Sunak first travels to Scotland to meet Sturgeon

12 Jan. () –

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, has traveled to Scotland for the first time since taking office to hold a private meeting with his Scottish counterpart, Nicola Sturgeon, and discuss positions on different issues, including the holding of a second independence referendum.

Sturgeon wants to vote again on October 19, 2023, but the central executive considers that the independence debate was settled with the September 2014 consultation. The Scottish authorities consider that the scenario is now very different, with the United Kingdom out of the European Union.

“I sat down with Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon to discuss the challenges we face together and how best to deliver to communities across the UK,” Sunak explained on his official Twitter profile.

His predecessor, Liz Truss, did not have any formal conversations with Sturgeon during her brief stint at Downing Street, although they did meet briefly after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the BBC has reported.

The relationship between the United Kingdom and Scotland is tense after the Scottish Parliament approved a law that facilitates gender self-determination, an unprecedented milestone that was involved in controversy throughout the process and that also generated division within the Government and the Scottish National Party (SNP).