Rishi Sunak will use a visit to Scotland to highlight the benefits of remaining in the United Kingdom, as he seeks to counter Nicola Sturgeon’s push for independence.
The Prime Minister is expected to hold face-to-face talks with the First Minister during his two-day trip, which begins today.
Details of the visit have yet to be confirmed, but the Daily Telegraph said it will tie in with the announcement of two new green freeports, expected to be near Edinburgh and Inverness.
The UK Government’s relationship with Sturgeon’s administration in Scotland has been strained not only by the independence issue, but also the potential for Westminster to block Holyrood’s gender recognition laws.
It will be Sunak’s first visit to Scotland as Prime Minister, although he has held talks with Sturgeon before and the pair met at the British-Irish Council Summit in Blackpool.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sunak said he wants to work with the Scottish Government on the issue of the North Sea oil and gas industry.
But he claimed Sturgeon’s Government “don’t want to support the Scottish energy industry and the 200,000 jobs that it produces”.
He was responding to SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who said Scotland’s membership of the UK union “simply doesn’t add up”.
Sunak said: “I’m keen to work with the Scottish Government to support the North Sea because it’s something that we’re all very proud of in the UK.”
According to The Telegraph, Scotland's two new freeports will be at Cromarty Firth and on the Firth of Forth.
The so-called 'green freeports' are aimed at boosting investment and growth through the use of tax incentives.
There were five bidders - the North East Scotland Green Freeport, Opportunity Cromarty Firth, Orkney Green Freeport, Forth Green Freeport and Clyde Green Freeport.
Each is competing for a package of support that will include £52m in seed funding from the UK Government, tax and customs allowances and investment incentives for areas around airports, seaports and rail terminals.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack previously told a Commons committee at the end of November that a decision had been reached on the location of Scotland's freeports and it was just a matter of setting a date to announce it.
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