WE CAN’T LET BREXIT DESTROY THE UNION
Ruth’s warning to Tories as she vows to end Scotland’s ‘decade of division’
RUTH Davidson issued a rallying call yesterday to warring factions in her party to stop squabbling over Brexit or risk breaking up the UK.
In a direct message to rowing Brexiteers and Remainers, the Scottish Tory leader told them
that ‘the union that is most important to us is our own’.
She vowed that Scotland can finally put a ‘decade of division’ behind it as she insisted she is on course to become the next First Minister.
Miss Davidson said people keep asking her if she seriously thinks she can defeat the SNP in the next Holyrood election, adding: ‘Damn right I do.’
She urged Brexiteers led by Boris Johnson to ‘get behind the Prime Minister’.
She also stood up to those demanding a second Eu referendum by telling them the people
have spoken and they must respect the vote.
At the Tory conference in Birmingham, Miss Davidson said: ‘The last two years have exposed some deep divisions in this country – and in this party. And here’s a safe prediction: in the days and weeks ahead we’re going to hear more of them.
‘The fact is this: Brexit is happening. One way or another, we need to sort this.’
She warned that failing to back Theresa May’s Chequers plan could lead to a ‘chaotic Brexit’ which will play into the hands of those plotting to break up Britain.
She said: ‘Yes, ensuring a good future relationship with the EU is important, indeed vital, for our country’s future. Yes, we must show our friends and allies across the Continent that we intend to remain the open, engaged, responsible nation we always have been.
‘But let’s never lose sight of the fact that the Union that’s most important to us is our own: the Union of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Let’s remember that across the UK, there are those who are working day by day to break up that Union – and who believe that a chaotic Brexit will help.
‘Let’s remember this also: the rock upon which this party is founded is a belief in the unity of this country and the enterprise of its people. So let’s commit to making this our number one priority: to make sure that the Union, our Union, emerges stronger, not weaker, from these next few weeks – because that is what matters the most.’
Miss Davidson also demanded Remainers end talk of a second EU referendum on the final deal, saying independence supporters need to ‘move on’ and ‘the same applies with Brexit’. In a clear bid to bring unity north and south of the Border, she said: ‘Whether you’re Conservative, Labour, Leave or Remain, Yes or No, we must respect the democratic choices we make – or we undermine the principles we all claim to uphold.
‘I didn’t get the result I wanted in 2016. But you don’t get to demand a rerun just because you didn’t get what you want. That way leads to more division, more rancour and a politics trapped in the past. The people voted and there is no way to bring this country back together that doesn’t respect that vote.’
In a speech that won her two standing ovations, Miss Davidson said: ‘People keep asking me: do you seriously think you can beat the SNP? Damn right I do. Because Scotland has had enough of the negativity, the grievance, the decade-long moan. Instead, we want to crack on.’
Referring to speculation about leading the UK party, she said: ‘Yes, there is a job I’m after. It’s the job of First Minister of Scotland. I want to lead the country – and leave the SNP’s decade of division behind us.’
But her attempts at party unity appeared to be undermined by one of her own MPs. Speaking to the BBC, Aberdeen South MP Ross Thomson said: ‘Chequers is an unmitigated disaster. We need to change that and that is why my criticism has always been levelled at the policy.
‘If people were to sit quietly and meekly say nothing then the policy is never going to change. You have to stand up and be counted and that is what I’m going to do with others at this conference.’
SNP deputy leader Keith Brown said: ‘Ruth Davidson wants to silence Scotland’s voice. She thinks the peo- ple of Scotland should have no right in determining their own future. Denying that opportunity, and ignoring the unequivocal mandate the SNP has from the people of Scotland, would be fundamentally undemocratic.
‘From the leader of a party with the support of less than a quarter of voters in Scotland, it demonstrates an unbelievable degree of arrogance.’
Scottish Secretary David Mundell will today tell conference: ‘Every day Scotland is stuck in a constitutional Groundhog Day is a day our economy is being held back.
‘So I want to use this opportunity to say to Nicola Sturgeon, it is time to end the constitutional uncertainty. It is time for Scotland’s two governments to work together in the best interests of the Scottish people.’
Comment – Page 16
‘Leave SNP’s decade of division behind us’