We may forge coalition with Labour to oust SNP says Ruth
RUTH Davidson has raised the prospect of an anti-independence coalition kicking the SNP out of power at Holyrood.
She has said Tories would ‘put country before party’ and work with Labour and the Liberal Democrats to safeguard the Union.
It means the SNP could lose power in 2021, even if it remains the biggest party. And it threatens to bury Nicola Sturgeon’s hopes of a second independence referendum.
Yesterday, Miss Davidson launched a new Scottish Tory campaign poster, declaring ‘enough’ to constant SNP separation threats.
A source close to her said: ‘Just as we’ve shown we are happy to work with Labour and Lib Dems at council level, if it came to it, we would equally do so at Holyrood after the next election.
‘Our view is country comes before party – the Union is key. For us, it is about cutting the SNP down to size and kicking them out of power.
‘We would be prepared to speak to Labour, speak to Lib Dems, about forming an anti-SNP, anti-independence coalition, so the country can stick together. Ruth feels that what the country needs right now is certainty and stability.’
The offer will infuriate Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, who has fought desperately to contain a civil war in her party over town hall coalition deals with the Tories.
And it comes just days after Miss Davidson reached out to ‘abandoned’ Labour voters, arguing the party was too weak to stand up for the Union.
Last night, a Scottish Labour source insisted the party was focused on the General Election.
However, by 2021, independence may well be the defining issue of Scottish politics once more, and Labour and the Lib Dems could be tempted by a Better Together-style alliance at Holyrood.
But the Labour source said: ‘It’s astonishing that the Tories are conceding defeat on an election four years away. We are focused on a General Election less than three weeks away, where only Labour can defeat the SNP in seats right across Scotland. The Tories are not even at the races in dozens of seats.’
In fact, polls suggest the Scottish Tories could win eight to 12 seats on June 8. Miss Davidson is targeting constituencies held by senior Nationalists such as deputy leader Angus Robertson in Moray, and former First Minister Alex Salmond in Gordon.
Her party became the official opposition in Holyrood last year, and increased its vote in council elections last month, with Scottish Labour again coming third.
That result left Labour councillors as kingmakers in town halls across Scotland, and forced to choose between Tory or SNP bedfellows.
When Labour councillors in Aberdeen defied the party’s Scottish Executive Committee (SEC) and agreed a deal with the Tories, Miss Dugdale suspended all nine.
The SEC has also ruled out a coalition with Tories in West Lothian, while approving pacts with the SNP in Fife, South Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire. However, it rejected a coalition with the SNP in Edinburgh.
Unlike councils, protocol at Holyrood dictates the biggest party is given the first opportunity to form a government.
The current SNP government is a minority administration, and only passed its Budget this year with help from the Scottish Greens.
The Scottish Tory source made clear that if the SNP were the biggest party again after the 2021 elections, it would be given the opportunity to form a government.
‘It’s about cutting the SNP down to size’
But if it failed, the Tories would be prepared to lead a coalition – raising the possibility that the threat of independence could be ended for a generation.
Last week, Theresa May slapped a ‘double lock’ on a second independence referendum, insisting it could not take place until Brexit has ‘played out’, while also requiring ‘public consent’.
Mrs May refused to define how ‘public consent’ would be measured. But senior Tories have talked down the possibility that a referendum could be held before 2021. Launching her campaign poster in Edinburgh, Miss Davidson said: ‘As this election campaign has gone on, one thing is already clear. People have had enough of the SNP constantly trying to drag our country back to an independence referendum the majority of people don’t want.Standards in our schools are slipping and the Scottish economy is teetering on the brink of recession. The SNP Government is in charge of schools, hospitals, taxes and housing in Scotland.
‘Instead of focusing on growing our economy and supporting our services, the only thing Nicola Sturgeon has focused on in the last year is using Brexit to manufacture a case for independence.
‘This election is a real opportunity for Scotland to send the SNP a message and change tack. People can do that right across Scotland by voting Conservative.’