Prime Minister Theresa May has called on her fellow Conservatives to continue "loudly and clearly" putting the case for the "precious Union" of the UK.
During a speech to the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow she said "we are four nations, but at heart one people".
Mrs May had earlier criticised the SNP-led government at Holyrood for having tunnel vision over a second Scottish independence referendum.
The PM insisted that "logic and facts" were on the side of the UK.
PM Theresa May makes case for 'our precious Union'
3 March 2017
BBC News
Theresa May made a strong defence of why the United Kingdom should remain intact
Prime Minister Theresa May has called on her fellow Conservatives to continue "loudly and clearly" putting the case for the "precious Union" of the UK.
During a speech to the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow she said "we are four nations, but at heart one people".
Mrs May had earlier criticised the SNP-led government at Holyrood for having tunnel vision over a second Scottish independence referendum.
The PM insisted that "logic and facts" were on the side of the UK.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has maintained that a second referendum was "highly likely" because of Brexit.
Voters in Scotland backed remaining in the EU by 62% to 38%. The UK as a whole voted to leave by 52% to 48%.
On the issue of Brexit, Mrs May told the conference that she was "determined" to ensure that "we leave the EU as one United Kingdom and prosper outside the EU as one United Kingdom".
'Feeble and incompetent'
She began her speech with a scathing attack on Labour in Scotland.
Mrs May said: "For too long a feeble and incompetent Scottish Labour opposition did nothing to scrutinise the SNP for their failures.
"An SNP government interested only in stoking-up endless constitutional grievance and furthering their obsession with independence, at the expense of Scottish public services like the NHS and education, was given a free pass by Labour."
The address had a strong pro-Union theme.
1,661,191 - The number of Scots who voted for the UK to remain in the EU in the 2016 EU in/out referendum
2,001,926 - The number of Scots who voted for Scotland to remain in the UK in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum
Mrs May said the the UK "we cherish" is not a thing of the past.
She added: "The Union I am determined to strengthen and sustain is one that works for working people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."
Other things the speech touched on included:
* The "falling standards" of education in Scotland under the SNP and the continued attainment gap. Mrs May said fewer young people from the poorest backgrounds made it to university in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK
* Praising Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, whom she said would stand up to the SNP establishment
* "Enduring" economic strengths of the UK linked to its integrated domestic market for businesses meaning "no barriers to trade within our borders"
*The importance of the national security of the Union in a "changing world". Mrs May said: "The United Kingdom is a responsible member of the international community and Scotland makes a huge contribution to the UK's global role."
Analysis - By BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor
One or two of Mrs May's predecessors in Downing Street have had a bash at defining Britishness or British values. Not with universal success. One thinks of cycling and evensong.
But Theresa May's attempt appeared to be more broadly grounded and thus more interesting. She spoke again of family, of shared endeavour, of common interests.
Admittedly, some of her examples were less than utterly convincing. She talked of the Harry Potter books being written in an Edinburgh cafe by a Gloucestershire author. Thus, apparently, stressing the benefits of Union.
Well, maybe. But George Frederick Handel composed many of his masterpieces in London. That did not mean that his adopted Britain and his native Germany were bound by musical or other ties.
Still, it was a thoughtful speech, giving the impression of much more than a stock oration culled from party archives.
Read more from Brian Taylor
Analysis - By The BBC's Scotland editor Sarah Smith
So will there be another Scottish independence referendum? Very possibly.
With all the talk of another vote being "very likely" and "all but inevitable", Nicola Sturgeon has already marched her troops so far up the hill it's hard to see how she can march them back down again without massive loss of face and political capital.
Today we got an extensive preview of the unionist case.
Mrs May talked at length about the benefits being part of the United Kingdom has bestowed on Scotland and the rest of the UK. And warned of the economic dangers of independence.
It was a serious and substantial speech about why she believes the UK is "Better Together".
Read more from Sarah Smith
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-39151250
Coffee House
Theresa May turns the tables on Nicola Sturgeon over a second referendum
Katy Balls
Katy Balls
3 March 2017
The Spectator
Although Nicola Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum is ‘highly likely’, a recent poll suggests that the Scottish people are inclined to disagree. Earlier this year, a Panelbase survey found that support for a second independence referendum before the UK leaves the EU is at just 27 per cent. What’s more, the majority of Scots — including some who back independence — are not in favour of a second referendum within the next year or two.
This is why both the SNP and the Tories are currently at pains to blame the other side for any future referendum. Of late, Nicola Sturgeon and her SNP colleagues have been doing their best to stress that any future vote is down to the actions of Theresa May’s government and its unquenchable thirst for a "hard Brexit." Today the Prime Minister struck back. In a speech to the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow, May attempted to turn the tables on Sturgeon. She used her speech to call out the SNP’s ‘obsession with independence’ before accusing them of ‘stoking-up endless constitutional grievance and furthering their interests at the expense of Scottish public services like the NHS and education’. May spoke warmly of the union — ‘we are four nations, but at heart one people’ — but warned that she would fight against any decentralisation of power which meant ‘a looser and weaker union’.
Predictably the SNP are already up in arms over the comments — accusing May of betraying the central principle of devolution. However, May’s speech gives us a glimpse of the approach her government will take should a second vote occur. What May’s team perceive to be their strongest card is that a lot of Scots — including some who support independence — don’t want a second referendum. As Alex Massie details in this week’s Spectator cover piece, the SNP’s hopes of a political dividend from Brexit have come to nothing. While three in five Scottish voters backed Remain, the polls suggest that if a referendum were held this month, the result would be much the same as last time: 55pc of Scots would opt to remain in the Union.
Should Sturgeon call a second referendum, May believes there will be a backlash — and she is not willing to take the blame.
Theresa May turns the tables on Nicola Sturgeon over a second referendum | Coffee House
During a speech to the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow she said "we are four nations, but at heart one people".
Mrs May had earlier criticised the SNP-led government at Holyrood for having tunnel vision over a second Scottish independence referendum.
The PM insisted that "logic and facts" were on the side of the UK.
PM Theresa May makes case for 'our precious Union'
3 March 2017
BBC News
Theresa May made a strong defence of why the United Kingdom should remain intact
Prime Minister Theresa May has called on her fellow Conservatives to continue "loudly and clearly" putting the case for the "precious Union" of the UK.
During a speech to the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow she said "we are four nations, but at heart one people".
Mrs May had earlier criticised the SNP-led government at Holyrood for having tunnel vision over a second Scottish independence referendum.
The PM insisted that "logic and facts" were on the side of the UK.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has maintained that a second referendum was "highly likely" because of Brexit.
Voters in Scotland backed remaining in the EU by 62% to 38%. The UK as a whole voted to leave by 52% to 48%.
On the issue of Brexit, Mrs May told the conference that she was "determined" to ensure that "we leave the EU as one United Kingdom and prosper outside the EU as one United Kingdom".
'Feeble and incompetent'
She began her speech with a scathing attack on Labour in Scotland.
Mrs May said: "For too long a feeble and incompetent Scottish Labour opposition did nothing to scrutinise the SNP for their failures.
"An SNP government interested only in stoking-up endless constitutional grievance and furthering their obsession with independence, at the expense of Scottish public services like the NHS and education, was given a free pass by Labour."
The address had a strong pro-Union theme.
1,661,191 - The number of Scots who voted for the UK to remain in the EU in the 2016 EU in/out referendum
2,001,926 - The number of Scots who voted for Scotland to remain in the UK in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum
Mrs May said the the UK "we cherish" is not a thing of the past.
She added: "The Union I am determined to strengthen and sustain is one that works for working people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."
Other things the speech touched on included:
* The "falling standards" of education in Scotland under the SNP and the continued attainment gap. Mrs May said fewer young people from the poorest backgrounds made it to university in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK
* Praising Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, whom she said would stand up to the SNP establishment
* "Enduring" economic strengths of the UK linked to its integrated domestic market for businesses meaning "no barriers to trade within our borders"
*The importance of the national security of the Union in a "changing world". Mrs May said: "The United Kingdom is a responsible member of the international community and Scotland makes a huge contribution to the UK's global role."
Analysis - By BBC Scotland political editor Brian Taylor
One or two of Mrs May's predecessors in Downing Street have had a bash at defining Britishness or British values. Not with universal success. One thinks of cycling and evensong.
But Theresa May's attempt appeared to be more broadly grounded and thus more interesting. She spoke again of family, of shared endeavour, of common interests.
Admittedly, some of her examples were less than utterly convincing. She talked of the Harry Potter books being written in an Edinburgh cafe by a Gloucestershire author. Thus, apparently, stressing the benefits of Union.
Well, maybe. But George Frederick Handel composed many of his masterpieces in London. That did not mean that his adopted Britain and his native Germany were bound by musical or other ties.
Still, it was a thoughtful speech, giving the impression of much more than a stock oration culled from party archives.
Read more from Brian Taylor
Analysis - By The BBC's Scotland editor Sarah Smith
So will there be another Scottish independence referendum? Very possibly.
With all the talk of another vote being "very likely" and "all but inevitable", Nicola Sturgeon has already marched her troops so far up the hill it's hard to see how she can march them back down again without massive loss of face and political capital.
Today we got an extensive preview of the unionist case.
Mrs May talked at length about the benefits being part of the United Kingdom has bestowed on Scotland and the rest of the UK. And warned of the economic dangers of independence.
It was a serious and substantial speech about why she believes the UK is "Better Together".
Read more from Sarah Smith
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-39151250
Coffee House
Theresa May turns the tables on Nicola Sturgeon over a second referendum
Katy Balls
Katy Balls
3 March 2017
The Spectator
Although Nicola Sturgeon has said a second independence referendum is ‘highly likely’, a recent poll suggests that the Scottish people are inclined to disagree. Earlier this year, a Panelbase survey found that support for a second independence referendum before the UK leaves the EU is at just 27 per cent. What’s more, the majority of Scots — including some who back independence — are not in favour of a second referendum within the next year or two.
This is why both the SNP and the Tories are currently at pains to blame the other side for any future referendum. Of late, Nicola Sturgeon and her SNP colleagues have been doing their best to stress that any future vote is down to the actions of Theresa May’s government and its unquenchable thirst for a "hard Brexit." Today the Prime Minister struck back. In a speech to the Scottish Tory conference in Glasgow, May attempted to turn the tables on Sturgeon. She used her speech to call out the SNP’s ‘obsession with independence’ before accusing them of ‘stoking-up endless constitutional grievance and furthering their interests at the expense of Scottish public services like the NHS and education’. May spoke warmly of the union — ‘we are four nations, but at heart one people’ — but warned that she would fight against any decentralisation of power which meant ‘a looser and weaker union’.
Predictably the SNP are already up in arms over the comments — accusing May of betraying the central principle of devolution. However, May’s speech gives us a glimpse of the approach her government will take should a second vote occur. What May’s team perceive to be their strongest card is that a lot of Scots — including some who support independence — don’t want a second referendum. As Alex Massie details in this week’s Spectator cover piece, the SNP’s hopes of a political dividend from Brexit have come to nothing. While three in five Scottish voters backed Remain, the polls suggest that if a referendum were held this month, the result would be much the same as last time: 55pc of Scots would opt to remain in the Union.
Should Sturgeon call a second referendum, May believes there will be a backlash — and she is not willing to take the blame.
Theresa May turns the tables on Nicola Sturgeon over a second referendum | Coffee House
Last edited:
