By a Newsnet reporter
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has come under attack from former party advisors who described her referendum stance as “all a bit of a disaster”.
In a series of tweets yesterday, former aides turned on Ruth Davidson’s referendum position with one describing it as a “disaster” and another saying that she was “playing to a reactionary membership”.
Tweeting yesterday morning Iain Gibson – a former press officer for the party – said her referendum position was “all a bit of a disaster” and that her “line in the sand” position was: “Silly silly silly”.
Craig Wilson, who previously worked for the former Tory MSP Derek Brownlee and current MSP Gavin Brown, proclaimed that he was “delighted” to no longer be in the Tory Party where Ruth Davidson was “playing to a reactionary membership”.
Commenting on the tweets, Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, said:
“What a shambles the Tory Party in Scotland has become under Ruth Davidson, who is caught between playing to the reactionary element of her party and the ever-changing instruction from her boss in Westminster.
“She clearly doesn’t know what her own policy on Scotland’s future is nor does she have a vision of what it should be. She is only adding to the confused state the anti-independence camp find themselves in.”
Ms Davidson has come under pressure recently after a number of public statements appeared to put her out of step with the party line on the referendum. Annabel Goldie’s replacement was forced to backtrack after describing the SNP’s proposed referendum question as ‘fair and decisive’.
Her insistence that the Scotland Bill was a “line in the sand” was in contrast to David Cameron’s comments made during a visit to Edinburgh where the UK PM appeared to promise more powers should Scots reject independence.
Mr McDonald said of the relationship between the PM and the Scottish leader: “It makes one wonder what they actually spoke about the day after she got elected.
“Many of the people who backed her over Murdo Fraser in the Scottish Tory leadership race must now be wondering if they made the right decision for their party.”
“The anti-independence parties are falling out with each other and within themselves. Ms Davidson needs to make clear who is in charge of her party, and what exactly they are offering the people of Scotland.”
NOTES:
The Tweets are as follows – http://twitter.com/#!/iaingibson
IainGibson (Iain Gibson)
Well this is all a bit of a disaster, FWIW I agree with the Prime Minister’s stance, not Ruth’s –> http://bit.ly/yIJCfr #fb
CraigW4584 (Craig Wilson)
@IainGibson Just read the article. Dear oh dear. That is bad for her.
IainGibson (Iain Gibson)
@CraigW4584 yes. The “line in the sand”, what RD was told to say during the campaign, was never going to hold firm. Silly silly silly
CraigW4584 (Craig Wilson)
@IainGibson Obviously playing to a reactionary membership which I’m increasingly delighted to not be a part of.
IainGibson (Iain Gibson)
Worth clarifying that the article is of course from a very pro-SNP website, but it doesn’t change the fundamentals #fb