Keir Starmer says Labour 'WON'T work' with Nicola Sturgeon

Keir Starmer says Labour ‘WON’T work’ with Nicola Sturgeon to kick the Conservatives out of power and says Scotland’s future is in the United Kingdom

• The Conservatives have claimed that Labour could do a deal with Sturgeon 
• The Labour leader moved to put clear distance between his party and SNP  
• In conference speech he ruled out agreement ‘under any circumstances’

Sir Keir Starmer vowed not to do any deals with the SNP to win power as he said Scotland’s future lay within the United Kingdom.

The Labour leader moved to put clear distance between his party and Nicola Sturgeon’s separatists, who are pushing for a new referendum next year.

The Conservatives have claimed that Labour could do a deal with the SNP – which holds the majority of Scottish seats in the Commons – in order to win power at the next election. 

But in his keynote speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool Sir Keir ruled out working with Ms Sturgeon ‘under any circumstances’.

He added: ‘Scotland needs a Labour government that can deliver change. But it also needs the power and resources to shape its own future, whoever’s in power in Westminster. And the SNP are not interested in this,’ he said.

The Labour leader moved to put clear distance between his party and Nicola Sturgeon’s separatists, who are pushing for a new referendum next year.

The Conservatives have claimed that Labour could do a deal with the SNP – which holds the majority of Scottish seats in the Commons – in order to win power at the next election.

‘For them, Scotland’s success in the UK is met with gritted teeth, seen as a roadblock to independence, and so, they stand in the way. We can’t work with them. We won’t work with them. No deal under any circumstances.

‘A fairer, greener, more dynamic Scotland. In a fairer, greener, more dynamic, Labour Britain.’

His remarks provoked a sharp response from the SNP. The party’s Westminster deputy leader, Kirsten Oswald, said: ‘Keir Starmer’s remarks not only failed to set out anything new or of substance to Scotland, they also reaffirmed yet again that only with independence will we be able to escape damaging Westminster control and repeated Tory governments for good.

‘You don’t beat the Tories by turning into them but that’s exactly what the Labour Party is doing under Starmer’s leadership by adopting the Tories’ extreme Brexit, denying the people of Scotland’s democratic right to choose their own future, and prioritising grubby council coalitions with the Tories across Scotland. 

‘Meanwhile, rehashed reports of constitutional tinkering provide absolutely no protection against Westminster austerity, naked power grabs and repeated Tory governments we don’t vote for. 

‘While Labour has slid into irrelevance in Scotland, the SNP will continue to stand up for Scotland’s interests. The reality is that only with independence will we be able to build a fairer society and escape damaging Westminster control and harmful policies we don’t vote for.’ 

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