CONSERVATIVES have been branded “snowflakes” after one councillor’s complaint over the use of the word “Tories” led to a ban on the term at council meetings.
At a North Ayrshire council meeting, Todd Ferguson rejected SNP councillor Tony Gurney’s use of the term – despite the fact the party’s official Twitter username is @ScotTories.
Ferguson claimed “Tory” is a “derogatory” word and said he’d prefer for members to be referred to as members of the Conservatives, or Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
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Gurney responded: “On [social] media, the handle for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party as chosen for them by their Westminster colleagues is ScotTories.”
But the council’s Provost Ian Clarkson, who has been a Labour representative for 17 years, interrupted the row.
“Councillor Gurney, if you are speaking about the Conservative and Unionist Party, please do it like that,” he said, according to the Daily Record.
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Representatives at North Ayrshire Council should now only use the party’s official title or “Conservative” for shorthand, according to the meeting minutes.
Ferguson later said he was only opposed to the use of the term in council debates.
"Tory is something used in Scotland colloquially to refer to the Conservatives and it's not used as much in England," he told the newspaper.
"Personally, I don't have an issue with it and I have referred to myself as a Tory. It's purely do with inside the Chamber and wanting to create a respectful environment amongst the different political groups."
A spokesperson for the party said: “We are happy to be called Tories.
“Although, in context, we do understand the point Councillor Ferguson was making, which was that in formal discussions, it’s more professional to refer to the party by our official title.”
The row comes after Tory MP Andrew Bowie (below) demanded people stop calling him a Tory.
During a Scottish Affairs Committee meeting, Pete Wishart objected to being referred to as a member of the “Scottish Nationalist Party”. Bowie intervened to say: “I completely agree we should get the names of political parties absolutely right.
“So can we make sure we use the name ‘Conservative and Unionist Party’ for the name of our party as we move forward, and not the ‘Tories’ as is sometimes used in conversation.”
Online, people found the Tories’ objection to the language amusing. Comedian Janey Godley branded party members “snowflakes” over the complaints.
SNP councillor Mhairi Hunter joked that the situation was “political correctness gone mad”.
And SNP MP John Nicolson joked: "Think we need to hear from the @ScotTories on this one.”
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