Scots ‘fed up’ with devolution, says Goldie
The new leader of the Scottish Tories has launched a blistering attack on the state of the Scottish parliament, saying people are “fed up to the back teeth” with it.
Annabel Goldie was outlining her plans for the Scottish Conservatives after being elected unopposed as their new leader when nominations closed on Tuesday.
She was guaranteed the job after her main rival, Murdo Fraser, decided to stand with her on a joint ticket in return for the position of deputy leader
The new leader has remarked that her “matron’s handbag will be hyper-active” to bring the Scottish Tories back into line after a particular low point for the party.
It is currently the third largest party at Holyrood with 18 MSPs, but only three of them were directly elected – the rest being list MSPs.
Speaking on Newsnight Scotland, Ms Goldie set out her stall by criticising the current state of devolution in Scotland.
“I think what I have to offer, what I was trying to outline in a general sense early today, is that the devolution that’s been given to Scotland by the Scottish Executive is a very very far cry from the devolution that people I think aspired to when they voted for a Scottish Parliament.
“Instead of seeing a crisp and shiny and bright and vibrant Scotland under devolution, many people are fed up to the back teeth. All they see is failure, all they see is frustration, all they see is uncertainty and all they see is vast amounts of money being ploughed into officialdom.”
The new leader added: “Scotland’s been failed by a sterile form of socialist delivery and I think my party can actually offer the people of Scotland a version of devolution that’s far far nearer to what they thought they were getting when they voted for the parliament.”
Ms Goldie replaced David McLetchie who resigned last week after a prolonged public row about expense claims.
