Thursday 10 November 2022 09:32 PM Sturgeon hails 'cordial and constructive' meeting with PM (as she swipes as ... trends now
Nicola Sturgeon tonight pleaded with Rishi Sunak for more cash for the NHS in Scotland after they met face-to-face for the first time since he became PM.
The pair held talks as they both attended the British-Irish Council summit in Blackpool, Lancashire.
The meeting was also attended by Wales's First Minister Mark Drakeford and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who both tuned in via video link.
Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, was also present.
Speaking after the meeting, Ms Sturgeon described their talks as 'cordial and constructive'.
She also took a swipe at Mr Sunak's predecessor Liz Truss - who never met with her or even phoned her during her short time in No10.
'It's good to be able to sit down with the PM, as I used to do with Rishi Sunak's predecessors and talk through issues we're all grappling with,' Ms Sturgeon added.
Ahead of Mr Hunt's Autumn Statement next week - which is set to include spending cuts and tax rises as the Chancellor looks to fill a £50bn blackhole in the public finances - Ms Sturgeon demanded more investment for Scottish hospitals.
'It's my government's responsibility to manage the NHS in Scotland,' the SNP leader said.
'But our ability to invest in it depends on the decisions taken by the UK Government and we in Scotland are at the limits of what we can do.
'So we need to see from the UK Government's decisions an injection of investment into the NHS to allow it to recover from Covid and get back onto a sustainable path.'
There had already been signs the PM and Ms Sturgeon are likely to enjoy a warmer relationship than those between the Scottish First Minister and Mr Sunak's two predecessors; Ms Truss and Boris Johnson.
Rishi Sunak and Nicola Sturgeon met face-to-face for the first time since he became PM
The pair held talks as they both attended the British-Irish Council summit in Blackpool, Lancashire
The meeting was also attended by Wales's First Minister Mark Drakeford and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who both attended via video link. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, was also present
Ms Truss pointedly snubbed Ms Sturgeon during her short spell in No10, with the pair never having a formal meeting or even phone call while Ms Truss was in power.
As Ms Truss's disastrous premiership fell apart, the First Minister quipped: 'If she doesn’t mind, I’ll now just wait for whoever will become the 5th PM (so far) during my time as FM.'
Prior to that, Ms Sturgeon repeatedly clashed with Mr Johnson on a series of issues during his three-year spell in Downing Street, including over Brexit, her Scottish independence bid, and the Rwanda migration scheme.
They held face-to-face talks at Bute House in Edinburgh in July 2019, shortly after Mr Johnson became PM.
This saw Mr Johnson booed by crowds as he shook hands with the First Minister on the doorstep of her official residence.
There was a row between the pair two years later, when Mr Johnson declined an invitation to meet with Ms Sturgeon to discuss the UK's post-Covid recovery during a two-day visit to Scotland.
Mr Johnson instead met police officers and visited a renewable energy project. He suggested a meeting with Ms Sturgeon at a later date.
In a marked difference to previous relations between Edinburgh and London, Ms Sturgeon hailed a 'constructive' phone call with Mr Sunak last month on the same day he officially became PM.
However, she challenged him to respect the 'mandate' she claims the SNP hold to push ahead with another Scottish independence referendum.
Mr Sunak has previously described it as 'quite frankly barmy' for Ms Sturgeon to focus on her independence bid during the cost-of-living crisis.
At the opening of the British-Irish Council summit, Mr Sunak was due to call on attendees to focus on 'unity
