UK PM Hopeful Rishi Sunak Says 'Worst Possible Moment' for Second Scottish Independence Referendum

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Rishi Sunak, former Chancellor of the Exchequer and UK prime minister hopeful, said on Tuesday that a second Scottish independence referendum is "the wrong priority at the worst possible moment" as the country should pull together instead of tearing itself apart.

"I am clear that another referendum is the wrong priority at the worst possible moment. The SNP [Scottish National Party] are wrong to try and tear the country apart when we should be pulling together," Sunak wrote in a column for the Scottish Daily Mail.

At the end of June, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon proposed that a new vote on Scotland's independence should be held on October 19, 2023.

In her address to the Scottish Parliament, Sturgeon stated that the government hopes that the referendum bill, passed on by the Lord Advocate to the UK Supreme Court, will be deemed to be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament, as the vote is consultative and not self-executing.

Sturgeon had previously announced her intention to hold another referendum on Scotland's independence in 2023.

However, outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeatedly said that he would not allow the second referendum since the Scottish people already decided to stay within the United Kingdom in a 55%-to-45% vote in 2014.