Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Here are 5 big Scottish decisions facing Rishi Sunak

Conservative leadership contender Rishi Sunak
Conservative leadership contender Rishi Sunak

Rishi Sunak has a mountain of work to do as he takes over as prime minister with the markets having been in meltdown and his party in disarray.

The former chancellor was poised to succeed Liz Truss at 10 Downing Street on Monday after rivals Boris Johnson and Penny Mordaunt withdrew from the contest.

The new prime minister will have to plug a massive budget black hole and try to rescue the Tory party from anticipated wipe-out at the next election.

The Conservative leader will also have some key decisions to make on Scotland.

We have taken a look at some of the most pressing issues.

 

1 – Will there be an IndyRef2 next year?

One of the first jobs of the new prime minister will be to agree the UK Government’s policy on a second independence referendum.

The SNP-Green government at Holyrood wants to hold a vote next year, but Tory ministers have insisted “now is not the time”.

The Supreme Court is currently considering whether MSPs have the power to arrange a referendum, without the consent of the Westminster government.

Whatever the verdict, the independence issue is not going away any time soon.

The new prime minister will also have to repair the damage caused in recent weeks to one of the key arguments for Scotland staying in the UK – the idea that the Union offers greater economic stability.

 

2 – Who is to be Scottish secretary?

Alister Jack.

Any decisions on UK Government policy towards Scotland are likely to be shaped by whoever is named Scottish secretary.

Prime ministers have recently tended not to change their secretary of state for Scotland very often, partly because it is a sensitive job, but also because of a lack of options.

Alister Jack was given the job by Boris Johnson in 2019.

He succeeded David Mundell, who had held the post for four years.

Mr Jack has been loyal to Mr Johnson in the past, but could be moved after Mr Sunak emerged with the keys to 10 Downing Street.

West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie is an enthusiastic supporter of Mr Sunak and could offer an alternative option.

Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid is another, having served as a junior minister in the Scotland Office.

 

3 – How can the Scottish Tories be revived?

Douglas Ross

In recent weeks, months and years, the Scottish Conservatives have been repeatedly left looking humiliated as a result of the conduct and decisions of their party leaders south of the border.

The U-turns of Douglas Ross on the future of Mr Johnson during the “partygate” scandal undermined his authority.

Now, the Scottish Tories who enthusiastically supported the premiership of Liz Truss, and then Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous mini-Budget, were left embarrassed when both were quickly overturned.

Most of the parliamentary party north of the border will have been hoping for a fresh start under any leader who is not Mr Johnson.

They will also be lobbying for more help from the new prime minister to bolster their fortunes, such as fresh investment or eye-catching initiatives.

 

4 – Which areas will host green freeports?

Aberdeen Harbour
Aberdeen harbour

One looming investment decision for the new prime minister is to name the location of Scotland’s two green freeports.

An announcement was expected to have been made by now, revealing whether the north-east, Cromarty Firth, Orkney, Clyde or Forth would win the special low-tax designation from the UK and Scottish governments.

However, the process was thrown into confusion as a result of Mr Kwarteng’s mini-budget, which proposed the creation of new “investment zones” across the country.

It emerged that the Liz Truss government wanted all five Scottish freeport bidders to be turned into investment zones.

However, Ms Truss has now left Downing Street after just 44 days, and her investment zones plan is in doubt.

The new government will surely be able to quickly sign-off and announce the freeport locations.

 

5 – Will there be a new energy windfall tax?

oil and gas communities
North Sea oil and gas industry.

When Mr Sunak was chancellor he announced a £5 billion windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers in May.

The move aimed to help fund a package of support for households struggling with the cost of living crisis.

It increased the headline rate of tax that UK oil and gas companies pay on their profits by 25%, taking the total figure to 25%.

However, a rise in the relief companies are able to claim against their investments was included to soften the blow.

Under pressure from opposition parties, Ms Truss was asked about the possibility of another windfall tax on North Sea energy producers after she took charge.

“I am against a windfall tax. I believe it is the wrong thing to be putting companies off investing in the UK, just when we need to be growing the economy,” she said.

But after the battering of Britain’s finances in recent weeks, the new prime minister could consider looking again at such a levy.