UK Tories to start planning to stop Scottish independence

There are reports that the UK Conservatives have started planning to stop Scottish independence.

The next Scottish Parliament election is scheduled to be held on 6th May 2021.

At the turn of the year, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had set up a “Union Unit” in No 10, with the remit of developing policies and arguments that will persuade Scots to vote No in any future referendum.

However,  the SNP machine is one of the most formidable in the history of British politics and its leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is a stellar electoral performer.

She pledged the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic would act as an accelerant and not a brake on the Scottish National party’s ambitions.

The implications for sterling are not good when considering the political fall out that PM Johnson is already up against.

From the bad handling of the virus and the highest death toll in Europe, Brexit and the state of the UK economy, they have highlighted divisions not just between Scotland and England but between Westminster.

''The implication is that political disharmony in the UK and specifical pressure on PM Johnson will continue well into next year. This suggests ongoing scope for volatility in GBP and limited upside potential,'' analysts at Rabobank argued.