THE Scottish Secretary has insisted that “nothing has gone wrong” with the Union Unit, despite it losing two bosses in two weeks and its role at the head of Downing Street’s anti-Scottish independence strategy.
Downing Street has also echoed this sentiment and said that the creation of a new Cabinet committee for the Union was not a sign of “confusion and panic”.
However, the SNP has said this is a clear sign the Tories are in disarray and that “no amount of rebranding” will change that.
The Cabinet Union Strategy Committee will be chaired by the Prime Minister and will also feature Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Michael Gove and the State Secretaries for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Unelected and controversial new Cabinet Minister David Frost will also have a seat at the table.
According to BBC reporters, the newly formed Cabinet committee will “set the UK Government strategic agenda on the Union”.
The downfall of the Union Unit started with the firing of the first boss, former Conservative MP Luke Graham, who left after a “brutal” row with Johnson on his return from a highly criticised trip to Scotland.
READ MORE: A full timeline summing up the absolute chaos of the UK's Union Unit
Graham’s replacement, former Vote Leave veteran Oliver Lewis, stepped down from his new role just two weeks later.
Henry Newman, an ally of the Prime Minister’s fiancee, was reportedly going to be drafted in to lead the unit. Now, he will reportedly be giving Downing Street "political steer".
Responding to the news of this dramatic shift in Unionist strategy, SNP MP Pete Wishart wrote: “The tortured life and death of their ‘Union Unit’ has been one of the most compelling little psychodramas that has ever existed in the ‘preservation’ of their ‘precious Union’.”
From when The National first heard reports of the Union Unit a few months ago, it is straight back at square one, despite all the money pumped into it.
SNP Westminster deputy leader Kirsten Oswald MP reiterated that she wanted to know exactly how much taxpayers’ money had been “wasted” on the unit.
She said: “This is utterly humiliating for Boris Johnson. The only thing his failed Union Unit has delivered has been a sacking, a resignation and now its reported collapse within a matter of weeks.”
“The entire shambolic episode is the perfect analogy for the Tory government’s undemocratic anti-independence stance – crumbling under the first sign of any pressure.
“The reported collapse raises serious questions over how much of the taxpayers’ money Boris Johnson has wasted on the Union Unit – with the public footing the bill for the six-figure salaries of a number of advisers. The public have a right to know how their money is being spent – Boris Johnson must come clean.”
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister insisted that this change “demonstrates our commitment to the Union”. And Jack seemed to echo his statement as he appeared on Good Morning Scotland and insisted that the downgrading and replacing of the Union Unit was “very good news”.
He said: “This is a very good news story. This is a step-up. Advisers advise and ministers decide.”
Asked how Westminster planned to strengthen the Union beyond “throwing money at it”, Jack cited the extra funding Scotland received from the Treasury to fight Covid, as well as the testing facilities and vaccination programme.
The Tory also cited the Levelling Up Fund, which was branded a “naked power grab” after it became clear that Westminster would use it to spend in devolved areas, rather than pass Barnett consequentials to Holyrood. Asked what had “gone wrong” with the Union Unit in order to warrant its replacement, Jack said: “Nothing’s gone wrong with it at all. This is not about the people sitting behind the desks. This is about all of the senior advisers in Number 10 and the ministers across Whitehall focusing on strengthening the United Kingdom.”
Asked if that meant the unit hadn’t been fit for purpose, Jack again insisted it was a “step-up”.
He went on: “It’s absolutely the right thing to do. The PM wants to build back better, he wants to strengthen the United Kingdom, and this Cabinet committee will be doing that.”
Downing Street has been approached for comment.
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