‘LondonTories doing more for independence than the SNP’
– says Scottish Conservative leader
NEW Scots Tory leader Douglas Ross has rounded on colleagues at Westminster who he says are aiding the Nationalist cause in Scotland with their ‘defeatism and disinterest’ on saving the Union.
Despite polls predicting an SNP majority at Holyrood, and support growing for breaking up Britain, the Moray MP yesterday told the UK Tory conference: ‘Independence is not inevitable.’
It was Mr Ross’s first speech to the party faithful – albeit a virtual one held online – since becoming Tory leader in Scotland.
Next year he will seek to return to Holyrood and at the same time stop an SNP majority, which Nicola Sturgeon will seek to use to build her case for another independence referendum.
Mr Ross called on UK Conservatives to rediscover their Unionist DNA, warning that otherwise ‘Global Britain’ risks being reduced to ‘Little England’.
He said: ‘The case for separation is now being made more effectively in London than it ever could in Edinburgh.
‘Defeatism and disinterest towards the future of the Union are rife. Too many treat Scottish independence as a question of when, not if. They question why
Scottish interests should be put first, if Scotland won’t always be around.
‘Many, including some who govern our country, want to see a UK Government focused on England.
‘We pretend these are the views of only a small minority, but I hear them far too often. If you think this way, ask yourself a question – whose side are you on?’
He added: ‘If you think Scotland’s place in the UK isn’t worth the fight, then you’re in the wrong party. Far too many Conservatives in England have forgotten that unionism is in our party’s DNA.
‘And independence would shatter the image of our United Kingdom. Instead of a Global Britain, there would be a Little England.’ Boris Johnson has made clear, whatever the result in next year’s election, he plans to hold the SNP to the promise the referendum was a ‘once in a generation’ vote.
Mr Ross made clear that after May’s election, the next five-year term at Holyrood should be about rebuilding the economy and creating new jobs, following the devastation wreaked by Covid.
Speaking at a Scottish Conservative Fringe event, he said: ‘My party, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, is not going to give in, not now, not ever. An SNP majority is not inevitable. Independence is not inevitable.
‘I know how to beat the SNP. In 2017, I beat Angus Robertson, Nicola Sturgeon’s right-hand man, to win my Moray constituency. Last year, despite an SNP surge, I won again.
‘It is time for the whole Conservative Party to rediscover its Unionism and get behind us. This is a fight we can win.’
He also called for an end of socalled ‘devolve and forget’, which has seen the UK Government reluctant to interfere in areas where power rests in Edinburgh.
Keith Brown, SNP deputy leader, said: ‘Douglas Ross has had an overdue epiphany. Finally, he has woken up to what the SNP has been saying for decades – that successive Tory Governments do not care a jot for Scotland.’