The Scottish Tories have a new leader – but he seems to be both confused … and prejudiced
New Scottish Conservatives’ leader Douglas Ross – in what seems to be the role he prefers.
The Scottish Conservatives have a new leader – Douglas Ross, who was elected unopposed by party members.
This seems a very odd thing for them to do.
Consider the evidence in the video below – which I know was created by a supporter of the SNP. Try to ignore the party political message and concentrate on what this says about the person:
Who is the latest ScotTories leader Douglas Ross? pic.twitter.com/RzH5txGTvZ
— Phantom Power (@PhantomPower14) August 5, 2020
The ‘dark money’ claim seems accurate, as the Scottish Unionist Association Trust did support Ross, and did not declare donations and contributions to political campaigns properly to the Electoral Commission. As a result, SUAT was fined £1,300.
His voting record speaks for itself and seems extremely, traditionally, Tory – supporting central government, hammering the NHS and minorities.
But he seems confused: his discussion of rural broadband, ATM closures and unfair postal charges challenged his own party directly, and his votes against equal marriage and equal gay rights ran against party policy.
Also, his claim that refereeing football matches would not interfere with his Parliamentary responsibilities – and his subsequent trip to Barcelona instead of voting on a Welfare Bill – is well-documented.
Let’s look a little closer at his attitude to travellers:
See what Douglas Ross says below
Imagine he had said
Jews or
Blacks or
Muslims or
Gays or
Any minority groupWould have been end of his career, quite possibly
The prejudice against Gypsies and Travellers is “acceptable” in some quarters which call themselves “respectable”. https://t.co/p9KySJP7zD
— Tom London (@TomLondon6) August 5, 2020
Tom London’s point is a good one. He doesn’t want tougher enforcement against a particular aspect of travellers’ behaviour that the public may find objectionable; he just wants enforcement against them because they are travellers.
So it is right to ask how people would have felt if Ross had been speaking about Jews, Blacks, Muslims, gay people or any other minority group.
And this is the Scottish Tory choice as leader of their party…
A man who opposes his party as much as he supports it, with a reputation for prejudice against a minority group for no reason other than that it exists, and who prefers to run off and referee football matches rather than representing his electorate.
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I will miss Jackson Carlaw. His total incompetence was a joy at FMQs. He has been totally stitched up to let this nonentity into Holyrood. Ros’s voting record and previous behaviour says it all. I believe this has been planned for some time, since he resigned his junior ministers post, supposedly in protest against Cummings’ wee jaunt north. That morale fibre is not part of his DNA and I suspect it was an advance move to garner favour with Scottish voters down the line (apologies for other job pun). Also no coincidence that it was his constituency that Boris Johnston visited on his day-out north.
He will be as useless as the rest of them, hopefully, when he does appear. Until then, we have to put up with Ruth-the-mooth for months, having got well rid of her.
I feel I must point out the fact that there is no Scottish Conservatives party, however much they pretend. They are merely the north branch of The Conservative and Unionist Party.