Davidson rules out idea of Scots Tories breaking away from rest of party
RUTH DAVIDSON has rejected suggestions that the Scottish Tories could break away from the UK Conservative party.
Writing in The Sunday Times, former Tory chairman Peter Duncan suggested that if Boris Johnson is to become the next prime minister it could create an existential crisis for the party north of the border.
He claimed that, if Mr Johnson wins the party’s leadership election, it could open up a “chasm of epic proportions”.
Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Ms Davidson said revisiting a proposal put forward in 2011 by MSP Murdo Fraser that the party could break away from the UK party was not something that she would ever back.
“It’s within the gift of the party, but it’s nothing that I’ve ever supported,” said Ms Davidson.
“Indeed, my entire leadership pitch back in 2011 was predicated on the idea that we wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom party, but with the autonomy for candidate selection, policy, financing and all of these other things that come under my purview.
“There was a suggestion from one of the other candidates in that leadership election that a breakaway would be something that they would look at, along the kind of German CDU/CSU model, but that is not something I have ever supported, I don’t support and I wouldn’t support in the future.”
Ms Davidson also said she was hopeful that a deal on leaving the EU could be reached at Westminster.
Parliament has so far failed to agree on any Brexit deal which would enable the UK to depart the EU.