By a Newsnet reporter
The Scottish Conservatives are considering altering the party logo to that of a thistle, according to reports in the Sunday Times.
According to the newspaper, Ruth Davidson’s Scottish party are looking to ‘tartan-up’ their image north of the border, and a thistle or stag could be chosen in an attempt at losing their toxic brand.
The move follows similar attempts by Unionist parties and politicians to move away from symbols of the Union, including the Union flag and the term ‘Unionist’ and adopt images more associated with Scotland.
However the move was derided by the SNP who claimed that a logo change would not alter the way the party were perceived by voters in Scotland.
Commenting, SNP MSP Kenny Gibson said:
“Landseer’s ‘Stag at Bay’ may be a more appropriate logo for a party that has been continually rejected by voters in Scotland.
“The people of Scotland won’t be fooled by this latest re-branding effort – a new label can’t hide a toxic product.
“The people of Scotland want substance, not symbols, from their politicians. The Tories in Scotland must explain what policies distinguish them from their Westminster bosses and why they want decisions for Scotland made by a Westminster parliament where Scotland has less than 10% of the representatives?
“As Labour, Tories and LibDems all campaign together to keep imposing Westminster policies in Scotland, their identities are becoming indistinguishable and they perhaps should all just adopt the same logo.”
Thistle arsed bigots
The news that the Scottish Conservatives are considering the thistle as an emblem follows remarks made by a former Tory candidate who described the SNP as “thistle arsed bigots”.
Frank Webster – Tory candidate in Bridge of Don at the Scottish local election – used the remark in a recent online conversation over local election alliances.
Mr Webster, who describes himself as a Tory Activist, said: “They [the SNP] can get stuffed. I want a Tory-Labour-Independent coalition to get those thistle-arsed-bigots out of the way.”
No stranger to controversy, in 2007 when Tory election candidate for the Hilton/Stockethill seat, Webster posted drunken pictures of himself on the internet just days before campaigning.
Webster, then 24, was seen drinking gin from a bottle with pencils up his nose and pants on his head. In another image the then would-be Aberdeen City councillor was shown flicking the finger to camera.
The caption read: “Telling the people behind the camera to go and f*** themselves having just fallen off the bed.
“I was drunk at the time!”
