LIZ Truss’s campaign team has backtracked on the leadership hopeful’s claim that she’ll “ignore” Nicola Sturgeon after it sparked outrage among Scottish Tories and across the political spectrum.
The Tory candidate caused outrage among Tories and Unionist campaigners, including Alastair Campbell and former Conservative MSP Mary Scanlon, after branding the First Minister an “attention seeker” at a hustings in Exeter.
"I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her," Truss told Tory members.
Scanlon had yet to vote in the leadership contest – and said Truss’s remarks meant she’d lost her support.
Meanwhile, Tory MSP Maurice Golden called Truss’s intervention “ill-informed”.
He added however that Sturgeon “should be ignored at her peril”, arguing that it’s crucial to make a positive case for the Union to tackle calls for independence.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Secretary's team insisted Truss would work with the Holyrood government.
Asked by the Mail whether Truss’s comments were about ignoring the democratically elected First Minister generally, or refusing to co-operate with the Scottish Government on indyref2, a source for her campaign said: “Liz is keen to work with the devolved administrations to deliver on the priorities of the UK.
“However, she has made it clear to the Scottish people that there will be no second referendum – instead, Whitehall and Holyrood will continue to focus on putting more money in their pockets and delivering on their priorities.”
The backtracking came as Scottish Green Party co-leader Lorna Slater said she was “terrified” by both of the Conservative leadership candidates’ approach to the economy.
On Tuesday, Truss performed a U-turn following an announcement that she would cut public sector pay by £8.8 billion outside of London.
But after criticism from leaders in the north and Rishi Sunak, Truss abandoned the policy and claimed it had been “misrepresented”.
Speaking to BBC Scotland’s The Nine on Tuesday evening, Slater (above) said: “I’m honestly terrified by the Tory leadership candidates’ approach to the economy and to the cost-of-living crisis.
“Their cruel cuts. Their cruel deportations, and their disrespect of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people are making an excellent case for independence and how Scotland would be better as an independent European country.”
