Nicola Sturgeon meets Rishi Sunak telling him she intends to “honour that mandate” on indyref2

Nicola Sturgeon has said she hopes to have a “good relationship” with new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – but she stressed there has to be willingness to listen and to act from Downing Street. The Scottish First Minister declared she had had a “cordial and constructive” first meeting with Mr Sunak, who only took office last month. He tweeted later that it was “great” to meet the First Minister, adding that: “Teamwork, absolute focus and collective effort will be required to deal with the shared challenges faced by people across the UK.” While Ms Sturgeon said she had “deep political disagreements” with the Conservative, she also stressed the two leaders had an “obligation to work together in the interests of the people we serve”. The talks between the two leaders came as the cost-of-living crisis continues across the UK, with Ms Sturgeon using the discussions to challenge Westminster to provide “support for the most vulnerable”. With nurses in Scotland having voted in favour of strike action, she demanded more cash from the UK Government for the NHS, saying ministers in Scotland were now “at the limit of what we can do with what is effectively a fixed budget”. She also raised her plans to hold a second Scottish independence referendum, telling Mr Sunak she intends to “honour that mandate” she has for such a vote “with or without the UK Government’s agreement”. Become a Scottish Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know Read The Sun: http://www.theScottishsun.co.uk Like The Sun on Facebook:   / thescottishsun   Follow The Sun on Twitter:   / scottishsun   #nicolaSturgeon #scotland #rishiSunak