Positive vision for our United Kingdom can turn tide on SNP

BRINGING our party and our country together. That’s the main reason why I’m standing to be Prime Minister. My goal is to end the division that has sadly overwhelmed our party recently.

I want to get every Conservative and Unionist united behind the common purpose of tackling the cost of living crisis, turbo-charging our economy and relentlessly focusing on your priorities.

A united front behind a positive vision of economic success is what we desperately need to rediscover, for the good of our party and the entire United Kingdom. That’s what this leadership election is really all about – who can deliver unity after division.

Of course, division is something you’ve become accustomed to in Scotland these last 15 years since the SNP claimed power. We know the Nationalists excel at provoking splits between neighbours, friends and communities, just as they did to our lasting disappointment in the 2014 referendum campaign.

Creating division is their greatest strength. It has handed them numerous election wins. But it is also their greatest weakness. A party built on foundations purely of division can never bring the country together. The very thing that makes it difficult to defeat also makes it possible to beat the SNP. And that must be our ambition.

In this leadership contest, you will not only hear me talk of winning power across our United Kingdom. You will also hear me talk of winning power in Scotland, as difficult as it will be to achieve.

We must set our sights that high. We are the only party that has ever shown the strength to stand up to the SNP.

It will be a long road to get there but we must aspire to unite the pro-UK majority and form the Scottish Government. We must be a party that seeks power everywhere in our United Kingdom.

So while I set out ambitious plans to boost our economy, I also want to make sure our party puts the proper emphasis on a positive plan for Scotland and rejuvenating our Union – because we are nothing unless we are united.

The Union is the bedrock of our success and we must continue to stick together to rebuild after Covid using the strong foundations we all rely on as one United Kingdom.

Now is not the time to be divided all over again. Now is the time to unite and focus on tackling the cost of living crisis, supporting jobs and backing businesses.

THAT’S why I’ve said I won’t play Nicola Sturgeon’s games. When asked about a referendum, you’ll hear me answer instead about people’s real priorities, such as how we can put more of your hardearned money back in your pocket. I am firmly against playing on the SNP’s turf.

Another divisive referendum at this time is the wrong priority and I won’t be afraid to say so, firmly, to Nicola Sturgeon, just as I have in the House of Commons to Ian Blackford.

Instead of getting stuck debating the SNP’s priority, my focus will be 100 per cent on creating a thundering UK economy that’s the envy of the world. I have already set out the first step of a detailed plan to tackle the cost of living crisis by cutting VAT on fuel by 50 per cent. That would cut your costs at the petrol pump by £10 per fill.

We know the SNP Government doesn’t back drivers – but my government would. I’ve already been endorsed by FairFuelUK, the only candidate to receive its backing to date. I won’t stop there. I have ambitious plans to drive Scotland forward as part of a thriving United Kingdom.

My proposals are bolstered by our common interest in supporting a low-tax, entrepreneurial economy because we know backing business is the best way to boost job creation and deliver the growth that’s essential for our public services.

My plan will be Conservative in substance but will benefit every hardworking family in the country, no matter their political colours.

You have my assurance, too, that my plan for post-Brexit Britain will work for Scotland. I want to boost support for the Union by investing in our shared infrastructure, strengthening the economic ties that bind us and spreading the levelling-up agenda to communities across Scotland.

That’s how we start to turn the tide against the SNP – with a positive vision, unity of purpose and record of delivery. We won’t beat the SNP by dividing people. We will only beat it with a message that unites the country by focusing on what really matters.

And we must set that ambition to defeat the Nationalists one day. I won’t pretend it will be easy. But as a member of the Royal Navy, I’ve got the courage and determination to take on that huge challenge.

It is a challenge that must always be led by the Scottish Conservatives, by Douglas Ross and his group of MSPs. But as Prime Minister, I would aim to give our party the platform it needs.

Too often, a ceiling has been placed on our party’s support in Scotland by events at Westminster. Every Scottish Conservative politician I’ve spoken to has voiced frustration at the way in which the SNP is let off the hook because of some scandal down south.

I know it’s a regular topic of discussion in the pages of the Scottish Daily Mail.

Yet last year, even with Westminster troubles in the background, the Scottish Conservatives won their best result yet, gaining 100,000 more votes than ever before. Can you imagine what could be achieved if the ceiling on our support in Scotland was gone? The fantastic result by Douglas last year, building on Ruth Davidson’s success, doesn’t need to be the high water mark for our party.

ARISING tide lifts all boats and, if we unite behind a positive vision across our United Kingdom, we can aim higher in Scotland too. So my focus is not just on the Red Wall, it’s on starting to break the SNP’s Yellow Wall.

I know what it will take. When I was first elected, it was in a Labour seat.

I’ve increased the vote share at every election since by putting forward an optimistic message with broad appeal but rooted in Conservative principles. I understand how to win over Labour voters, which will be necessary so we can unite the pro-UK vote and finally beat the SNP.

I can be a Prime Minister that wins votes across Scotland, the Yellow Wall, the Red Wall, Blue Wall and the entire United Kingdom. I want to be campaigning just as hard in Peterhead as in Portsmouth North, my own constituency.

I firmly believe my positive vision for all of our United Kingdom can overcome the SNP’s relentless push to split up Scotland. I hope you will join me on the journey.