Johnson will be ‘welcome’ on Tory Holyrood campaign, says Ross
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be “welcomed” on the Tories’ Holyrood election campaign, Scottish party leader Douglas Ross has said.
But the Moray MP has insisted that he will be spearheading the campaign north of the border, describing his relationship with Mr Johnson as one of “mutual respect”.
The election is less than three months away with MSPS at Holyrood due to stop sitting on March 25 when serious campaigning will get underway. Polls suggest that Mr Johnson is not a popular figure in Scotland and may even be helping to drive the spike in support for independence witnessed over the past year.
But Mr Ross told the Herald newspaper that Mr Johnson will be involved in the campaign after a recent visit to a vaccine factory in Livingston.
"I spoke to the PM when he was up in Scotland last week,” he said.
"He’ll be back in Scotland before the election as Prime Minister of the whole of the UK.
“He has a very positive message to sell in terms of the vaccine roll-out and the availability of vaccines in this country because of the UK government and the efforts they have put in.
"The hundreds of thousands of jobs in Scotland that have been protected by Rishi Sunak’s furlough are a result of the UK government support here in Scotland and there is more money coming directly from the UK Government in the months and years ahead, which annoys the SNP
because it bypasses them but it actually shows his levelling-up agenda invests in every part of the country.”
Mr Ross added: “The PM is the Prime Minister of the whole United Kingdom but I am the leader here in Scotland, so I will welcome the PM when he comes up.
“He fully understands we are a separate party here in Scotland. I am the leader of the party taking the fight to the SNP in the run-up to May. It’s our
party here in Scotland. It’s our policies. He will support our efforts.
"But the campaign, the drive, the vision, the determination comes from the Scottish party led by me.”
Current polling suggests that the SNP is on course for a landslide victory and could even repeat the majority gained in 2011 which paved the way for the independence referendum three years later. A pro-independence major
ity seems likely, even if this is secured with the support of the Greens, which would ramp up demands for another vote on leaving the UK.
But Mr Ross insists that the the Tories, currently the main opposition party in Scotland, can challenge the SNP with a strong pro-union message.
The Scottish Tory leader, who has clashed with Mr Johnson before, said he would be ready to take issue with the Prime Minister.
Hetoldtheherald:“therelationship I have with the PM is one of mutual respect.
"I agree with him when I think it’s in the best interests of Scotland, I disagree with him when I think we need to do more and that’s a similar approach he took with David Cameron when he was Mayor of London and Mr Cameron was Prime Minister.”