Green freeports: Nicola Sturgeon and Rishi Sunak mark a rare moment of SNP-Tory co-operation. Can we have some more? – Scotsman comment

Rishi Sunak declared himself “absolutely delighted” to be making a joint announcement with Nicola Sturgeon about the location of Scotland's two new “excellent” green freeports.

Meanwhile, Deputy First Minister John Swinney described the plans for the freeports in the Forth and Cromarty firths as a “milestone achievement”. SNP and Tory leaders singing from the same hymn sheet, who would have thought it?

Admittedly, Sturgeon’s smile for the cameras seemed not quite as broad as Sunak’s, but she said their talks on Thursday night had been “perfectly constructive and cordial”. And that counts as significant progress for Scotland’s First Minister, who in October declared: “I detest the Tories and everything they stand for.”

Such language may have a place in the worst kind of student politics, but a leader of any government needs to understand that the interests of the people they are elected to lead always come before personal feelings and undiplomatic language can have serious, real-world consequences.

Sunak’s party also has form of this kind, with Liz Truss’s silly remark that "the best thing to do with Nicola Sturgeon is ignore her” just one of many reasons why she was unfit for the UK’s highest office.

All that said, the green freeports are an example of the kind of UK and Scottish government co-operation – long called for by The Scotsman – that is sorely needed in these troubled times. So perhaps polls like a recent one by Survation, which found 73 per cent of respondents wanted our two governments to work together more closely, are starting to register.

Both Sunak and Sturgeon have an obvious interest in improving Scotland’s economy. The Prime Minister must restore credibility lost under Boris Johnson and Truss, while the First Minister needs to show a greater interest in such everyday politics. A belated realisation that the cause of independence is being damaged by Scotland’s current woes may be a factor in persuading her to do so.

As for the effect of the freeports, we can only hope the talk of tens of thousands of jobs comes to fruition. But at least this is a real attempt to change the country for the better, rather than the usual empty nationalist/Brexiteer rhetoric. Anything that brings greater prosperity and undoes some of the damage caused by Covid and Brexit is welcome.