World news – Britain – The transfer of power is « a disaster north of the border, » says Boris Johnson

Politicians across the spectrum have reacted angrily after Boris Johnson dismissed the transfer of power as a « disaster north of the border ».

During a phone call to Zoom with about 60 Northern Conservative MPs Monday evening, the prime minister described the transfer of power as « Tony Blair’s biggest mistake. ».

While Downing Street later stressed that the remarks indicated poor management of the Scottish National Party, Johnson’s comments would be seen as particularly provocative with support for Scottish independence showing sustained progress in polling throughout 2020, and continued frustration with the Scottish and Welsh governments in Lack of communication from Westminster during the coronavirus pandemic.

Blair, the principal architect of delegation of power, made his commitment in the 1997 Manifesto to hold referendums, with Scotland and Wales voting their own parliaments, and Northern Ireland’s trade unionists and nationalists forming a power-sharing coalition after the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

Scotland’s Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, responded on Twitter: “It is worth bookmarking these PM’s comments the next time the Conservative Party says they do not threaten the powers of the Scottish Parliament – or even, incredibly, that they support Delegate more powers. The only way to protect & from strengthening ScotParl is independence.

It deserves to bookmark this prime minister’s comments the next time the Conservatives say they do not pose a threat to the powers of the Scottish Parliament – or even, incredibly, that they support the transfer of more powers. The only way to protect & from strengthening ScotParl is independence. https: // t. co / Hk7DqoFeuY

Johnson called members of parliament from Downing Street, where he is isolating himself after contacting a member of Parliament who later tested positive for the Corona virus, as he tries to « reset » his leadership after a turbulent year of Corona virus and internal fighting. At No. 10.

Tory MPs he spoke with are part of the Northern Research Group (NRG), which was formed over concerns that the coronavirus lockdown is unfairly harming northern England..

Referring to expectations that the departure of Dominic Cummings’ aide last week would signal less strict conservative administration, the leader of Westminster in the Scottish National Party, Ian Blackford, tweeted: “My dear, my dear lot on the new, more respectful approach, well, it didn’t last. [Johnson’s] position explains the seizure of power in the Internal Market Law, and the dismantling of our Parliament under attack. We can stop the wrecking ball, that’s called independence.

Ian Murray, Scotland’s Shadow Secretary of State to the Labor Party, insisted that « the transfer of power is one of the achievements of the Labor Party it is proud of. ».

“This confirms that Boris Johnson does not believe in a transfer of power and will jeopardize the future of the United Kingdom. His government should have worked in partnership with the delegated governments during this crisis. Instead, people across the UK were paying the price for his failures.

Anas Sarwar of the Scottish Labor Party, who returned to the Holyrood government on Monday as Shadow Constitution Minister, tweeted: “Boris Johnson was a disaster, not a delegation of power.. In fact, it is the biggest threat to the UK. In the midst of a pandemic, when the lives of people in & are at stake, all of our government must focus on bringing people together & gets us out of this crisis.

Boris Johnson was a disaster, not a transition of power. In fact, it is the biggest threat to the UK. In the midst of a pandemic, when the lives of people in & are at stake, all of our government must focus on bringing people together & gets us out of this crisis. https: // t. co / 71jbueEH3G

One Conservative MP, in a Zoom call, who said Johnson described MPs in NRG as his « praetorian guard », told The Guardian: “[Johnson] was in great shape, he took the whole meeting standing up. He was very mobile and bouncy. It was clear that he was not a man in poor health. He said he wanted us to open up as much as possible on December 2nd, but we had to realize that [Coronavirus] was a dangerous and disgusting disease that we needed to control..

“He said there are two ways: by continuing to introduce mass tests, and secondly, of course, with a vaccine. He said we need to get the vaccine in as many arms as possible.

“He was very positive about the North economy and fully understood the need to scale up. He was particularly optimistic about transportation and electronic infrastructure, calling it a great equality.

A Downing Street source did not deny that Johnson told members of Parliament that the transfer of power was a disaster in Scotland. « The prime minister has always been in favor of transferring power, but Tony Blair failed to anticipate the rise of separatists in Scotland, » the source said.. . “Mandate is wonderful – but not when separatists and nationalists use it to break up the UK.

The source said the prime minister said leaving the European Union « means that we must strengthen and protect the UK economy through [the Home Market Act] ».

The leader of the Scottish Conservative Party, Douglas Ross, who has spoken out against Westminster politics on a number of occasions since his election in July, appeared to contradict Johnson in part, stating: « The transfer of power has not been a disaster.. The SNP’s relentless obsession with another referendum – over jobs, schools and everything else – was a disaster.

Boris Johnson, the mandate, the Conservative Party, Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland, the Scottish National Party, Tony Blair, Douglas Ross