Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

United Kingdom

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to work constructively with Scotland's leader

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been pushing for Scotland's independence

Associated Press
Published
close
Fox News Flash top headlines for January 13 Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for January 13

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Friday to work constructively with Scotland’s leader despite tensions over her administration’s wish for a new independence referendum.

Sunak held private talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during his first visit to Scotland since taking power, saying that while they are "not going to agree on everything," he believes there is scope for cooperation. Sturgeon’s relationship with Sunak’s two predecessors, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, had been frosty in light of Sturgeon’s demand for Scottish independence.

"What I want to do as prime minister of the United Kingdom is work constructively with the Scottish government to make a difference to people in Scotland," Sunak told the BBC. "We’ve got lots of challenges that we all face collectively around the U.K., and where we can work together and make a difference, we should."

UNITED KINGDOM PRIME MINISTER RISHI SUNAK PLANS TO VISIT SCOTLAND FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE TAKING OFFICE

Sturgeon described their meeting as having been "perfectly constructive and cordial."

Rishi Sunak with a marshmallows

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is shown toasting marshmallows in Muirtown near Inverness, Scotland, on Jan. 12, 2023. Sunak pledged to work constructively with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during his trip to the country. (Andrew Milligan/Pool via AP)

The U.K. government said the question of independence was settled in a 2014 referendum, when Scottish voters rejected the referendum by a margin of 55% to 45%.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sturgeon has argued the situation has changed since then, and her semiautonomous government has pushed for a new vote. But in November, the U.K. Supreme Court said her government didn’t have the power to hold a new independence referendum without the consent of the U.K. government.