Natalie Don MSP said:

“Instead of calling an election and having voters choose the next Prime Minister, there was a stitch-up between Tory MPs to select a former failed Chancellor as their next leader and the next Prime Minister.

“We’re now on our third Tory Prime Minister in a couple of months, one was kicked out for dishonesty, one resigned for incompetence and now – at his second attempt – the former Chancellor Rishi Sunak gets the job. The voting public has been ignored again in this whole process, but this isn’t surprising since the Tories have consistently denied the democratic wishes of the Scottish public for a second Independence Referendum.

“Let’s not forget only a few weeks ago Mr Sunak was beaten by Liz Truss for this post and prior to that he was the Chancellor who turned a blind eye to the endemic corruption behind the flawed PPE schemes which lost billions of pounds as well as being fined for breaching Covid lockdown rules and attending a party at Downing Street.

“I would hope that Mr Sunak has a better grip on Scottish politics than he showed previously when he thought that Darlington was in Scotland!

“How many times are the Tories allowed to change their minds over their leaders? This is now the fifth Tory Prime Minister since the Independence Referendum in 2014. The Tories are blocking the people of Scotland from democratically choosing our future via another referendum, yet they keep changing their minds over their leader! The hypocrisy is staggering.

“It’s time for a UK general election and the issue of Scotland’s Independence must be at the forefront of any campaign. We need to make our own decisions and not be dragged down by the political and economic chaos created in Westminster.”