Liz Truss says "best to ignore" attention-seeking Nicola Sturgeon

[BerylBird]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-62385757

I'm not Scottish and I don't live in Scotland, but this statement by Liz Truss has made me seethe with rage. AIBU?

I know Nicola Sturgeon is not universally popular in Scotland but, by all measures, the SNP have a sizeable majority in Scotland and like it or not, she is the elected leader of the country, chosen by its population.

How can someone who is vying to be PM of the UK make such a comment as this without alienating, by definition, a majority of Scots? It's a terrible footing to start out on.

It just shows the low regard that she / the Tories have for the "other" nations of the UK outside of England / Westminster. If ever there was a great advert for independence for Scotland (or Wales, or reunification of Ireland), surely this is it?

I'm Scottish, voted No previously (now one of the "unsures") never voted SNP (libdems do well in my area) and I'm genuinely gobsmacked. Even if Truss thought that how can they not see it as antagonistic. Like it or not she is our FM and they will have to work together down the line if she becomes PM. It's just rude and further pushes people to thinking hmm well it can't get much worse than this maybe independence might be worth it so the at the very minimum those who are governing us doesn't actively look at us in distain.

*don't actively (gosh my typing was bad lol).

The problem Starmer has is profiling. I agree he does a decent job at the despatch box, but people are still aiming the "invisble" criticism at him and if that's how people see him, that's what matters. There's a perception that Johnson is a great oratator and debator and Starmer is a bit wet. It doesn't matter how much he "wipes the floor" if no one knows/believes it.

The Labour machine really needs to get this sorted.

At the beginning of the year Rees-Mogg dismissed Douglas Ross (Scottish Tory leader) a ‘lightweight figure’ after Ross had called on Johnson to resign. I mean yes, Ross is a lightweight figure and an absolute arse, but it just further demonstrates the disdain the Tories have for all Scottish politicians, even their own.

I don't want a second referendum. I would not ignore the SNP and their record in government in Scotland though. I value human life and the number of drug deaths in Scotland is still far too high (well any is too many, but I am sure you get my point).

Divisive, polarising tactics. Look at what's happening in the US as a result of political polarisation. We all need to reject these at the ballot box and choose leaders with some sense of self esteem!

Good for her.

I live in Scotland. Whilst I might agree with the words, it was a foolish thing to say.

I think it's quite sad that many posters on this thread can't separate their dislike for NS from the fact that LT saying we should ignore a democratically elected leader is a spectacularly unhelpful and silly thing to say.

Just goes to show how many people's capacity to form an opinion based on logic is dwarfed by how they 'feel'.

Unfortunately for all of us in the UK, her comments show a lack of diplomacy that would normally be expected of a person vying to run the country. She's playing to the gallery though, and this will go down well with the tory base who seem to be lapping up these politicians and their Trumpian soundbites. It's shameful.

I personally welcome LT's statement as it only helps build a case for Scottish independence.

Can't come soon enough.

She's now decided she doesn't like her own public sector pay policy that she only announced this morning. I suppose being able to admit you were wrong is a good thing, but being so easily persuaded over something you presumably believed quite strongly a few hours ago and being wrong quite so often...?

Agree with this. ^ It was unprofessional of Liz Truss to say what she said about Nicola Sturgeon, but I can't disagree her tbh. Everything sst1234 said about NS I agree with.

She bangs on about Scottish Independence constantly too, and it's just white noise now. Be careful what you wish for Sturgeon!!!

Basically, she doesn't seem to be very good at her job. I think she is a poor leader. All JMHO of course.

oh has she backtracked on that already?

She really is spoiling us with this level of ineptitude.

Even if you don't want Scottish independence, how can you possibly agree with the statement that the best thing to do is ignore the elected first minister of scotland?

Sturgeon is there because she was elected on a manifesto to hold another referendum on independence. This is what Scotland voted for, like it or not.

I agree. It's unnecessary and provocative - no need for it at all.

Ditto her silly remarks about the EU and having to show strength.

We need friends and allies, not to make enemies everywhere. We've got enough of those with people like Putin and regimes like China.

There are also the current headlines about her idea of different regional public sector payscales and her hasty retreat from it.

On the one hand she implicitly recognises that regions are now so variable that they need different treatment: on the other any voices from regions are merely attention seeking and should be ignored. Interesting combination of thinking, if that term is deserved here.

(Swift small print disclaimer: I know Scotland is a country, I’m thinking about regions of the U.K. and trying to stop irrelevant issues taking over from my point. The value of investments may go down as well as up.)

Its also interesting what is hitting the headlines how. Either someone in media doesn’t like Truss or she’s an idiot, or someone’s reporting on her every idle passing thought, or…

"she’s an idiot".

It's this one.

Liz Truss has no class whatsoever.

It was extremely insulting whichever way you look at it and was a cheap shot dreamt up by her team to get a laugh.

The Scots are under no illusion, if they wver were, what will be coming down the line with her as PM.

Daft way for Truss to play it in my opinion. ‘Ignore’ Scottish electorate. Ok then.

I do live in Scotland.

It is not a slight against all people living in Scotland that Truss said what she did about Sturgeon as the context of the question was regarding SNP attempts to engineer IndyRef2.

The SNP has a 45% vote share of those who voted and much less as a percentage of the total electorate. So, far from a majority of the Scottish electorate support the SNP or want IndyRef2. Even SNP supporters are divided on when to have one.

To win an IndyRef2, you need numbers above 50% and they don't. Hence, you ignore Sturgeon's hot air about turning a future GE into a de facto referendum. The Scottish Parliament and Government do not have any power over constitutional matters.

It's ultra vires.

I have a theory. She has got this far in the campaign because "they" know she will be popular among party members and likely win (see the Thatcher references). Once in she'll be very compliant (see the u-turn today as soon as the party objected) and will do the will of the ruling elite.

Of course that means she will need to win a GE for the Conservatives, but I'm afraid with a generally right leaning electorate, which seems to be getting worse and a very right wing press, any opposition campaign would need to be immense, even now, to stand a chance.

This is the problem with the current set up. She’s speaking to tory members who aren’t representative of the country and so it’s easy to alienate others in the process of winning them over.

Such a stupid thing to say, she's played right into the hands of the nats and their persecuted by Westminster complex.

Think it, say it in private yes but not in public. Sturgeon will dine out on it for months.

Putting the politics aside, it was rude, unprofessional and had undertones of misogyny. Liz Truss is a bargain-basement politician, no finesse. Sadly history shows that sort of person tends to win the popular vote.