexit, EU funding was passed to and allocated by the Scottish Government. However, the UK Government has taken complete control over post-Brexit replacements – such as the Shared Prosperity Fund and Levelling Up Fund.
SNP president Michael Russell said the Tories were seeking to “turn the constitutional clock backwards”.
Hoy told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland that Sunak – who officially became Prime Minister on Tuesday – would be continuing with the strategy.
Asked if UK Government departments under Sunak would be operating “UK-wide”, implying spending in devolved areas, Hoy said: “Yes.”
“That’s exactly what Rishi Sunak said during his election campaign,” he added.
Asked if that might damage relations with the Scottish Government, the Tory MSP said: “I think things like levelling up for example showing that we can deliver direct investment to Scotland’s communities is a very important sign that the Union is working for Scotland …
“I think at this point in time the Scottish people are not bothered about whether it’s the Scottish Government or the UK Government supporting the country through this crisis. They just want to see us working together to make sure we do the right thing.”
Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, went her entire 49-day time in office without once calling the First Minister. This was seen as an extension of Truss’s claim, made on the leadership campaign trail, that it is best to “ignore” Nicola Sturgeon.
Asked if Sunak would be extending an olive branch by calling the SNP leader or even visiting Scotland, Hoy (below) said he didn’t know about “any specific plans”.
However, he added: “I understand that [Sunak] will be in touch with the First Minister soon and I think it is important that we engage positively with the Scottish Government and I would hope that the Scottish Government engage positively with the UK Government.
“At this point in time nobody wants to see the First Minister playing student politics on the question of making sure we support Scotland through the challenging times.”
The new Prime Minister is also reportedly set on re-establishing the “Union unit” in Downing Street which was scrapped after losing two bosses in two weeks during Boris Johnson’s tenure.
Further, Sunak has said he wants to abandon the “devolve and forget” mentality at Westminster, suggesting UK ministers would have more involvement in devolved areas.
He also wants to create a standardised methodology for measuring the performance of public services across the UK to make nation-to-nation comparisons easier.
Russell, Scotland’s former constitution secretary, told The National that the idea of a “UK-wide” government was a “damaging illusion”.
He said: “The Tories should stop trying to turn the constitutional clock backwards. Their nostalgia for the old days is what has caused much of the current crisis.
“Brexit is a damaging illusion and so is the idea of a UK-wide government.
“It is time to move forward and that means gaining the full independent powers of a normal country so that we can benefit from our resources and play a role in the world.
“As we have seen over the past weeks and months Scotland needs a fresh start, not another failed attempt to keep us under control.”
Andrew Bowie (above), the Scottish Tory MP who was a prominent supporter of Sunak through both leadership bids, said over the summer that the former chancellor would look to work in devolved areas without Scottish Government consent.
Bowie suggested Sunak would circumvent Holyrood “because it is the right thing to do, and because he is a Unionist to his core”, adding: “We cannot trust the Scottish National Party to act in the best interests of the Scottish people.”
However, the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP appeared to row back on the rhetoric on Tuesday, telling the Times that Sunak wanted “firstly to re-establish an element of respect between the UK Government and Scottish Government”.
He said that the UK Government “overruling or overriding” the Scottish Government was “unsustainable”.
