Rishi Sunak 'to visit Scotland' and meet with Nicola Sturgeon as he aims to outline the benefits of the Union

Rishi Sunak will hold face-to-face talks with Nicola Sturgeon in his first visit to Scotland as Prime Minister in a bit to show the strength of the Union.

The Prime Minister is set to announce two new “green” freeports near Inverness and Edinburgh during his visit, which will aim to outline the benefit that the UK brings to Scots and try and quell any support for Scottish independence.

According to reports in The Telegraph, Rishi Sunak is expected to start late on Thursday and continue into Friday and is set to try and show the benefits of Scotland’s position in the UK, such as the potential economic boost from Treasury-funded “green” freeports.

The paper reports two winning sites for freeports, at Cromarty Firth, near Inverness, and Forth, in Edinburgh, are expected to be announced on Mr Sunak’s trip.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (right) with First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and Michael Gove during a meeting at the British-Irish Council summit in Blackpool. Picture date: Thursday November 10, 2022.

A free port is a free economic zone or designate area in which companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage economic activity with taxation rules and duties determined by each country.

Sunak and the First Minister are expected to meet on Thursday, with exact timings yet to be confirmed. A joint visit on Friday has also been discussed but is now not expected to take place.

Sturgeon and Sunak have previously met in Blackpool for the British-Irish Council Summit on November 11, and unlike his predecessor, Liz Truss, who sparked controversy by saying that Nicola Sturgeon should ‘be ignored’, Mr Sunak talking to Ms Sturgeon on his first day in office in Number 10.

Despite efforts to discuss and meet with the First Minister, there are still a number of major political differences amid calls for a further independence vote. Yesterday at PMQs, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak offered his “wholehearted support” to the Scottish oil and gas industry and accused the SNP of not doing the same, after the publication of the Scottish Government’s draft energy strategy, with Sunak claiming the SNP “don’t want to support the Scottish energy industry”.

The Scottish Government said its draft plan “supports the fastest possible just transition for the oil and gas sector in order to secure a bright future for a revitalised North Sea energy sector focused on renewables”.

Downing Street declined to comment on the reports surrounding Mr Sunak’s visit.