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Starmer to make first visit to Scotland as prime minister – BBC News
Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Megan Bonar
- Role, BBC Scotland News
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Sir Keir Starmer is due to visit Scotland later in his first trip to the country since becoming prime minister.
Scotland will be his first stop on a tour of the UK and he is expected to meet First Minister John Swinney.
Sir Keir said on Saturday he wanted to establish a “different and better” way of working across the United Kingdom.
The visit comes days after his party won a landslide victory in the general election which saw a dramatic upturn of Labour’s fortunes in Scotland.
Labour now has 37 Scottish MPs – up from just one in 2019 – while the SNP’s tally fell by 39, leaving them with just nine MPs at Westminster.
After holding his first cabinet meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir announced he would travel to all four nations in the UK before flying to Washington for a NATO meeting on Tuesday.
He said: “For the first time in 20 plus years, we have a majority in England, in Scotland and in Wales and that is a clear mandate to govern for all four corners of the United Kingdom.
“Therefore I will set off tomorrow to be in all four nations. I shall go first to Scotland, then to Northern Ireland, then to Wales and then back to England where I will meet the first ministers.
“Not just to discuss the issues and challenges of the day, of course we will do that, but also to establish a way of working across the United Kingdom that will be different and better to the way we’ve had in recent years and to recognise the contributions of all four nations.”
The prime minister added he knows that those with “skin in the game” know what is best for their communities.
Mr Swinney congratulated Sir Keir on his appointment during a phone call on Friday and said he was committed to working with the new government on “shared priorities for the people of Scotland”.
“This includes eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, prioritising net zero, and ensuring effective public services,” he said.
Mr Swinney added: “I welcome the prime minister’s commitment to forge a positive relationship between our governments and for our part, the Scottish government is committed to working constructively with the UK government to build a better Scotland.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the new UK government would “reset” devolution.
Image source, Getty Images
“So we will work with anyone and everyone to deliver for the Scottish people. And that’s why Keir Starmer’s first visit outside of Downing Street is coming to Scotland.”
Mr Sarwar was asked if the new Labour government would introduce a separate Scottish immigration system to allow workers to come to the country, using a distinct tax code, to address workforce shortages north of the border.
He replied: “No. We have to have one UK Border Agency. Of course we need one immigration system.”
He added: “But if you have two governments willing to work together, you can find distinct solutions for Scotland.”
He cited the example of the Fresh Talent initiative, introduced by the Labour-led Scottish executive 20 years ago, to address a declining population.
The scheme encouraged overseas graduates from Scottish universities to stay on working in Scotland.
Image source, Getty Images
During the election campaign, Sir Keir visited Scotland on a number of occasions in an attempt to win over Scottish voters.
One of the party’s most notable policies is to set up a publicly-owned energy company, GB energy, headquartered in Scotland.
No location has been announced but there has been speculation it might be in Aberdeen, addressing concern that Labour’s policy of not granting any new oil and gas licences could lead to job losses in north east Scotland.
The Labour campaign was rewarded with the party gaining 36 seats across the country, including all of the six seats in Glasgow.
The central belt saw big gains for the party with most of its results following vote share swings of about 20% from the SNP.
Other big wins came in Edinburgh, Fife and Tayside.
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