Scottish Conservatives ‘supine’ to Johnson

Madam, – What on earth is going on in the Tory Party in Scotland?

In June 2017 Ruth Davidson hailed the election of 13 Scottish Tory MPs with the statement, “Scottish Tory MPs will act as a bloc to stand up for Scotland’s interests”. What a joke!

Scottish Tory MPs have shown scant regard for Scotland’s interests throughout the tortuous Brexit negotiations.

In spite of Davidson’s “anyone but Boris” stance in the last leadership elections, the Scottish Tory MP joined Johnson in a private meeting on July 17 where they made a pledge of loyalty to him in exchange for a promise to “take their advice” on decisions affecting Scotland and the Union.

This was an obvious and calculated snub to Ruth Davidson’s leadership of the Tory Party in Scotland. Little wonder she resigned using the old cliché of spending more time with her family.

The Scottish Tories remained supine as Johnson prorogued Parliament to force through Brexit at all costs, acting on the advice of his controversial “guru”, Dominic Cumming, who seems to be calling the shots and pulling the strings.

In a historic night Johnson’s bullying tactics were defeated by the combined votes of the opposition parties and 21 Tory MPs, who correctly pointed out that the Tory Party as defined by Johnson was not the party they had joined and in some cases had served for decades.

They were immediately expelled.

It is acknowledged that a no-deal Brexit will hit Scotland harder than any other part of the British Isles except perhaps Cornwall.

Yet not one of the Scottish Tories was prepared to put Scottish interests before the interests of Boris Johnson, not even a former Scottish secretary brutally snubbed by Johnson and a local MP who did not vote in the European referendum because she could not make up her mind.

All 13 represent largely rural areas where farming, an industry particularly vulnerable to a no-deal Brexit, plays a significant role.

Just over a year ago you published a letter of mine on the risk of Brexit to Scottish farmers where I pointed out two indisputable facts: firstly that the whole Brexit fiasco was brought about because David Cameron could not control warring factions in the Tory Party and secondly that farmers historically vote Tory irrespective of merit.

I implored them to prove me wrong on the second point at the next general election.

Such an election is imminent. As someone who has campaigned for decades for Scotland’s interests I implore you once again, do not allow the Tories to destroy Scotland.

Ken Guild. Brown Street, Broughty Ferry.