Theresa May should waste no time in fighting the SNP’s manoeuvres on independence with the Brexit vote “testing the binds of the Union”, says Ruth Davidson.
The Scottish Conservatives leader offered some advice to the Prime Minister-in-waiting to get “involved early” in the campaign to save the UK during a high-profile speech in the UK Parliament.
She also compared Nicola Sturgeon’s clamour for a UK breakaway in the wake of the Brexit ballot with “saying the only response to shooting yourself in the foot is to then amputate your leg”.
In a speech to Westminster journalists, Ms Davidson said while the EU referendum result “is testing the binds of the Union” people must not take the Nationalist response at “face value”.
She said: “The SNP is, as usual, trying to seize on a moment of doubt and uncertainty to declare that the shining star of independence is the answer. Isn’t it always with them?
“And it’s trying to claim that, as a result of Brexit, there is now a massive groundswell for a second independence referendum. This is simply not true.”
Ms Davidson also called for the Brexit negotiations to be a “truly pan-UK effort” with Nicola Sturgeon and other home nation leaders involved because “Scotland must not be some bolt-on extra within the UK Government”.
Ms Davidson did not shut the door on there being another nationwide poll on EU membership, but she said such a vote was currently “highly unlikely”.
Ms Sturgeon has said she is exploring ways of protecting Scotland’s EU status, with independence firmly “on the table”.
In the hours after the vote she revealed that legislation was being prepared in case cessation was deemed the best option.
