An Open Letter to Ruth Davidson

Dear Ruth,

I today received a shameful Scottish Conservatives leaflet, written by you, "We need to send Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP a message they CAN'T ignore".

In this leaflet, you claim "The SNP promised the 2014 independence referendum would be a 'once in a generation' vote." and accuse the First Minister and her party of breaking that promise.

In fact, no such promise was ever made. Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon both gave their opinions that the vote should be a once in a generation event. You and your party have continually tried to twist these opinions to make them sound like SNP policy, which they never have been.

Not two weeks ago your boss, Theresa May, was saying there would be no General Election until 2020. Was that a promise? And if so, is that now a broken promise?

You say "Nicola Sturgeon is demanding another independence referendum". In fact, in 2015 Scotland sent 56 out of 59 MPs to Westminster, whose goal is Scottish independence. Nicola Sturgeon stood for election as First Minister in 2016 on a mandate to seek a second referendum on independence, and the majority of the Scots electorate voted in an SNP government on that understanding.

And while we are on about broken promises, in the run up to the 2014 referendum, the Scots electorate were told that staying in the Union was the only way to stay in the EU.  The subsequent vote to leave the EU, opposed by 62% of the Scots electorate across all 32 local authority areas, gave a distinct change in constitutional matters, which gives even more impetus for the importance a second referendum on independence.

If the Scots electorate do not want a second referendum on independence, then the continued popularity of the SNP is a very strange way of showing it.

You say "We need to send her a clear message - we don't want another vote on independence." And who do you quote on that? The Scottish Daily Express, the Scottish Daily Mail, and the Scotsman; three newspapers known to be extremely sympathetic to the Conservative Party and Unionist views.

You say "Only the Scottish Conservatives can be relied on to send that message", and supply headlines of Jeremy Corbyn, saying it should be held, a "Labour Deputy" saying they would not stand against it, and Nick Clegg warning against trying to block it.

Have the Conservatives learned nothing from the 1990s, when yours was the only party to completely oppose a referendum on devolution? That referendum went ahead despite Tory opposition - and ultimately gave you the post which you hold today. Now that senior political figures are saying that a second independence referendum should be held, do you not think it would be wise to listen to them? Or are you intent on being on the wrong side of history yet again?

On the rear of the leaflet you say "her government should get back to the job they were elected to do - improving our schools and hospitals and growing our economy".

That would be the Scottish schools which are doing better than their counterparts in England in the core subjects, in a Scotland which is the best educated country in Europe. The Scottish hospitals which are outperforming hospitals in England. And yes, the Scottish economy did fall, along with the rest of the UK, in the wake of the EU Referendum. Yet Scotland has the lowest unemployment in the UK, and businesses continuing to start up and locate in Scotland. The Scottish economy is in fact doing rather well, despite the Westminster and the Union holding it back from its true potential.

When I look at the way that Westminster is mismanaging education, health and the economy, compared to Holyrood, I know which I prefer.

You say "Week in, week out, we will continue to demand the SNP drops its obsession with independence." Go ahead. And you will only make people sick to death of your continual one-issue parroting. It will be about as effect as your petition to block a second independence referendum was; not at all.

You then state that you will challenge the SNP to deliver "better public services, safer streets, and more jobs", while conveniently failing to mention that Scotland has excellent public services, crime is at an all-time low in Scotland, and - again - unemployment in Scotland is lowest in the UK.

But then, neither do you make any mention, nowhere, not once in the entire leaflet, the policies of the Scottish Conservatives on any of these issues.

All you have is negativity. All you can do is keep whinging about a second independence referendum. And given that we have local authority elections in May and a general election in June, for you to fail to make any mention of what your policies are on any of the above, indeed no mention of any Conservative policies at all, is utterly despicable.

And here's the rub, although I do want a second referendum on independence, I am not even a member of the SNP, or any political party for that matter. As such, I was completely turned off by your leaflet and all the negativity it contains. I am only writing this before I put your leaflet in the bin, which is the only fit home for it.

This is one voter you have completely failed to reach, and have only made all the more determined to vote for the SNP; who are delivering upon their election promises, despite the Westminster government doing their utmost to try and stop them doing so.

If you had any courage of your convictions, you would not oppose a second referendum on independence. That you are so vociferously against it suggests to all is that your real fear is that it would deliver a resounding YES for an independent Scotland.

If you are so sure Scotland does not want independence, put your money where your mouth is, persuade the Prime Minister to allow a second referendum, and allow the people of Scotland to decide.

Yours faithfully,

A well-informed Scot