Davidson demands the Tories ‘man up’

Ruth Davidson has told fellow Tories to “man up” and get over the “nervous breakdown” gripping the party.

The Scottish Conservative leader again refused to rule out going for the top job in the UK party during a Tory conference event. But she played down the prospect, describing it as “the loneliest job in the world”.

Ms Davidson also criticised Theresa May’s decision to pitch her social care reforms during a general election campaign.

During a fringe event, the Edinburgh MSP tried to rally the party following Theresa May’s humiliating general election, which saw her lose her Commons majority.

“I don’t think the party needs saving. I think it needs to get over its current nervous breakdown and man up a little bit,” she said at the Times Red Box fringe event at the Tory party conference in Manchester.

“Just because people are chanting ‘Oh Jeremy Corbyn’, let’s not be fainthearted about this. We are on the right side of the argument on the economy, we know that we need to ensure that we adapt to a changing world, that we are supporting our public services, that we are looking after the younger generation.

“But we don’t just pack up and go home because they have got a bit of a spring in their step. We get stuck in.”

Asked if she would ever run to be leader of the UK party, Ms Davidson said: “I honestly can’t see that.

“I’m really lucky, and I’m regularly behind the door of Number 10, but it honestly looks like the loneliest job in the world.”

She added: “I do want the job of being First Minister of Scotland and that’s what I’m working towards in 2021.”

Wearing a wry smile, Ms Davidson warned her MSPs against following the lead of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has made interventions on Brexit widely seen as challenges to the PM’s authority.

She said: “If any of you think of writing anything, without telling me, that is counter to current Scottish Conservative policy; you are out on your ear...nobody is unsackable.

Monica Lennon, for Scottish Labour, criticised Ms Davidson’s use of the phrase “nervous breakdown”.

“Good progress has been made to better understand mental health in recent years, but Ruth Davidson’s bad jokes show how out of step she and the Tories are,” she said. The cult of personality has truly taken off this conference season.

Nicola Sturgeon laid down the modern template with her selfies and helicopter tours.

It remains to be seen whether the SNP leader will be able rouse the party faithful in a similar way at next week’s conference.

At Labour’s gathering in Brighton, Corbyn-mania was such that organisers only retreated on getting the leader to deliver a “walk on water” speech because of choppy conditions.

This week at the Conservative gathering in Manchester it has been Ruth Davidson’s star turn.

She attracts droves of supporters wherever she goes at conference.

The grassroots were already fawning over her even before the extra 12 MPs she sent to Westminster saved the party from defeat to Jeremy Corbyn.

Every event she speaks at she comes under pressure to reveal any ambitions she has for the Conservative leadership. Her brace of standing ovations in her key speech has lit up an otherwise muted conference so far.

The only thing she is missing is her own chant. There was some talk yesterday of adapting the Icelandic war cry that was brought to fame in Euro 2016 to that end. Anything to get a rest from talking about Brexit.

Ruth Davidson urged the party to “get stuck in”.