BORIS Johnson was blasted in the Commons over his incendiary claim that Scottish devolution has been a disaster.
The remarks were brought up during yesterday’s Prime Minister’s Questions, with both Labour’s Keir Starmer and the SNP’s Ian Blackford pushing the Tory leader.
But Johnson tried to brush off the row over the comments, saying that it wasn’t devolution that was at fault, but the governments elected by Scottish voters.
Blackford said the Prime Minister’s words were “not just flippant remarks”.
He said: “His attack on devolution wasn’t just a slip of the tongue, it was a slip of the Tory mask.
“The chasm between Westminster and the Scottish people has never been bigger. We know that these were not just flippant remarks when Scotland faces the biggest threat to devolution with the Tory power grab bill.
“The fact is Scotland has been completely ignored by Westminster. We now face an extreme Brexit, a power grab and another round of Tory cuts all being imposed against our will by a Tory government that we didn’t vote for. Isn’t it the case that the real disaster facing the people of Scotland is another 20 years of Westminster Government?
READ MORE: Compare Holyrood and Westminster and it's clear which one is the disaster
“Isn’t it clearer than ever that the only way … to protect Scotland’s interests, our Parliament and our place in Europe is for Scotland to become an independent country?”
Responding to Blackford, the Prime Minister said he could not disagree more.
“He is totally wrong. What the UK does as a whole is far, far bigger, better and more important than what we can do as individual nations and regions.
“I think, actually, when you look at the way the UK has pulled together during this pandemic, the way the armed services have worked to get testing throughout the whole of the UK, the way that the furlough scheme has been deployed across the UK.
“The billions and billions that have been found to help people across the whole of the UK, businesses in Scotland, in Wales, in Northern Ireland, in England, I think that the UK has shown its value and will continue to show its value.”
Starmer described devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as “one of the proudest achievements of the last Labour government”. The Prime Minister replied: “I think what has unquestionably been a disaster is the way in which the Scottish National Party have taken and used devolution as means not to improve the lives of their constituents, not to address their health concerns, not to improve education in Scotland, but constantly – and I know this is actually a point of view that is shared by [Starmer] – but constantly to campaign for the break-up of our country.
“To turn devolution, otherwise a sound policy from which I myself personally benefited when I was running London, but turn devolution into a mission to break up the UK.
“That, in my view, would be a disaster.”
Starmer said that “the single biggest threat to the future of the United Kingdom is the Prime Minister every time he opens his mouth”.
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He continued: “When the Prime Minister said he wanted to take back control nobody thought he meant from the Scottish people. The Prime Minister’s quote is very clear – he said devolution has been a disaster north of the Border.”
Earlier, Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle criticised the Prime Minister for referring to the SNP as the “Scottish nationalist party”.
Hoyle said: “Can I just say it’s the Scottish National Party, not the nationalist party.”
Johnson replied: “Mr Speaker, I’m so sorry. They’re national but not nationalist. I see, right.”
Hoyle replied: “We can play pedantics another time.”
Yesterday’s session was the first time the Prime Minister has answered questions using video conferencing software Zoom. Starmer also questioned Johnson about coronavirus, highlighting a new National Audit Office report that said PPE suppliers with political connections had access to a “high-priority” channel for government contracts.
Johnson replied: “I must say it is extraordinary that he attacks the government for procuring PPE in huge quantities.”
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