Jackson Carlaw and Ruth Davidson told the party faithful in Edinburgh this morning that this is the “one last chance” to stop Nicola Sturgeon’s indyref2 becoming a reality by Friday.
The placards said ‘We said no to independence. We meant it.’ and ‘Stop Indyref2 tomorrow’.
The marquee on the rooftop at The Glasshouse Hotel at the top of Leith Walk was full of Tory supporters, activists and some candidates. Jackson Carlaw began his speech by saying that he was the only party leader in Scotland who could count on the support of his predecessor, narrating the circumstances of the other parties.
So the Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw said he was the only party leader to have the support of his predecessor….He was introduced by @RuthDavidsonMSP who bounced onto the stage at The Glasshouse Hotel pic.twitter.com/OJ9lI5MKrN
— Edinburgh Reporter (@EdinReporter) December 11, 2019
Mr Carlaw warned that by Friday, the country could be “powerless” to stop Nicola Sturgeon’s drive for a second referendum. He urged all pro-UK voters to lend the Scottish Conservatives their vote tomorrow, saying their vote could make the difference in seats where the election is on a “knife edge”.
Ms Davidson said voters in Scotland tomorrow held the future of the country in their hands and could choose to “turn the clock back” or move the nation forward.
Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw said:”We have said for some days that in seat after seat, the election in Scotland is on a knife edge. Today we see more evidence of just how true that is. A few hundred votes either way will decide whether Nicola Sturgeon gets her way and takes us back to a second referendum next year – or whether we can all move forward as a country to take on the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
“Today I’m asking those people in Scotland who are still considering how to vote tomorrow to walk to the precipice and look over the cliff edge. The fact is we are now staring down at the very real risk of a second referendum on independence being held next year. A second referendum which would divide us all over again and could lead to the break-up of our country by Christmas next year. If you don’t act tomorrow, by Friday Nicola Sturgeon may have the power to march us all off that cliff and into a second referendum – and there will be nothing we can do about it.”
“We will be powerless to act. Unable to have our say. She will be able to dictate terms, speak in our name, insist on her way being followed – we will have to just sit there are take it. That’s the reality of what we face on Friday.”
“The most significant vote I ever took was to vote No to Independence in 2014. It will always be. But tomorrow is now just as important. This is now a straight decision: do you want to stop Sturgeon’s referendum, or not. It is decision time. We have one chance to stop Nicola Sturgeon. And it is our last chance to tell her. Our last chance to insist she listens to us for once.”
“She has had her say – now it’s time for us to have ours.”
“So I’m urging everyone who doesn’t want to go back to yet more division to get out and vote – and vote for the one party which can be guaranteed to stand up to Nicola Sturgeon. Two years ago, we took seats from the SNP – and forced her to listen. So you can be assured that voting for us works. That’s why – whatever our differences on other issues – I’m asking people who don’t normally vote Scottish Conservative to lend us your vote, and help us stop her.”
“There’s so much else to debate and deliver once this election is over. Supporting our NHS, building jobs, getting Brexit sorted – and we need to talk about this and more. But tomorrow, let’s do this one big thing together. Let’s put an end to a decade of division in Scotland. Let’s make clear – no to a second referendum on independence. That’s what the country needs first and foremost. Lend your vote to the Scottish Conservative and Unionists tomorrow, stop indyref2 – and let the country move on.”
Former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson added:“I’ve spent this campaign out of the TV studios, but on the doorsteps. All over Scotland I’ve heard the same message from people – they have had enough of Nicola Sturgeon’s endless attempts to drag us all back to yet another referendum. She said it was once in a generation. Now she wants to hold one next year. Scotland simply does not want this, and people are yearning for governments at Westminster and Holyrood who will put the division of the last few years behind us, and get back to what matters.”
“So tomorrow, people in Scotland hold the country’s future in their hands. They can turn the clock back, or they can choose to move us forward.”
“The truth is that the only way to do that, in seat after seat, is to vote Scottish Conservative and Unionist. We did it before. When we knocked the SNP back in 2017, Nicola Sturgeon had to listen, and she pressed pause on the referendum. Voting Scottish Conservative works. If we tell her again tomorrow, we can make her listen again, and stop that referendum for good.”
“Let’s just remember: Nicola Sturgeon will be demanding that referendum as soon as this election is over. She’s already said so. And this is our last chance to stop her.”
“I’m urging everybody – whether you’re a regular Tory voter, Labour voter or none of the above, to lend us your vote. Let’s stop indyref2 and get Scotland moving forward.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
