David Mundell tells Nicola Sturgeon to ditch indyref2 'once and for all'
2 min read
David Mundell will today call on Nicola Sturgeon to ditch her plans for a second independence referendum "once and for all".
The Scottish Secretary will use his speech to the Conservative Party conference to say the First Minister should "take a fire extinguisher" to the policy.
He will say the general election - in which the SNP lost 21 seats while the Scottish Conservatives gained 12 - showed Ms Sturgeon was "badly out of touch with public opinion" north of the Border.
The SNP leader was forced to scrap her calls for another referendum to be held by spring 2019 following her election setback.
She admitted last week that she does not know when another vote on taking Scotland out of the UK will take place. But Mr Mundell will say she should now go further and call it off entirely.
"We’re told a second independence referendum is on the back burner," he will say. "Well, it’s time Nicola Sturgeon took a fire extinguisher to it so Scotland can get on with what really matters.
"I hope she takes the opportunity to do so at her party’s conference in a few days’ time. If she won’t, we will. No-one else. Week in week out we see Scottish Labour flip-flopping on the constitution.
"The only way to guarantee the threat of a second independence referendum is swept off the table once and for all is to instal Ruth Davidson as Scotland’s First Minister."
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