The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Douglas Ross gets grilled in our latest newscast
Douglas Ross has repeatedly refused to set out any democratic route to Scottish independence his party would be willing to accept during a bruising interview on Election Hub Live.
The Scottish Conservative leader was challenged to prove his party is not just “paying lip service to democracy” and set out a legitimate roadmap to Scotland leaving the rest of the UK if Scots continue to back pro-independence parties at the ballot box.
Two polls published this week returned predictions of a pro-independence majority following next month’s election, with one of them putting the SNP on path for an outright majority in their own right.
Polling by Savanta Comres for The Scotsman predicts the SNP will return 64 MSPS, one short of a majority, with the Scottish Greens having 10 and Alex Salmond’s new Alba party returning none.
A poll by Opinium for Sky News put the SNP on 71 seats, a majority of 13, with the Greens on six and Alba failing to return a single MSP.
Boris Johnson is widely expected to refuse to transfer the legal powers to hold a referendum, even if a pro-independence majority of MSPS is returned.
Speaking on Election Hub Live, our new election newscast streamed live every afternoon during the campaign, Douglas Ross was asked what the roadmap is for independence if the country repeatedly votes for pro-independence parties.
He said: “Well clearly the nationalists, be it Nicola Sturgeon’s nationalists or Alex Salmond’s nationalists, are now less concerned about what the UK Government would or would not do because they’ve set out their own route-map, which would see an illegal wildcat referendum.
“I think people right now, here in Scotland in 2021, on a day when the number of people who have tragically lost their lives to Covid-19 has gone over 9,000, people are looking for their politics and their politicians to focus on our recovery, on rebuilding the country, not on another damaging and divisive independence referendum.
“We’ve seen how split families, workplaces and communities back in 2014.
“What the pandemic has shown us is that we can actually work well together.
“When we unite together we can actually improve things for individuals and communities right across the country. So I want to see that as our focus.”
Asked whether his party is simply “paying lip service to democracy” by refusing to listen to voters, and to set out his own democratic way forward if Scots continue to vote for proindependence parties, Mr Ross again appeared to avoid answering the question.
He said: “Well that’s the issue that people have to remember when they cross their ballot paper, that a vote for the SNP or the nationalists is not a vote for recovery, not a vote for rebuilding Scotland, it’s a vote for another referendum.
“I’ve said the future of our country is at stake. That’s how important this election is.
“But there’s a way to stop that majority and therefore to stop that focus on the constitutional matters and get it back on education, our health service, on the economy and protecting peoples’ jobs.”
The Scottish Conservative leader has also been accused of presiding over a “nasty” campaign after the party’s official Twitter account posted a “ridiculous and juvenile” tweet aimed at First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The tweet includes an image of an SNP shirt which reads ‘Eat, Sleep, Nicola, Repeat’.
The caption on the Conservatives’ post reads: “Eat, Sleep, Boke, Repeat”.
An SNP spokesman said: “This ridiculous and juvenile tweet is just another sign of the desperate, uninspiring and nasty campaign the Tories are running.
“It’s no surprise Douglas Ross was the only one on the BBC debate last week that could not bring himself to condemn online abuse.
“People don’t have time for this kind of politics, that’s why the SNP is offering serious leadership for serious times with Nicola Sturgeon as first minister.”