SCOTTISH Tories want Rishi Sunak to be more involved in the fight against Scottish independence despite rumours the Chancellor is not particularly passionate about the Union.
In April the Tory minister was forced to deny he told colleagues that “England should break away” from the UK.
Sunak denied he argued the UK did not “make financial sense” following a claim made in a Financial Times article.
And in 2017 Sunak rejected the idea of blocking a second Scottish independence referendum, suggesting the vote should be pushed back until after Brexit “so the choice is clearer for people”.
With the SNP on course for a majority win at the Holyrood election, and support for independence sitting between 53% and 55%, Scottish Tories reportedly want to utilise Sunak’s perceived popularity.
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A senior party figure told The Independent: “We want to see more of the Chancellor in Scotland, pressing home the message about finances.
“That’s the key message”.
Sunak is inextricably linked to the Treasury’s popular furlough scheme, but it is thought when that scheme comes to an end next month there will be a rash of redundancies.
Unionist politicians are keen to imply that an independent Scotland could not have implemented a similar Job Retention Scheme.
However pro-independence figures stress an independent Scotland would be able to borrow money just as the UK Government does currently.
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The push for a more visible Sunak comes after senior Scottish Tory Murdo Fraser indicated he wants the Chancellor to be Boris Johnson’s successor.
Before Johnson’s conference speech the MSP shared a tweet from columnist Iain Macwhirter, which said: “[Rishi] Sunak reaches the parts Boris cannot.
“He’s as fluent and convincing as Tony Blair used to be. And he is BAME to boot.
“Tories have their next PM-in-waiting when Boris gives up the ghost. Labour could be out for a generation.”
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