The Prime Minister visited Scotland today – for the first time during the General Election 2019 campaign.
He did not, as widely speculated on social media last night, come to Edinburgh, choosing instead to go to Elgin.
Visiting Roseisle distillery in Scotland with our fantastic candidate @Douglas4Moray.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 7, 2019
The Scottish whisky industry supports over 10,000 jobs in Scotland, and over 42,000 jobs across the UK. We will continue to back these brilliant businesses that keep our economy growing. pic.twitter.com/BAqoRRmq6Y
While he was there he confirmed a Conservative government would review alcohol duty to develop a system which provides better support for domestic drink producers.
He explained that’s the key ask from Scotland’s whisky industry ahead of the December vote, and it would help boost an industry which supports 42,000 jobs across the UK.
And Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative candidate seeking to retain the Moray seat, said it was more evidence of how the party could deliver for Scotland.
Douglas Ross, said: “This is great news for Scotland’s whisky industry.
“It was the whisky industry’s key ask for this election campaign and, thanks to the Prime Minister’s announcement today, a future UK Conservative government has now pledged to roll out action immediately.
“It shows once again that a strong group of Scottish Conservative MPs will deliver for Scotland.
“By contrast, all SNP MPs deliver is more division.
“That is the choice at this election – the Scottish Conservatives who will stop a second independence referendum and support key Scottish interests or a nationalist party led by Nicola Sturgeon which offers nothing but more uncertainty and conflict.”
SNP leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The only thing Boris Johnson should be coming to Scotland to do today is apologise for the chaos he and his party have subjected us to for years.
“He is a prime architect of the Brexit vote and the utter shambles it has now led to.
“A vote for the SNP is a vote to escape Brexit and to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands – not Boris Johnson’s.
“The SNP are the main challengers in every single Tory seat in Scotland, and we will do our bit in trying to ensure his time in Downing Street has already come to an end.
“On his visit to Scotland today, Boris Johnson should apologise not just for the Brexit mess he has created, but also for a decade of Tory austerity that has caused so much misery for so many.
“He should also come clean on his Brexit deal and his plans for a No-deal exit in barely over a year’s time if a trade deal cannot be agreed.
“That would be a disaster for Scotland and the rest of the UK, and it underlines the huge threat the Tories pose.
“He should take the chance today to permanently rule out any No-deal outcome.”
The First Minister added:“Whatever happens in this election, Brexit will not in any sense be done – even if a deal is ultimately passed.
“It is an issue which is set to dominate Westminster politics, one way or another, for many years to come.
“That is why it is vital Scotland chooses to escape Brexit by opting for a better future with independence.”
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said : “This trip to Scotland today by Boris Johnson is a futile attempt to save Conservative seats in Scotland and quite frankly smacks of desperation.”
“Johnson represents a dangerous strain of nationalism and that is what poses the biggest threat to the future of the UK. They have nothing to offer but more cuts and more division.”
“The people of Scotland have it in their power to banish Johnson and the Tories from power and elect a Labour government that will invest in Scotland’s public services and transform our economy.”
Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Willie Rennie said:“Boris Johnson is undermining the integrity of the United Kingdom by backing a deal that puts a border down the centre of the Irish sea. He rejected that last year but now he thinks it’s good enough.
“Voters in Scotland cannot trust the Conservatives. They have put Brexit before the union.
“The Liberal Democrats are the only party standing up for Scotland’s place in the UK and the UK’s place in the EU.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
