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The SNP and Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon have continued to push for a second independence referendum in Scotland, to the dismay of the UK government and opposition parties in the country, including the Conservatives. This renewed momentum comes despite Scotland voting by a 55-45% margin for Scotland to remain part of the UK during the independence referendum more than six years ago in September 2014. But A Survation poll of 1,018 people on Sept. 2 -7 found that 53 percent of those surveyed said they would vote yes in a referendum to leave the Union, compared with 47 percent who said no.
This week, a new scandal has gripped the party over MP Margaret Ferrier’s visit to the House of Commons and train travel between Glasgow and London while suffering from coronavirus symptoms.
On Friday, the Prime Minister called Ms. Ferrier’s actions “dangerous and indefensible”, and at a meeting urged her to resign from her position as a deputy.
Scottish Conservative leader Ross, who is seeking to win a Holyrood seat in May, will use a fringe event at the party’s online conference on Saturday to warn that “defeatism and disinterest” toward the Union are rife and must end quickly.
He will say that “the scandal-riddled SNP can be stopped” and cautioned that some Conservative members in England must stop playing to the SNP’s strengths, adding that “by throwing back and forgetting”, conservatives and trade unionists present the SNP’s divisive arguments to their favor.
The Scottish Conservative leader will say to the fringe event: “You cannot be a Conservative and not be a Unionist, the two values are inseparable. Too many representatives of the Conservative Party in England have forgotten.
“Defeatism and disinterest in the future of the Union abounds. I have been told that independence is inevitable by people who have hardly been to Scotland.
“As if we Scottish Conservatives are wasting our time trying to hold our country together because the SNP has already won.
“These attitudes extend to some of the rulers of our country. Despite the bold promises, the Union too often becomes an afterthought. By delegating and forgetting, you play into the hands of the SNP.
READ MORE: Blackford ‘stunned’ when SNP MP ‘undermines’ Sturgeon’s sacrifices
The MP admitted he was tested for coronavirus on Saturday after showing symptoms, but still traveled by train to London on Monday when he should have been following strict self-isolation rules.
Ms. Ferrier then delivered a short speech in the House of Commons on Monday night as part of a debate on the coronavirus crisis.
SNP policy said he received a positive test result that same evening, although it is not known whether it was before or after speaking in Parliament, before returning by train to Glasgow on Tuesday morning.
Sturgeon said the SNP had acted quickly and “appropriately” when party members learned the details, insisting that it only learned of Ferrier’s actions after questions from the prime minister Thursday afternoon.
She believed that the Westminster SNP was informed of Ferrier’s positive coronavirus test result on Wednesday, but was unaware that she already had symptoms and had been tested before attending Parliament.
The Prime Minister said that Ms Ferrier referred to the police and informed those close to her about the positive result of her test before issuing a statement on Thursday afternoon.
That same day, the Westminster leader of the SNP, Ian Blackford, flew to Inverness in Scotland and spoke with Ferrier, later announcing that the party whip had been withdrawn.
Sturgeon insisted on Friday: “It was not until yesterday that my colleagues in the House of Commons realized the circumstances, that she had actually been tested before traveling to London and then returned when they told her it was positive.
“I think the SNP has acted quickly, appropriately, and in fact we have not tried to protect a colleague here.
“We have tried to do the right thing, given the circumstances we are facing.”
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