Annabel Goldie, the Scottish Tory leader, yesterday took her party's campaign to Northern Ireland, with the message that Conservatives on both sides of the Irish Sea want to work on "bread and butter issues" instead of the constitution.
Curiously nothing whatsoever on the NI Conservatives website about this; I know several of them read this blog, any of you able to provide a bit more background about the meeting?
Her predecessor, David McLetchie, played a role in encouraging Ulster Unionists to support the devolution process, drawing on his party's experience of having opposed it for Scotland but then gaining from it once it was implemented.
Hmmm...and what exactly have the Scottish Tories gained from devolution??
Miss Goldie told fellow Conservatives: "There is a new politics and a new shape to the UK in the 21st century.
"We have the positive change wrought by maturing devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we have the likely prospect of a Conservative Government at Westminster."
"Positive" and "mature" are not the two adjectives which first spring to mind when considering the present state of "devolution" in Northern Ireland.
Using Labour's unionist slogan of "stronger together, weaker apart", she went on: "If, in our different parts of the UK, we want to play our part in meeting global challenges and our immediate domestic ones we must move on from constitutional wrangle.
Theoretically true, but in all parts of the UK there is presently a "constitutional wrangle" which must be first won by Unionism before we can move onto the small matters of global and domestic challenges.
"Hopefully, in Scotland we are reaching that destination where the constitution no longer dominates and bread and butter politics is the only game in town."
If she believes that, I really don’t think she’s been paying attention to what's being going on around her over the last 12 months or so.
Update:
Still nothing from the NI Conservatives...but,Ms Goldie today met up with the UUP at Stormont.
From Sir Reg:
With Annabel Goldie I am gravely concerned over the threat posed to the Union by the rise of Scottish Nationalism. The diversity of the United Kingdom is our strength - the pride we each take in our English, Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh identities. But we are stronger together, within the Union".
More here.
1 comment:
Indeed. If anything things are moving exactly the other way. Namely, the advent of devolution in Scotland and Wales has resulted in increasing distraction from 'bread and butter' issues and far greater focus on the constitution.
Scotland, in particular, is acquiring a political geography more like that that has historically dominated Northern Ireland: i.e. 'The Union - For or Against?'
In those circumstances, the Scottish Conservatives should be taking the most ardent pro-Union stance. Northern Ireland shows that when politics becomes dominated by constitutional issues, the Left will find themselves ground to dust between the pro- and anti-Union forces.
This is the Tories' opportunity - to be the main Unionist opposition to the SNP. Like you say, though, they show no sign of having the intelligence to take it ...
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