Douglas Ross told The Edinburgh Reporter that his position about whether the Prime Minister should resign is unchanged leading up to the local elections.
The Scottish Conservative leader took a trip to the seaside at Portobello on Monday morning accompanied by the previous leader, Baroness Ruth Davidson, who only spoke to press in a huddle and would not grant us an interview on camera.
When asked if he should now say that the Prime Minister should go, Mr Ross said: “I did say that back in January but there has been a major change since then with the war in Ukraine. Just this morning we’ve seen so many people being evacuated from Mariupol which shows the conflict is sadly far from over. As long as there is that ongoing issue in this crucial period in the war then the only thing removing the Prime Minister would do with the destabilisation of the UK Government it would only help Vladimir Putin – and I won’t do anything that will help a war criminal like him.”
Ross also maintains that voters he has spoken to on doorsteps all over Scotland are not so concerned with matters of national politics and have told him they will vote on local issues.
Whether or not that is the case will be answered on Friday when the results of the 2022 local elections are made known after polling on Thursday.
LOCAL CANDIDATE TIM JONES
The Conservative candidate for Portobello/Craigmillar is Tim Jones. Mr Jones told us he is campaigning on three points which people have spoken to him about during the campaign. He said: “The first is the reopening of Brunstane Road, the second issue is the unpopular Spaces for People cycle lanes and also people don’t want a controlled parking zone here and they’ve told me that very clearly. 1,800 people have signed a petition against the plans for controlled parking.”
We countered that Spokes Porty backed the closure of Brunstane Road and that Spaces for People was the idea of the UK Government Transport Minister, Grant Shapps.
Mr Jones replied that a small percentage of people who lived on Brunstane Road complained about traffic and their cars being hit. He said: “They got the road closed. But the vast majority of residents in that area have been massively inconvenienced – it has increased pollution because they have to go around. People want it reopened because a small minority of people have dictated the policy. As for Spaces for People I have campaign on the doorstep in Durham Terrace and Avenue and Duddingston Road and I say to people what is the number one issue which concerns you and they have said to me time after time ‘Get rid of those Spaces for People cycle lanes – they are dangerous’ – and they are not very well designed.”
The Scottish Conservative local manifesto includes policies such as:
- Business rates-free zones on high streets.
- Cutting council tax for almost a million households.
- A commitment to oppose the SNP’s workplace parking tax.
- A Pothole Action Fund to improve our roads and make driving safer.
- A local tutoring scheme and provide additional support to help pupils catch up from lost learning.
- A fairer deal for local communities with a set amount of the Scottish Budget going to councils each year.
- A local care service to provide a guarantee against out-of-area care.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
