The two leaders met ahead of the British-Irish Council summit in Blackpool, where the First Minister raised the prospect of a vote on the UK’s future. Ms Sturgeon wants to hold a referendum on October 19 next year, but whether or not it takes place depends on a ruling by the High Court, which has been asked to decide whether it falls within Holyrood’s remit. (L – R) First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt (on screen), First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford (on screen), Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pose for a photo in Blackpool. Image: Cameron Smith – Pool/Getty Images After the meeting, a Scottish Government spokesman said the discussion had been “constructive and cordial”, with the two leaders agreeing to work together on the cost of living crisis. He said Ms Sturgeon had stressed the need to increase benefits in line with inflation and told Mr Sunak to provide more funding for pay rises for NHS and other workers. And the spokesman added: “The First Minister has made it clear that she intends to honor her manifesto commitment and electoral mandate for an independence referendum and that the Scottish Government remains ready and willing to negotiate a process to enable this to happen.” The first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders marked something of a milestone on the road to a more functional relationship between the UK and Scottish governments. The once frosty relationship was driven into the deep freeze under Mr Sunack’s predecessor, Liz Truss, who infamously described Ms Sturgeon as a “car attention” best ignored during her Tory leadership campaign. She later proved to be as good as her word, breaking convention by refusing to call the Prime Minister or her Welsh counterpart Mark Drakeford when she became Prime Minister. He left the office without ever speaking to either of them. Instead, Mr Sunak invited both leaders on the day he took office. On Thursday he became the first Prime Minister to open the British-Irish Council Summit since Gordon Brown in 2007. Ahead of the meeting, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said any thawing of relations between the two governments would be progress. “Hopefully we’ll get to a place where we can have a constructive relationship, even if we don’t agree on everything,” he said. “Liz Truss hasn’t been in power very long as we know, but given some of the statements she made during her premiership, even the meeting is significant. “The Foreign Ministry hopes to continue the dialogue in a constructive relationship with the new prime minister. “Obviously we’re not going to agree on a number of things, but that shouldn’t stop us from having a grown-up, sane, constructive relationship.” Behind the scenes, UK government officials are also hoping that working with the Scottish government on areas of mutual interest – while politely but firmly rejecting Ms Sturgeon’s demands for indyref2 – is what most Scots want voters. Former Scottish minister David Mundell told the BBC that there was unlikely to be a “substantial change” in policy towards devolved countries under Mr Sunak, but that unlike Ms Truss, he would “reach out” and “do businesses where this can be done.” Polling expert Sir John Curtice said it was easy for Mr Sunak to talk about mutual respect between nations, but the real test would be how willing he was to compromise on policies. “I think it will be interesting to see what his definition of the UK and devolved governments ‘working together’ is,” he said. “Johnson and Truss’s definition of governments working together was basically ‘the UK government sets the parameters and we expect you to help us implement it’ or ‘we are willing to spend money in devolved areas and we don’t care about the fact that we are stepping on your toes.” “It will be interesting to see whether or not the UK government is willing to be more inclusive. “Instead of saying ‘this is the policy and what are you going to do about it?’” he will be more willing to say, “let’s work together to decide what we think should be a reasonable policy to deal with X. Y or O ?” The meeting came as Mr Hunt described the coming autumn statement as one of the “biggest responsibilities” of his political career, amid intense speculation about what his budget would contain. Writing in his local newspaper, the chancellor gave little insight into the measures he planned, but warned his constituents of the need to “bring our national finances back into balance”. Tax rises and tough spending cuts are expected in the budget, which comes as Mr Sunack and his chancellor try to restore confidence in the UK economy after Ms Truss’s rule. The South West Surrey MP apologized to Farnham Herald readers for the hiatus in his weekly column, but assured them he was “down, even on Saturday and Sunday, preparing the Autumn Statement with the Prime Minister”. “It’s an extremely difficult challenge because after Covid, many people are used to the state being able to step in with unlimited resources to fix big problems,” he said. “But in the end, as every family and business knows, you have to find a way to pay for things,” he wrote. Mr Sunak and Hunt are considering imposing up to £60bn of tax rises and spending cuts in the Autumn Budget on November 17, which will prove a big test for the new Tory government. Downing Street is facing fresh calls not to exceed the planned welfare cap as a way of avoiding deeper cuts elsewhere. The Prime Minister is reconsidering whether to delay the plans by two years until 2025, Whitehall officials confirmed on Thursday, amid fears it could be delayed indefinitely. The potential move has alarmed charities, with the Alzheimer’s Society warning ministers “should not bring back the care cap”, which it described as “an important first step in tackling the devastating cost of care”. Mr Hunt was tight-lipped in his column about any of the rumors and reports about his budget measures, but told readers: “These are difficult times for people everywhere. “But we are a resilient, tough and resourceful country and have faced even greater challenges many times before.” He also referred to the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates from 2.25% to 3%, the biggest single increase in 33 years. “It is, of course, very challenging that key interest rates have just been raised again, but it is vital that the Bank of England continues to do its job to restore the stability that comes with low inflation,” Hunt said. The chancellor, twice defeated in Tory leadership contests, rose to one of the most powerful jobs in the country in the final days of Ms Truss’s premiership, before being succeeded by Mr Sunak. Signing off his column, he turned his attention to the “brilliant” local businesses in his area. “Delivering the Autumn Statement will probably be one of the biggest responsibilities I have undertaken in public life and I will think hard about how I can help each of them,” he said.
