Boris Johnson: Scottish independence ‘irrelevant’ to most people

Boris Johnson has said the argument around Scottish independence is “irrelevant” to most people.

Whilst on a trip to Scotland, the Prime Minister said the focus should be on tackling the pandemic and “coming back more strongly together”.

He is visiting both the Valneva vaccine factory in Livingston and the Lighthouse Laboratory in Glasgow to highlight collaborative efforts across the UK against coronavirus.

But the SNP has suggested the Prime Minister is “in a panic” after several polls indicating majority support for Scottish independence.

Asked whether there should be a referendum if people wanted it, Johnson said one was held in 2014 and people would rather focus on “the issues that matter”.

He criticised the Scottish Government’s record on education, and also suggested there should be more energy spent on tackling drugs and “fighting crime”.

He said: “Endless talk about a referendum, without any clear description of what the constitutional situation will be after that referendum, is completely irrelevant now to the concerns of most people, who I think want us to beat this pandemic and come through it strongly together.”

SNP depute leader Keith Brown said Johnson was “rattled” because his party was “losing the argument on independence”.

He said: “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.”