Starmer: Time for recovery in Scotland, not a referendum

Sir Keir Starmer was in Scotland to meet his party's new Scottish leader

Sir Keir Starmer has said now is the time for recovery from the pandemic in Scotland, not for an independence referendum.

The UK Labour leader has been meeting new Scottish leader Anas Sarwar ahead of the Holyrood election campaign.

Sir Keir said he was making progress with Mr Sarwar in "getting past the sterile argument of the status quo versus independence".

He said recovery from Covid was the priority.

Speaking on the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme, Sir Keir said: "I am really pleased we have a new leader in Scotland with a laser-like focus on the recovery, which I think is the single most important issue for the coming years.

Mr Sarwar "has got energy and he has got focus" on recovering the economy, education and work, the Labour leader said.

• Anas Sarwar unveils Scottish Labour's new frontbench team

• Anas Sarwar: Who is the new Scottish Labour leader?

Sir Keir criticised the SNP's continued commitment to a referendum at what he called a crucial time.

He said: "In the middle of a pandemic, when we are just coming out of restrictions, what happens to the economy in the next two to three years in Scotland is absolutely crucial."

He insisted most voters, whether they are 'yes' or 'no', would dismiss the idea "that in 2021 an independence referendum is more important than the recovery of people's jobs, education of children, the NHS and public services".

Sir Keir said Anas Sarwar had a "laser-like" focus on recovery for Scotland

He claimed the choice Scottish voters had in the election was limited.

"Look at the clear choices," he said. "You have the Scottish Conservatives going back to where they started with baked-in inequality and injustice.

"You have the SNP - when they are not squabbling at the top of the party - saying the only thing that matters is a referendum.

"And you have Labour saying the thing that really matters in the next few years is the recovery in Scotland.

"What Scottish Labour need to do is make the positive case for the United Kingdom."

Sir Keir said that his party's constitutional commission would continue its work to spread "power, wealth and opportunity" across the UK. But he admitted the project had stalled while the Scottish party went through the process of electing a new leader.

The MP was asked about a leaked report suggesting a majority of MSPs on the Alex Salmond committee believed Nicola Sturgeon misled their inquiry.

He said he would not "prejudge" the outcome of the report which is expected to be published on Tuesday.

Sir Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar have been meeting voters in Edinburgh and Glasgow

But he said that if the report found the first minister had misled parliament, and potentially broken ministerial code, then it would be "incredibly serious".

• Alex Salmond inquiry says Nicola Sturgeon misled committee

He said: "It's about the integrity of the Scottish Parliament, the office of the first minister, and standards in public life.

"The first minister herself wrote the foreword to the Scottish ministerial code. She said 'I will lead by example in following the letter and the spirit of this code'. She has set herself high standards and now she needs to live up to those high standards.

"The code itself is clear, if the code has been breached the individual should resign."

Ms Sturgeon has insisted she stands by all of the evidence she gave to the committee earlier this month.

'Cause for concern'

Sir Keir's comments came on the second day of a trip to Scotland.

After visiting Edinburgh on Thursday, he and Mr Sarwar spoke to nurses at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow on Friday.

Sir Keir praised staff for their work during the pandemic and said current delays to UK vaccine supplies were a "cause for concern".

Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross accused Mr Starmer of being "weak" against the SNP during his Scotland visit.

Mr Ross said: "Keir Starmer's refusal to confirm that he would rule out a request from the SNP for another independence referendum shows how weak Labour continue to be in standing up for our Union.

"His party are ashamed of how we fought to keep our United Kingdom together in 2014. They are weak in standing up to the Nationalists full stop."