Published 26th Jan 2024, 04:55 BST

Humza Yousaf will not be meeting Sir Keir Starmer during a trip to London next week.

The First Minister will be spending two days in the capital to carry out various events on economic growth. However, he will not be meeting the UK Labour leader despite writing to him offering for the pair to meet.

Earlier in the week it was revealed Mr Yousaf invited Sir Keir to Edinburgh to talk about how their two parties could cooperate after this year’s general election.

Sir Keir Starmer. Image: Carl Court/Getty Images.

Mr Yousaf said he believed Sir Keir “will undoubtedly be the next prime minister” after the election, as Labour are enjoying a 20 point lead over the Conservatives in the polls.

The first major poll of the year also predicts Labour will be only one seat behind the SNP in Scotland.

In his letter to Sir Keir, Mr Yousaf said: “I hope you will accept this invitation to meet and that we can establish a working relationship in the interests of the people we represent.”

He added while Scottish independence was still a priority for the SNP, there were other policy areas where the two parties could work together, such as reducing child poverty and strengthening relations between the UK and Scottish governments.

Speaking to BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg last weekend, Mr Yousaf said: “When it comes to Keir Starmer being the next prime minister of the United Kingdom, which I think he absolutely will be, I should say I’m very willing to work with an incoming Labour government. I think there’s plenty that we can work on.

“There will be disagreements – the constitution perhaps being the obvious one.”

So far Sir Keir has not responded to this invitation.

During his visit to London the First Minister will meet with the lord mayor and a number of EU ambassadors.

He will also attend an annual Burns Night supper while he is down there.

Humza Yousaf will not meet Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer during London trip

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