Rishi Sunak pledges to 'work closely' with Nicola Sturgeon in first call between leaders

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Rishi Sunak has pledged to "work closely" with Nicola Sturgeon "to respond to the shared challenges we face". The new Prime Minister spoke with the SNP leader on a phone call on Tuesday evening at the end of his first official day in 10 Downing Street.

The First Minister described the call as "constructive" and said she hoped there would be "further engagement soon".Sunak had earlier become the latest Tory MP to take the top job in Westminster after formally meeting with the King at Buckingham Palace.

After completing a Cabinet reshuffle he began a round of calls with international and devolved leaders around 9pm.In a tweet, Sunak said he had spoken to Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford.He said: "I emphasised our duty to work closely together to respond to the shared challenges we face, so that collectively we can deliver for the people of the United Kingdom."Sturgeon tweeted a short time after: "I expressed hope that we will build a UK/Scot government relationship based on mutual respect - including for mandates - and my fear that further austerity will do real damage to people and public services."I look forward to further engagement soon." Relations between Holyrood and Westminster have plummeted in recent months after former PM Liz Truss declared the best way to deal with the First Minister was to "ignore her".Truss failed to hold a single formal meeting with Sturgeon during her disastrous 50-day period in 10 Downing Street.Sturgeon previously told the BBC she had not had a conversation with Truss since she was appointed on September 6, other than "an exchange or two" at events following the death of the Queen."It’s quite absurd in many ways.