Friday, September 9, 2011

Ruth Davidson kicks of her campaign to lead Scottish Tories, slick launch cannot paper over the cracks she lacks substance in depth, no chance















Dear All

Ruth Davidson yesterday launched her doomed campaign for the leadership of the Scottish Conservatives.

She’s doomed, she doomed she’s doomed.

Her pitch to be leader is she is the ‘youthful future’ of the party.

And she wants a blank cheque when she says a decade to restore its fortunes.

Patently this woman is not a George Laird radical thinker.

A decade, what the hell takes a decade?

It isn’t like she is building the channel tunnel.

As an insight into her judgement she says that for her generation of voters, Mrs Thatcher was as irrelevant as 19th century prime ministers such as Gladstone and Disraeli.

Margaret Thatcher is still an icon to many Tory members which won’t do down well she is bad mouthing her.

Thatcher was by no means perfect but she was very successful but like all politicians infighting did for her within her own ranks.

Davidson is the third person to declare in the race to succeed Annabel Goldie.

And the Glasgow list MSP said she had “the energy, drive and passion” to take the party into government at Holyrood and thwart Alex Salmond’s plans for independence.

Aye right!

The joke is she says that the full electoral recovery would take two parliamentary terms.

So, stick around to 2020 and if she is elected, then she will be exactly in the same place she is now.

The Tories are a dying political force.

Davidson said:

“There is no silver bullet, no quick fix, or easy option. What I offer is hard work, justly rewarded.”

She might have done a slick launch dominated by young activists, but a few minutes of show business, hope, aspiration and ‘passion’ isn’t going to fool anyone.

In politics, your track record is important, prior to her working for the Tories and becoming a candidate, no one had ever heard of Ms Davidson.

I had a high profile all over the web on hundreds of issues and topics.
She has just become a list MSP since May, she is publicly unelectable, she might get through Tory ranks but she certainly won’t ever get elected by the public in a first past the post seat in Scotland.

Davidson said;

“Real change will come when the party unites behind a dynamic, modern leader. I will be that leader. Under my leadership, there will be no existential crisis, no wringing of hands.”

She is dynamic?

That bar must be set so low as to represent a trip hazard.

And in a typical oily PR moment she underscored her Unionist credentials with an anecdote about seeing British troops rebuild an orphanage in Kosovo 10 years ago.

Davidison:

“They did that with a Union flag on their arm because they believed in something. And I believe in it too. I believe that the United Kingdom is a force for good in the world. I believe that we in Scotland walk taller; shout louder and stand stronger for being part of that union.”

The use of children as a ‘shield’, she should learn the lessons of history, it didn’t work for Glasgow University product Wendy Alexander and it certainly isn’t going to work for Glasgow University Ruth Davidson.

No matter how many children she ties onto her while leaving the house!

Ruth Davidson flagged up and emphasised her relative youth, she is saying that she will get better with age?

She said no-one had ever questioned her abilities.

Obviously she has never read my blog.

In a ridiculous statement regarding Thatcher she added:

“Scotland has moved on. The Scottish Conservatives have moved on.”

Eh?????

Scotland hasn’t moved on regarding the Tories, election after election poll after poll says otherwise.

And as a signal of non dynamic leadership she showed she is willing to just copy England by declared herself in favour of the “free school” model being promoted by the Tories south of the Border.

Davidson again:

“I would love a more tailored ability, to have schools of different natures. I don’t believe in a standard model for all schooling, I don’t believe that the local authority should be the de facto provider of education.”
Actually to ensure a level playing field local authorities should be the primary source provider of education.

On the thorny topic of gay marriage she said personally supported gay marriage, but would not want churches compelled to conduct services if they objected.

Gay civil marriage is indeed a possibility and if made legalised by the Scottish Parliament, she would have no option but to support it publicly as it would fall into equality legislation.

But like many she stays away saying that churches shouldn’t be compelled to conduct services if they objected, that won’t be legal as it violates the human rights of clerics.

A human right isn’t something which can be obtained by trampling on the human rights of others, that isn’t how it works.

Ms Davidson may or may not have some idea of how human rights work but I cannot say, she is a bit human rights lite in my opinion.

Is she the right person to lead the Scottish Tories, no is the simple answer, their problems require complex solutions and radical overhaul.

And a slick launch cannot cover that up.

It’s Murdo Fraser who should lead, he at least has a vision.

Yours sincerely

George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

No comments: