I’ll put jobs and families first, vows new Scots Tory leader
NEW Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has pledged to champion hard-working families and reinvigorate the economy.
The father of one, MP for Moray, attacked the Scottish Government’s ‘long line of poor judgments and errors’ on issues such as property tax, education and employment.
Mr Ross – who took over on Wednesday following Jackson Carlaw’s resignation – has vowed that, within his first month of leadership, he will produce a manifesto for recovery that puts families and the jobs market first.
He said: ‘Kick-starting the economy again and providing more good jobs is one of the best ways that we can support families.
‘Ensuring that there is a strong economy that they can work and live in has been an afterthought for the Scottish Government and we need to make it a priority.
‘Hard-working people in Scotland have been let down by over a decade in power by the SNP. The SNP Government came in promising a lot but now looks tired and stale.’ Instead, the 37year-old said he hoped to draw up new policies ahead of Holyrood’s May elections by gathering ideas from Scots the ‘length and breadth’ of the country in a bid to create a ‘regenerated’, ‘positive’ and relevant party.
He said: ‘I want to listen to businesses, to communities, to individuals living in Scotland.’
While the Scottish Government has been pushing for independence, Mr Ross said his focus was on improving Scots’ daily lives.
He said: ‘My wife [Krystle] and I got on the housing ladder just five years ago but there are many issues for people to buy their first home and their own home.
‘On education, it’s an absolute disgrace that 125,000 young people got their exam results this week and one in four find that their results have been lowered. It is another example in a long line of poor judgments and errors from the Scottish Government that affects young people.’
Mr Ross said he will be standing for election to Holyrood in May.
On his upcoming campaign, he said: ‘We want to ensure that we have a manifesto that people who support the Conservatives and always have done – and those who have never considered voting Tory before – can look at and see there is something for them.’