Second indyref not a ‘priority' during my time as Prime Minister
The Labour leader said First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney had not raised the issue with him during their recent talks.
Scots voted in an independence referendum in 2014, with the No side securing 55% of the vote.
Since then, successive UK governments have denied the SNP's pleas for a second referendum.
The Prime Minister was speaking to the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme on Tuesday, a day after launching the strategic defence review in Glasgow.
He was asked if there would be another independence referendum if a nationalist majority emerges after next year's Holyrood election.
Sir Keir said: 'I think it's really important to focus on the priorities that matter most.
'We got a big election win last year on the basis that we would stabilise the economy and ensure that on that foundation we build a stronger Scotland in a stronger United Kingdom, and that's what I intend to do.'
He was then asked if he could imagine another independence referendum during his time as Prime Minister.
Sir Keir said: 'No, and nobody's raising that with me as their first priority.
'Certainly, in the discussions I'm having with the First Minister, that is not – we're talking about jobs, energy, security, and dealing with the cost-of-living crisis.'
Last month Mr Swinney said a 'democratic majority' of pro-independence MSPs following the next Scottish Parliament election should result in another referendum.
The Prime Minister said whatever the outcome next May, an independence referendum is 'not a priority'.
Speaking to Good Morning Scotland, Sir Keir also discussed the defence sector in Scotland.He said there are around 25,000 defence jobs in Scotland and the strategic defence review announcements would 'build on that'.
The Prime Minister said: 'I would like to see many, many jobs in Scotland.
'Scotland has an incredible heritage and skilled work people in Scotland.
'We've just been looking at some of the frigates which have been built and are being built in Scotland.'
He insisted the SNP is 'wrong' in its opposition to nuclear weapons and said 'we're entering a new era on defence and security'.
SNP MP Stephen Gethins responded to Sir Keir's points on the BBC radio programme later on Tuesday, saying: 'I have to say it's a bit disappointing and maybe a bit arrogant of the Prime Minister to think he can speak for everybody.
'This shouldn't be an issue that's decided by one person at Downing Street or elsewhere. This should be a matter for the people of Scotland.
'I would have thought that given Keir Starmer's troubles he would have learned something.'
Mr Gethins said he is not privy to private conversations between Mr Swinney and the Prime Minister.
Discussing the defence review, he said the policy of 'running down the Army' in recent years has been wrong.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
18 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Mel Stride: Reform is not offering the public a realistic economic deal
Speaking ahead of his speech today, Mr Stride outlines where he sees the fiscal threat from Reform and why he doesn't believe they will be effective. 'It appears that they are whatever kind of party they think will appeal to what people want to hear in different parts of the country and across the political spectrum. This is a party that, on the one hand, likes to talk about lowering taxes, and on the other hand wants to increase welfare spending, with the abolition of the two child benefit cap.' 'These tax cuts are there right across the board and where they can apparently find the money very quickly, but none of it is realistic.' In regards to Labour, Mr Stride lays out where he believes they have caused economic damage; ' The reality is this government's economic policy, which has included putting up National Insurance on employers, that cost has been passed on by way of higher prices has also fuelled inflation. 'It has also had a devastating consequence on the servicing costs of our national debt. We are now spending, on servicing costs on our national debt alone, about a hundred billion pounds, which is twice what we spend on defence. Those kinds of levels of spending and pressure on the public finances can be laid very squarely at the door of Rachel Reeves.'
Sky News
33 minutes ago
- Sky News
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election: Polls open as public cast votes to replace late MSP
The polls are now open in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. It comes following the death of SNP government minister Christina McKelvie. The MSP died in March at the age of 57, having last year taken medical leave to undergo treatment for secondary breast cancer. Ms McKelvie, the minister for drugs and alcohol policy, had been an MSP since 2007 and represented the Central Scotland region up to 2011 before going on to serve Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse. There are 10 candidates standing in the Holyrood by-election: • Collette Bradley, Scottish Socialist Party • Andy Brady, Scottish Family Party • Ross Lambie, Reform UK • Katy Loudon, Scottish National Party (SNP) • Janice MacKay, UK Independence Party (UKIP) • Ann McGuinness, Scottish Green Party • Aisha Mir, Scottish Liberal Democrats • Richard Nelson, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party • Davy Russell, Scottish Labour Party • Marc Wilkinson, Independent The contest takes place less than a year before the Scottish parliament election, with the result potentially offering a snapshot of how the political landscape north of the border will look in 2026. Polls will close at 10pm on Thursday, with the votes set to be verified and manually counted at South Lanarkshire Council headquarters in Hamilton. Sky News will be covering the count and result.
Scotsman
33 minutes ago
- Scotsman
It's becoming obvious how little Reform understands Scotland
Reform UK has suggested the Barnett Formula and block funding grant from Westminster should go to be replaced with more tax powers for the Scottish Parliament We'll know early tomorrow morning who has won the Hamilton by-election, but during the campaign we have learned a lot more about Reform in Scotland, and it's becoming more obvious how little its leadership understands Scotland. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Even with defecting opportunist councillors hoping to win a seat in the Scottish Parliament – the latest jumping from Labour – it looks like we'll have to wait for anything resembling a coherent plan, and First Minister John Swinney's so-called special summit just gave them a credibility they didn't deserve. The only party benefitting from the rise of Reform is the SNP and in their usual haste to virtue signal, Labour and the Lib Dems were suckered into trooping along for what was just a promotional vehicle for John Swinney. That being said, the Reform attack on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was unwarranted, and no one who knows him thinks his main goal is to increase Muslim influence. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But it was Nigel Farage's declaration that the Barnett Formula should go, and with it the block grant from Westminster, made up by devolving more taxation powers to Holyrood, which really exposed how little he understands, or cares, about Scotland. The Barnett Formula is not some financial sleight of hand designed to rip off English taxpayers, but a means to ensure the distinct needs of country in which a tenth of the UK population scattered across a third of the landmass are properly met. Scrapping the formula is not the same as arguing for more efficient spending, and there is no shortage of examples of how the SNP squanders public money, the botched ferries being symbolic. But whoever told Nigel Farage that telling Scottish people they should receive less money was a vote winner needs to be kept away from sharp implements. And his suggestion that Holyrood's taxraising powers should be increased could only come from someone who has not studied what has happened with the extensive powers devolved after the 2014 referendum. Maybe more financial power could be contemplated if it meant lower taxes, but the chances of that happening are slim to non-existent, certainly not from Reform which says it supports higher welfare spending. Reducing personal taxation through more efficient services and the use of artificial intelligence, freeing up resources for infrastructure investment, and cutting the burden on businesses are all goals which plenty of people would agree with, but the back-of-Nigel's-fag-packet Reform approach would be disastrous for us all. What has been confirmed in the space of only a few days is that Reform is not really about reform at all, but con artists telling people what they want to hear; increase benefits but cut tax, give Holyrood more power but slash its budget. Get Royal Marines to stop the boats? What, by opening fire? It's all hokum designed to fool, and like a fairground charlatan, Nigel Farage doesn't care. The 'plague on all your houses' motivation for voting Reform is all very well, but like Labour's do-good MPs voting for Jeremy Corbyn to create a contest they thought he had no chance of winning, people need to be very careful what they wish for. The last thing those voting Reform want is an SNP victory, but I strongly suspect when the good folk of Hamilton wake up tomorrow that's what they'll get. Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian
