London, May 15 (IANS) David Cameron and Scottish National Party (SNP) Nicola Sturgeon leader are scheduled to hold talks over increasing powers for the Scottish Parliament, a media report said on Friday.
It will be the first meeting of the prime minister and Scotland’s first minister since the May 7 general elections where Cameron’s Conservative party won an overall majority and the SNP won 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland.
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 British government, BBC reported.
“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.
Cameron said he was visiting Scotland to “underline my commitment to our UK and Scotland’s important place within it”.
“That means remaining true to the promise we made to implement the all-party agreement to make Scotland one of the most accountable and powerful devolved parliaments in the world,” the British prime minister said.
“As more powers are devolved to Scotland, it is time to move beyond the debate about processes and focus on those bread and butter issues that affect every family in our UK — jobs, homes, good schools and strong public services, and dignity and respect in retirement,” Cameron added.