News / Politics

Johnson launches blistering attack on SNP at Scottish Tories spring conference

Sunday, 14 March 2021 6:35 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 14 March 2021 6:37 PM ]

Boris Johnson looks set to fight an angry campaign in the run-up to the Scottish parliamentary election in early May

Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has attacked the Scottish National Party (SNP), and the broader Scottish independence movement, for seeking “separation” at a time of national crisis brought about by the mismanagement of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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In a particularly scathing attack, the PM said it was “incredible” the SNP “would choose this moment [coronavirus pandemic] to again push their campaign for separation”.

Addressing Scottish Tory activists in a pre-recorded message, Johnson claimed the SNP has an “obsession” with independence before adding that an independent state is the “last thing” the Scottish people need.

The PM’s assertion is at the very least controversial, if not downright counterfactual, in so far as the latest opinion polls show that the majority of Scottish people not only demand an immediate referendum but more importantly they support the idea of independence.

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Johnson proceeded to tell the Scottish Conservative spring conference (which was meeting virtually due to lockdown restrictions) that the SNP are “intent on pushing for a referendum, regardless of the cost to Scotland and the whole of the UK”.

The PM’s blistering attack on the SNP and the Scottish independence movement writ large can be construed as the opening salvo of the Tories’ campaign for the Holyrood election scheduled for May 06.

It comes on the heels of the Cabinet Office’s plans to open a second headquarters in Glasgow, ostensibly to promote more efficient government, but which skeptics regard as an ambitious effort to sabotage the quest for Scottish independence.