Boris Johnson offered a role for Nicola Sturgeon at COP26

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Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves as he boards the ship Alba in Fraserburg, Aberdeenshire, which will take him to Moray Offshore Windfarm East during his visit to Scotland.

During his visit to Scotland, the Prime Minister said there will be a role for all UK government leaders to ensure that “every part of the UK” is working together to tackle the climate crisis.

He also dismissed an accusation that he “ignored” Ms Sturgeon by refusing to meet her at Bute House to discuss the response to the Covid pandemic.

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Johnson said his trip had focused on preparations for the COP26 summit, due in November, and he had been meeting with Scotland’s police and other agencies to ensure the UK was ready to receive global dignitaries.

Relations between the UK and Scottish governments had previously been strained by the international conference when a row erupted over the reservation of key venues, while Johnson also said at a marginal Conservative Party conference in 2019 that the first minister would not be allowed in. Conference.

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Analysis: Why are Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer in Scotland this week?

At the time he said, “I don’t mind seeing a Saltire or two but I want to see the Union flag and I don’t want to see Nicola Sturgeon anywhere near it. The SNP didn’t secure that summit in London, it was the UK government.”

However, he has now reversed that position and said “of course there will be a role for Nicolas, for Mark Drakeford, for everyone at COP26”.

He added: “It’s a huge job on the part of the whole of the UK. Every part of the UK is now working together.

“What we have to do is, we have to lead the world to get everyone to commit to net zero by 2050. I very much hope that the First Minister, along with all her colleagues across the UK, at any level in government, will herald, urge everyone she represents. And they represent him to do for the needy.”

The Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Scotland, which began on Wednesday with a visit to the Tollyalan Scottish Police Training College in Fife.

On Thursday he boarded a ship in the port of Fraserburg on his way to visit an offshore wind farm in the Murray Firth, with Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarting.

The PM is moving towards the development of a wind farm in Murray East, which is currently under construction.

His trip comes as his personal popularity, as well as that of the government, has been plunged sharply in a new poll showing that conservative voters are becoming more pessimistic about the country’s direction.

Only 27 per cent of those questioned said they had a positive opinion of Mr Johnson – down six points since June – while the numbers who viewed him were unchanged at 47 per cent, giving him an overall rating of minus 20. It dropped 10 points, though the majority (58 percent) remain positive towards it.

Mr Johnson and British Labor Party leader Sir Keir Starmer are visiting renewable energy projects in Scotland this week ahead of the COP26 climate conference.

The prime minister promised on Wednesday that “all the money needed” would be provided to fund the thousands of officers needed to monitor the massive event, while Sir Keir attacked him as “missing in action” in the run-up to the summit and said a firm timetable was needed to put an end to oil extraction and exploration. And gas in the North Sea, in partnership with a “truly fair transition.”

He also called for “quick green investing” across the UK as new figures reveal more than 75,000 green jobs have been lost over the past five years.

The Labor leader said the UK should “lead by example” in the climate crisis and invest more in jobs in renewable energy and technology through a “Green New Deal”.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics cited by the business show the loss of 33,800 “direct” jobs and another 41,400 jobs in the supply chain for the low-carbon and renewable sectors between 2014 and 2019.

This includes thousands of fewer jobs in solar, onshore wind, renewable electricity and bioenergy.

Sir Kerr said: “Tackling the climate crisis must be at the heart of everything we do. We are at a critical moment. In less than 100 days, Cop26 will be over and our chance of keeping global warming below 1.5°C will be caught or give up.

“The UK must live up to this moment and lead by example. This means taking swift action to create good, green jobs across the country. It means a proper buy, sell and sell more in Britain, to create good, unionized energy jobs cleanliness and through supply chains.”

Workers have called for £30 billion in planned investment to support up to 400,000 jobs in manufacturing and low-carbon industries.

A spokesperson for the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: “As we build back better and greener from the pandemic, this government is deeply committed to seizing the economic opportunities offered by the transition to a green economy.

“The data for 2019 and 2014 cannot be compared as there was a change in how the survey was conducted. In fact, the National Bureau of Statistics concluded that the low-carbon economy and renewable energy remained stable.

“We welcomed the recommendations made by the Green Jobs Cluster, which is a huge step forward in providing the skilled labor and green jobs essential to the UK’s transition to net zero.

“The government will now look into this, starting with the development of our net-zero strategy, which is due to be published ahead of the UN Climate Summit Cop26 in Glasgow in November.”

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