DAVID Cameron would not stop the SNP from holding another independence referendum, according to Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson.
Launching the Scottish Tories’ Party Election Broadcast, Davidson said the Edinburgh Agreement had set a precedent and that she would “absolutely not” block a referendum if the SNP were to secure a mandate. Davidson also said the Conservatives were the party of self-determination.
Davidson said: “David and I, the Prime Minister and I, have spoken about this at length, most recently when we were launching our manifesto in Glasgow. There is an absolute precedent that has been set down and I do not deviate from that precedent.”
The Scottish Tory leader continued: “We have and have always believed in self-determination and democracy, and we have just had the largest democratic event in the history of our country — 85 per cent turnout which has never been seen, not just in Scotland, but in any democratic event anywhere in the United Kingdom.
“We voted to stay part of the UK and we were told that that would be it for a generation. The best way to stop a second referendum is to make sure that you vote for parties other than the SNP in the Scottish Parliament in 2016.”
The Scottish Tories are having one of their best campaigns in generations. The STV Ipsos-MORI poll put them five points up, just three behind Labour.
Davidson said: “The shy Tory syndrome that Scotland has suffered from before, it shall suffer from no longer. We are proud of our achievements in government and we are proud of our achievements in the referendum. We know what we stand for, we speak our truth loudly, we speak it clearly and there are people across Scotland who want to listen to us again.”
Davidson had said she had opted out of the Lynton Crosby-run campaign the UK Tory party was working on. The party have thrown vast sums of money into key target seats, including West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and David Mundell’s Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale.
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