The only way is up

YOUNG Scottish Conservative leadership candidate Ruth Davidson highlighted her party’s “deep seated” support for rural areas like Shetland, during a brief visit to the isles on Wednesday, writes James Stewart.

The Glasgow list MSP is travelling around all Scotland’s constituencies to raise her party’s profile and encourage local party members to back her leadership bid for the Scottish Conservative Party.

The outcome is to be announced on 4 November, with Davidson alleged to be neck and neck with “favourite” Murdo Fraser as four candidates bid to take over the position left vacant by Annabel Goldie following the party’s disastrous 2011 election results, not least in Shetland where Sandy Cross lost his deposit.

Davidson says she is seeking “a generational change” within the Conservative party. She wants to overhaul “out of date” structures and say Scotland’s Tories must move forward to compete with the other major parties who she admits are “ahead of the game”.

Advertisement6 of 10

She is realistic about the future and understands that the party has “a lot of work to do” in the islands if they are to win back support. “This will be a long journey. This will not be an overnight success story,” she acknowledged.

She is keen to keep the discussion on a national level, emphasising how a party under her guidance would be more approachable and out amongst the public. Moreover, she believes that senior Tory figures in the Westminster government should be in Scotland more often.

Shetlanders have elected liberal representatives to Parliament since they were first able to vote in 1832, apart from the period between 1935 and 1950 when Conservative Basil Neven-Spence served as MP. At the 2011 election, Sandy Cross attained just 330 votes from over 9,000 votes.

Davidson indeed has a lot of work to do if she becomes party leader, but remains optimistic. “There is always room for improvement,” she smiled. “As I see it, the only way is up from here.”