7 Aug 2019
Ruth Davidson has said that Labour is ‘proposing a pact with the SNP in order to parachute Jeremy Corbyn into Number Ten”.
This follows the statement by John McDonnell, the shadow Chancellor that the Labour Party would not block Indyref2.
In an interview with Iain Dale at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last night, Mr McDonnell said that a Labour government would not stop a divisive second referendum on independence. “We would not block something like that,” he said.
This statement represents a massive u-turn from Labour’s manifesto commitment in 2017 to oppose a second independence referendum.
Mr McDonnell is due to appear at another event in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at lunchtime today.
Commenting on the u-turn, Ruth said:
“John McDonnell’s comments yesterday were met with complete dismay by Labour voters in Scotland.
“Today it’s becoming clear why he said it. Labour is proposing a pact with the SNP in order to parachute Jeremy Corbyn into Number Ten.
“The fact is this – Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell would happily sell Scotland down the river if they thought it could give them a sniff of power.
“That is a rank betrayal of the 2 million Scots – including thousands of Labour voters – who voted to stay part of the UK.
“I can’t imagine Scotland’s Labour MP’s were chuffed to hear Mr McDonnell describe Westminster as an ‘English parliament’. It’s not. It’s a parliament for the whole UK with representatives from every corner of the country.
“With Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell doing Nicola Sturgeon’s work for her, the First Minister must think Christmas has come early this year.
“Scottish voters can rest assured that the Scottish Conservatives will always stand up for our place in the United Kingdom and no Conservative Prime Minister would entertain doing a dodgy deal with the nationalists.”
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