Russell Findlay distances himself from Kemi Badenoch defector comments
Kemi Badenoch faced journalists in Edinburgh on Friday after her first address to the Scottish Tory conference since taking over the job.
Her first appearance came amid a stream of defections from the Tories, mainly to Reform UK, with one MSP – Jamie Greene – moving to the Liberal Democrats.
While Mr Findlay has generally been conciliatory when elected members announce plans to move, Ms Badenoch said the departures were a 'good thing' because those who left 'don't believe in conservatism'.
Speaking to the PA news agency on Saturday, after his own inaugural address to the Scottish party conference, Mr Findlay said: 'I'm always disappointed when I see anyone choosing to the leave the party for whatever reason.
'The reasons are varied and I can't get inside the minds of everyone who might choose to do so.'
Asked if he agreed with the 'good riddance' attitude of Ms Badenoch, he said: 'I would never say that about anyone that chooses to go elsewhere.
'It's more of a disappointment than anything else.'
The UK party leader also told journalists she did not understand how someone could vote for the Scottish Government's blocked gender reform proposals in 2022 and call themselves a conservative, in a direct attack on Mr Greene.
But two of the party's MSPs, frontbencher Dr Sandesh Gulhane and former leader Jackson Carlaw, voted for the legislation.
Asked if he believed the pair were conservatives, Mr Findlay said: 'Of course they are conservatives and they have realised that they got that vote wrong.'
The Scottish Tory leader also hit out at Mr Greene, who has accused him of 'undoing Ruth Davidson's broad-church conservativism in favour of right-wing propaganda' on the same day Mr Findlay sat down with the former leader.
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The Herald Scotland
30 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
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The leader of the opposition delivered her speech on Friday. It was only her second trip to Scotland since becoming leader in November. 'There is a lot of work to be done, a lot of messaging, a lot of renewal — and she has got the runway that Russell and the rest of us do not have,' Mr Kerr said. 'I am not worried about threats to her leadership. She is letting her colleagues get on with it. She is not a leader who is lying awake worrying about a challenge to her leadership,' he added. 'Anybody who is going to contest Kemi or Russell for leadership right now is mad — because the challenges will not change.' Mr Kerr compared Ms Badenoch to Margaret Thatcher: 'I am old enough to remember our first female leader and the same stuff was being said about her in terms of her role as Leader of the Opposition and her performance and PMQs — and look what happened to her.' 'You know, we have been written off as a party before,' Mr Findlay told The Herald on Sunday. 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The National
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We've entered negotiations in good faith, working with pace and energy to a timetable we believed was achievable. Unfortunately, that pace and energy hasn't been matched by those at the negotiating table. We appreciate that the buyers have other ferry issues to contend with but reaching a swift conclusion will require them to give this negotiation a higher priority.' A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'It is wholly appropriate that CMAL leads on the Ardrossan negotiations. Should ownership transfer be successful, CMAL would be the asset owner and responsible for taking forward any development works at Ardrossan. 'As owners of 26 ports and harbours across Scotland, they also bring essential experience to these complex discussions. 'We will of course update Parliament and the local community once there is progress and an outcome to report, however, CMAL and Peel Ports need time and space to undertake and conclude negotiations.'
The National
35 minutes ago
- The National
John Swinney is a decent, caring kind of chap. Inspirational, he's not
If a cause needs a charismatic figure to sweep serious numbers to the metaphorical barricades, Honest John is not that man. This is not just about the Hamilton by-election saga, embarrassing as that undoubtedly was. Or about the misguided tactics which showcased Reform UK and possibly helped their vote along. In days of yore, the London media used to write that John Smith was like a douce Scottish bank manager. (He wasn't! As one of his close pals observed, he could and did start a party in an empty room!) But that might be an entirely suitable description of the chap now leading his troops into something not at all resembling a glad, confident morning. Sunlit uplands are not in view. READ MORE: 'What is our vision?': Inside the quiet anger brewing within the SNP Swinney's outings in Holyrood are invariably courteous and low-key; rather like his private persona. He says, not unfairly, that after a period of unparalleled turbulence, it was down to him to impose a period of 'steady as she goes' in order to portray the Scottish ship of state in a more credible light. He answered his party's call in time of their need, not without personal family sacrifice, and he's due gratitude for that. And it's assuredly not his fault that his party suffers from the same fate which inevitably befalls all administrations which somehow survive their 'natural' sell-by date. Even the apparently impregnable Lady Thatcher had to be elbowed out the door when her trusty lieutenants lined up to say, 'time's up ducks'. Those who continue to laud her extended period in office seem to suffer from false memory syndrome. Many in her party continue to worship at her posthumous shrine. In Scotland, however, she was as welcome as the average pandemic. One of the things which has kept the SNP in power these many years has been the lack of a credible alternative. However desperate Anas Sarwar may be to usher his family over the door of Bute House, it's still not easy to see where his other big hitters will come from outside of his ever-articulate deputy Jackie Baillie who has long, and perhaps wisely, eschewed the top job. The Tories, who barely hung on to their deposit at the last time of asking, are hardly destined to mount any kind of takeover – they're much more likely to be summoning a cab from the rank to house their diminishing troops. Never has a flush been more evidently busted. Alba have yet to make any kind of impact at the ballot box, a fate hardly helped by the loss of their leader whose ebullient instincts provided much of their initial excitement. Their solitary MSP has yet to sail under her own colours, though I suspect she might sink without very much trace when she does. Like all new political parties, Alba have already encountered internal warfare and I rather doubt Kenny MacAskill would have offered his leadership services had he faced a different opponent. READ MORE: The younger SNP activists only used to winning may need to brace There is a school of thought that the dawn of Alba helped the SNP by attracting a wheen of their most vocal critics. It's not a theory to which I subscribe, though it has to be said many of them were at the front of the queue when spiteful comments were handed out. I also remain convinced that the independence field has become altogether too cluttered to encourage any kind of coherent, strategic vision. That same hymn sheet from which all indy supporters are supposed to sing has become more than a little frayed round the edges. However, if Swinney reneges on his pledge to serve another full five years if elected next year, the obvious question is who should inherit a chalice which is more than slightly poisoned by recent and historic events. Changing a leader without changing tactics is not of itself particularly useful. They tried that once before without much success, you may recall, while Swinney is in charge for the second time; the first not exactly an unbridled triumph. Nor his stint at education. Right now there is the obvious need not just to close the gap between those who favour independence and those who are at least nominally SNP supporters, and the requirement to persuade doubters that independence is overwhelmingly in our national interest. These are not easy tricks to pull off, and they will need both a considerable political skillset and an ability to persuade erstwhile adherents that you are serious about independence, the very foundation of the party. It will also require an appetite for compromise among those of us who cannot immediately finger a flaw-free candidate, but have an overriding need to see a proper, and properly urgent, campaign take flight. One which can encapsulate the core message of why independence matters so much. The queue of contenders is not a lengthy one, it must be conceded. Stephen Flynn may well have the gift of the gab but has yet to win a seat at Holyrood. Kate Forbes, who came a close second in the last contest, suffered badly because of her beliefs. I have little time for those in her party who clutched their pearls very publicly at the thought of her religious views, despite being very well aware of them during her ministerial years. Personally, I'm much more hostile about her enthusiasm for freeports. There was much merriment in the comments section of the column which proposed Màiri McAllan as an obvious candidate, not just because of her relative inexperience, but because she was considered too wedded to the internal forces of top-down control. There are not a few folks around who remember when SNP conference decisions by the actual membership were regarded as tablets of stone. Stephen Gethins is another name which floats into the frame. He too has yet to get his feet under a Holyrood desk and is something of a clone of the effortlessly polite incumbent. Bright guy though. The unpalatable truth is that none of us knows how anyone will perform in the heat of battle. READ MORE: UK to send jets to Middle East as Keir Starmer refuses to rule out defending Israel There are those who grow into leadership roles and those whose weaknesses are exposed by them. Think Boris Johnson. Think Liz Truss. (How the latter with her monotonous delivery ever enchanted the Tory faithful is one of life's enduring mysteries.) Johnson, meanwhile, with his loose relationship to the truth thoroughly deserves his mini Donald Trump moniker. What is crystal clear though is that the status quo neither excites the faithful, nor persuades the naysayers. It is said that Joe Biden left it too late to give Kamala Harris a fighting chance of winning. Some will argue that with less than a year to the 2026 poll, Scotland too can't afford to change horses in midstream. Yet what other route is there to persuading Scottish voters that a fresh face with, importantly, a fresh team, can deliver what improvements are possible without losing the Westminster straitjacket? There's little doubt in my mind that nothing less than root and branch reform of a tiring party will let it recover enough of its mojo to enthuse those desperate to feel that there is a clear direction of travel being outlined. Sure, time is short. All the more reason to use it wisely and not be afraid to redraw the map radically. Everything about Reform UK is risible from them being a policy-free zone to their total lack of anything resembling a Scottish sensibility. At its helm is a man who has been in more parties than Boris. His USP is to create an air of wholly undeserved excitement around him. We certainly don't need a Nigel Farage. Heaven forfend! But we could use some excitement.
