Cameron and Nicola to discuss new powers for Scotland

British Prime Minister David Cameron. Photo Arun Jacob Thomas
British Prime Minister David Cameron.                                                            Photo Arun Jacob Thomas

The Scottish Parliament will be dominated by new powers for Scotland, when David Cameron and Nicola Sturgeon hold talks in Edinburgh later.

It will be the first meeting of the prime minister and Scotland’s first minister since the general election report BBC.

Mr Cameron, who is visiting Scotland on a post-election tour of the UK, will promise a devolution bill in the Queen’s Speech later this month.

Ms Sturgeon will argue that his proposals do not go far enough.

The two leaders spoke by phone last Friday – the day after election voting – and agreed to hold more detailed discussions at the earliest possible opportunity.

Speaking to BBC,Ms Sturgeon said she had “made it clear” to Mr Cameron during their brief telephone conversation that “it cannot be business as usual” in Scotland.

Mr Cameron’s Conservatives won an overall majority in the election, but Ms Sturgeon’s SNP won 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland.

Ms Sturgeon said she was “looking forward to serious and substantial talks” with the prime minister and would have a “constructive and co-operative approach” in dealing with the UK government.

“But, as I have made crystal clear, the general election result last week, and the overwhelming mandate that has given the SNP, means that it simply cannot be ‘business as usual’ when it comes to Westminster’s attitude to Scotland – whether on public spending or on more powers for Scotland,” she said.