THEY’RE BACK
In 1992 the Tories completed the massacre of Scotland’s industrial heartland with the symbolic closure of Ravenscraig steelworks .. 25 years later a Tory is elected councillor for Ravenscraig
SCOTS’ constitutional obsession sparked an astonishing revival for Ruth Davidson’s Tories yesterday.
The party of Thatcher even won a council seat in Ravenscraig – 25 years after she sounded the death knell for the Motherwell steelworks.
Pro-union voters in some of Scotland’s most deprived communities swung behind the
IT WAS a result that will leave most of Scotland’s working class stunned – and even the man who pulled it off could barely believe it. Nathan Wilson, 23, wasn’t even born when John Major’s Tory Government took the devastating decision to close the Ravenscraig steelworks in 1992, with the direct loss of 770 jobs. Last night, the young Tory was toasting his election victory in the Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig ward. Posting a photo on Twitter with a clenched fist, Wilson wrote: “That moment you become the ScotTories councillor for Ravenscraig!”
Wilson had admitted folk didn’t understand his Tory allegiance.
“A lot of people are quite baffled by it – specifically a lot of friends and people I went to school with,” he said in the aftermath of the last general election. He pinned hopes on a resurgent unionist vote, which the Tories finally seemed to capture in key areas yesterday.
In Motherwell West, another Conservative, Megan Gallacher, was wearing garish Union Jack high heels when she heard she’d topped the poll with first preference votes and won a place on the council. Her party came fourth there in 2012.
And, incredibly, the Tories also picked up a seat in Ferguslie Park in Paisley. John McIntyre will now represent the most deprived community in the country. But last
night there were claims that people had voted for the wrong candidate.
It was suggested that locals thought they’d opted for community activist John Goudie McIntyre, who was standing as an independent.
Ian Clark, 37, said: “I think folk were trying to vote for the other John McIntyre from up here and made a mistake.“
Retired teacher Margaret McDermott, 64, added: “It’s possible it has been a case of mistaken identity because I can’t believe a Tory has got in.” The SNP were the clear overall winners but the Tory results show progress across industrial and rural Scotland.
In Shettleston, victorious Tory candidate Thomas Kerr, 20, said: “I’m shocked.
“When you stand as a candidate for the Conservatives in the east end of Glasgow, you don’t expect something like this to happen.”
Last night, Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: “We’ve seen a huge resurgence.”