NICOLA Sturgeon has sent her congratulations to Rishi Sunak on his appointment as Prime Minister and promised to try and "build a constructive working relationship" with the new Tory leader. 

However, the First Minister has urged him to "call an early general election" and rule out "another round of austerity."

Taking to Twitter shortly after Penny Mordaunt pulled out of the contest to replace Liz Truss, Ms Sturgeon said: "Congratulations to Rishi Sunak - I wish him well and, notwithstanding our political differences, will do my best to build a constructive working relationship with him in the interests of those we serve.

"That he becomes the first British Asian to become PM is a genuinely significant moment. It certainly makes this a special Diwali.

"As for the politics, I’d suggest one immediate decision he should take and one he certainly should not.

"He should call an early General Election. And he should not - must not - unleash another round of austerity. Our public services will not withstand that.

"For Scotland, of course, he becomes another PM we did not and, without doubt would not vote for even if given the chance.

"To escape the damage of Westminster governments with no mandate here, and take our future into our own hands, Scotland needs independence."

The First Minister had initially said Mr Sunak was the first prime minister from an ethnic minority, however, Benjamin Disraeli, who was prime minister in the 19th century was Jewish. 

Ms Sturgeon amended her initial tweet.

Douglas Ross - who never publicly announced who he was backing in the contest - said he was looking forward to working with Mr Sunak "for the good of Scotland and the whole United Kingdom.”

In his statement, Mr Ross said Mr Sunak had “a proven track record in running the nation's finances” and could “provide economic stability and reassurance to the markets.” 

“Recent weeks have been difficult and unsettling for both the Conservative Party and more importantly, the country,” he added. “Now all our focus must be on bringing the nation together and navigating the tough economic conditions we face.

“As he showed during his time as chancellor, not least in safeguarding one in three Scottish jobs during the pandemic through the furlough scheme, Rishi Sunak is uniquely well equipped for that task.”

Angela Rayner, Labour’s Deputy Leader disagreed. She said Mr Sunak has been crowned “without him saying a single word about how he would run the country and without anyone having the chance to vote.”

She added: “This is the same Rishi Sunak who as Chancellor failed to grow the economy, failed to get a grip on inflation, and failed to help families with the Tory cost of living crisis.

 “And it’s the same Rishi Sunak whose family avoided paying tax in this country before he put up taxes on everyone else.

“With his record - and after Liz Truss comprehensively beat him over the summer - it’s no wonder he is dodging scrutiny.

“Rishi Sunak has no mandate and no idea what working people need. We need a general election so the public get a say on the future of Britain.”

Scottish Greens Co-leader, Patrick Harvie said Mr Sunak’s appointment will be “music to the ears of his super-rich friends, but, for millions of people in Scotland and beyond it will be devastating.”

“The Tories have stepped into a time machine and come out in 2010. The last thing we need is yet another multi-millionaire Tory Prime Minister looking the other way while millions suffer and attacking the services that we all rely on.

“In 2014, we were told that a No vote was the only way to secure our economic stability. Since then we have had four Prime Ministers, each of them even worse than the one before. Rishi Sunak will be the fifth,” he added.

SNP Westminster leader, Ian Blackford said he would work with Labour to try and force a general election:"The Tories cannot be allowed to impose a third Prime Minister without a general election - voters must get a say and the SNP is determined to ensure they do.

"The Tory government had no mandate to trash the UK economy with its disastrous budget. And it has no mandate to install yet another leader who will impose devastating austerity cuts - making households pay through their teeth for Tory mistakes.

"No one voted for this. The only reason the Tories are running scared of democracy is because they fear the verdict of the people. There's no better indication of that than the polling in Scotland, which shows voting SNP could wipe the Tories out completely.”

Mr Blackford said his party would “continue to put maximum pressure on Tory MPs to hold an election. And, I've written to Keir Starmer making clear SNP MPs will back a vote of no confidence in the Tory government if he tables one this week.”

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it was time to end the "Tory merry-go-round of chaos.”

“The Tories have turned Britain into an international punchline – and they have treated you with contempt.

“Rishi Sunak has no mandate to lead the country. It’s time we had a general election and swept this immoral government from power."

Alex Cole-Hamilton, the leader of the Lib Dems, said: “Rishi Sunak has consistently shown that he has no idea how ordinary people live. Liz Truss, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are all birds of a feather. We will continue to have chaos until there is a general election.

 

“The public have lost trust in the Conservative party. Scottish Liberal Democrats are ready to play our part in sweeping away out of touch Conservative MPs.”