Liz Truss says she’d ‘ignore’ Scotland’s First Minister as she brands Nicola Sturgeon an ‘attention seeker’

Liz Truss, the frontrunner to become Prime Minister, has suggested that she would “ignore” Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland.

The Tory leadership hopeful was speaking to members at a hustings in Exeter when she was asked what she would do to shore up the Union and win back support for the party in Scotland, where they picked up just 21 per cent of the vote in last year’s Holyrood election.

She replied: “I went to primary school in Paisley in Scotland, and I went to secondary school in (Leeds)… I feel like I’m a child of the Union. I really believe we are a family, and we’re better together.

“I think the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her. I’m sorry, she’s an attention seeker, that’s what she is.”

Ms Truss appeared unconcerned with the Scottish Government’s ongoing legal battle to conduct an independence referendum without permission from the UK Government, adding that “Nicola Sturgeon can carry on talking about an independence referendum” – quoting Margaret Thatcher as she said: “No, no, no.”

Critics branded the line a “gift” to the SNP in future Scottish elections or independence battles – just weeks after Tory grandees warned Ms Truss and Mr Sunak to stop “writing Labour’s election leaflets for them” in the bad-tempered campaign.

SNP MSP Karen Adam tweeted: “So Liz Truss advocates ignoring the democratically elected First Minister of Scotland.

“Ignore our Government. Ignore our elected officials. That’s her plan to make the UK stronger? By ignoring us harder. Interesting.

“Always knew it, didn’t think they’d admit it on national TV.”

MSP Richard Lochhead added: “The case for Scottish independence being made by Liz Truss.”

MP Anum Qaisar added: “The Tories haven’t won in Scotland since the 1950s.”

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Despite devolution affording significant powers to the Scottish Government, Ms Truss went on: “What we need to do is show the people of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales what we are delivering for them, and making sure that all of our government policies apply right across the United Kingdom.”

Ms Truss also cited the lifting of tariffs on whisky, adding: “I don’t think I’ve ever been more popular than I was in Mather’s Bar in Edinburgh, the night that I was there with whisky distillers.”

“Nicola Sturgeon can carry on talking about an independence referendum. We had the referendum in 2014. It was agreed it was once in a generation… we’ve got to call her out on that.”