Prime Minister Andy Burnham told John Swinney they will have to “agree to disagree” on Scottish independence in a call on Tuesday, a UK Government source said.
The two leaders spoke for the first time since the Prime Minister took office over the phone on Tuesday morning, with the First Minister extending an invitation to visit Scotland “at the earliest opportunity”.
Mr Swinney also raised the issue of Scottish independence, stressing the pro-separation majority in Holyrood, in the hopes of advancing the debate.
But a UK Government source told the Press Association the Prime Minister had been resistant.
“When the question of independence was raised, the Prime Minister was quite firm they would have to agree to disagree,” he said.
“It’s not something he’s focused on and it’s not a conversation that he’s interested in taking forward.”
The rest of the call, the source said, was “quite warm and constructive”, with the Prime Minister stressing the areas where the two Governments can work together and his drive for a “new kind of politics”.
The Prime Minister spoke to the all of the heads of the devolved governments on Tuesday, as well as Mr Swinney, with a UK Government spokesman saying he stressed his desire for “practical measures, not constitutional changes like further referendums”.
The spokesman added: “The Prime Minister had calls with the First Minister of Scotland, the First Minister of Wales and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland today.
“The Prime Minister said he was serious about creating a new politics – rooted in finding common ground based on collaborative, practical and pragmatic relations with the Heads of the Devolved Governments.
“Working in partnership, the Prime Minister said together they could drive deeper devolution to all parts of the United Kingdom to get growth going.
“The Prime Minister added he was focused on practical measures, not constitutional changes like further referendums, to give families more breathing room by helping them with the cost of living, which he had done today by helping millions of households with their energy bills.
“The Prime Minister said he looked forward to meeting with the Heads of the Devolved Governments soon and visiting Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland shortly.”
Speaking to PA on Tuesday, Mr Swinney acknowledged there were areas where he and the Prime Minister would not agree.
“Obviously, the Prime Minister and I have different views on the constitution, but I’ve got a mandate to take forward and that mandate from the people of Scotland resulted in the largest number of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament who support independence and a referendum on that question,” he said.
“So, I will be looking to advance that mandate that I received directly from the people of Scotland in the course of the last few months and to making sure that Scotland has a choice about her own future.”
The SNP lost seats in May’s election, but remained the largest party, with the surge in Scottish Green voters helping to secure a pro-independence majority at Holyrood.
Mr Swinney added that his call with the Prime Minister was “positive”.
“I congratulated him on his election and he made it clear he wanted to operate in a constructive and positive way with the Scottish Government and I welcome that indication from the Prime Minister,” he said.
He also welcomed the announcement of a cut in VAT on energy bills, which will “provide some support in relation to the cost of living”.
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