THE Tories may have been looking to return the favour after Rishi Sunak used Kate Forbes’s words at Prime Minister’s Questions.
That might explain why Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was forced into a rapid U-turn – something the Tories have grown used to in recent years – after he accidentally delivered a perfect Yes slogan.
Hunt was drowned out by jeers from the SNP benches during his Spring Budget statement after he told MPs: “Independence is always better than dependence.”
“Independence is always better than dependence” - Jeremy Hunt, Conservative Chancellor, March 15th 2023
— Kirsty Blackman (@KirstySNP) March 15, 2023
The line was well-received by the Scottish independence-supporting cohort of MPs. Kirsty Blackman, the former SNP depute leader at Westminster, has tweeted the quote for posterity.
After realising exactly what he’d said, which perhaps should have happened before he read it in the Commons, Hunt backtracked.
“With some exceptions,” he added, leading to laughter from MPs – except for Secretary of State Michelle Donelan, who looked thoroughly unimpressed by the whole thing.
Tory Chancellor Jeremy Hunt tells the Commons that 'independence is always better than dependence' 🤔 pic.twitter.com/emHBEDQRCy
— The National (@ScotNational) March 15, 2023
