Published 18:40 IST, December 15th 2019
British PM 'cannot hold Scotland against its will', says first minister Nicola Sturgeon
The first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson "cannot hold Scotland in the Union" against its will.
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The first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon said on December 14 that the re-elected Prime Minister of Britain Boris Johnson "cannot hold Scotland in the Union" against its will. The Scottish National Party won 48 of Scotland's 59 seats in the British Parliament while Johnson's Conservatives won a thumping majority of 365 seats. After the historic Conservative win, Sturgeon said that if the UK wants to continue then "it can only be by consent".
The UK PM and his government have repeatedly said that they will not let another referendum on Scottish independence. However, in an interview with an international media channel, Sturgeon said that her party had been given a mandate for one. The first minister of Scotland also elaborated that if Johnson thinks a 'no' is the end of the matter on independence, then he "will find himself completely and utterly wrong".
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Johnson visited north England
The Conservative PM visited the former strongholds of Labour after Corbyn's party faced a crushing defeat in the elections and said that he "will repay the trust". On December 14, Johnson visited the British citizens who turned their back on Labour party and helped Conservatives to acquire a historic majority in the snap general elections. The December 12 elections also turned out to be the biggest win for Johnson's Conservative party since Margaret Thatcher's triumph in 1987 and captured 365 seats in the Parliament, securing an overall majority of 80.
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PM Johnson acknowledged in northern England that people have broken their 'voting habits of generations' to chose his party. Johnson further assured them that both, his party and he as its leader will stand true to their words. The general election which was called by Johnson initially to break the parliamentary deadlock on Britain's divorce from the 28-nation bloc has resulted in a Brexit-dominated outcome. During the intensive campaigning, several other key issues like the state-run National Health Service, immigration, and climate emergency that the country is faced with came up. All of which was also acknowledged by Johnson during his victory speech on December 13 and 'promised' to deliver it. Johnson has also set January 31, 2020, as the date to 'get Brexit done'.
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18:20 IST, December 15th 2019