Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hit out at former First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, as he took to the stage to make his keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.
Sunak addressed the crowd of Tory politicians and members as he laid out plans for the NHS, confirming the scrapping of HS2's northern leg, and announced plans to implement whole life sentences for sexual and sadistic killers.
Sunak also weighed in on the ongoing transgender debate within the political parties, stating "a man is a man and a woman is a woman".
The Conservative leader then turned his attention to the union of the UK and emphasised the "strength" of the four nations of the United Kingdom.
Rishi Sunak jibed that Nicola Sturgeon 'may go down for very different reasons'
GB News
Sunak said: “And there’s another family that matters to us all. Our family of nations.
“England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Today our union is the strongest it has ever been in a quarter of a century. The forces of separatism are in retreat across our country.”
The Prime Minister then mentioned the former leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, taking a swipe at the former leader and her campaign to become an independent Scotland.
Sunak said: “Nicola Sturgeon wanted to go down in the history books as the woman who broke up our country, but it now looks like she may go down for very different reasons.”
The comment was met with rapturous laughter and applause, as Sunak paused to watch the reaction.
Sunak then added: “We are a remarkable combination of four nations with a proud history, and that history should give us enormous confidence in our future.
“My grandparents didn’t emigrate to just Leicester or Southampton, but to the United Kingdom. They came here because our country stands for a set of values. We are the home of fair play, the best of British. We are the place for those who want to add to our national story.
“The United Kingdom has done a huge amount for my family. I often think about how different our lives would be if my grandparents had not left India and East Africa all those years ago.”
Nicola Sturgeon
PA
Nicola Sturgeon resigned as First Minister on March 28 after a career spanning three decades.
Sturgeon said in a statement that nothing in her life will “ever come close to the profound honour”.
A week before she resigned, her husband Peter Murrell was arrested and released without charge, amid an investigation into the whereabouts of £600,000 of donations to the SNP for a second independence referendum bid.
Sturgeon was also arrested and released without charge as part of the investigation.