Section:GDN 1N PaGe:7 Edition Date:190830 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 29/8/2019 20:37 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
Friday 30 Aug ust 2019 The Guardian •
7Analysis
Libby BrooksDeparture will
reverberate
around party
and the union
R
uth Davidson’s
departure is likely
to have signifi cant
ramifi cations not
only for her party but
also for Scotland’s
union with the rest of the UK. She
spearheaded a Tory revival in her
home country and detoxifi ed a party
that had languished in the electoral
doldrums for decades. She was
expected to play a key role in any
future pro-union campaign, with
the SNP still aiming to hold a second
independence referendum by the
end of next year.
Scottish Tories acknowledge
that the majority of their recent
success is thanks to Davidson’s
personal appeal as well as her
ability to galvanise the pro-union
vote. Her resignation also raises
questions about the punishing toll
that political offi ce can take on
family life.
She leaves the party in a stronger
position than it has been since
devolution but without her at the
helm there are serious doubts about
whether the Scottish Conservatives
can hold on to their 13 Westminster
MPs or second place at Holyrood.
Throughout this summer’s
Westminster leadership campaign,
the Scottish party was painfully
aware of the impact that a Boris
Johnson premiership was likely
to have on its standing with
voters, eff ortlessly bolstering
Scottish nationalist arguments
that Westminster represents only
a wealthy southern elite.
Its electoral successes were
a direct result of Davidson’s
remodelling of the party, changing
policy emphasis and bringing in
talented individuals who did not
fi t the traditional Tory mould.
Constitution spokesman Adam
Tomkins, who is tipped as a
potential successor, said: “Ruth
has been an extraordinary leader,
but this is not a one -woman band.
She assembled a very talented
bunch of people around her.”
The challenge for the next leader
will be to harness and build on
Davidson’s broad appeal. While
she garnered headlines as a state-
educated, lesbian leader from a
working -class background, she also
appealed to many more traditional
Tory voters as a committed
Christian, a former army reservist
and an able opponent of the fi rst
minister, Nicola Sturgeon.
As colleagues absorb the news
today, the consensus is that
Davidson will be a uniquely hard
act to follow.‘Despicable’
Anger from
all regions of
the country
Scotland
At the press conference to confi rm
her resignation as leader of the
Scottish Conservatives , Ruth
Davidson did not condemn Boris
Johnson’s decision to suspend
parliament. Instead, she said
she believed he was still working
towards a deal with the EU. On the
streets of Edinburgh, the reaction
was very diff erent.
Waiting for the bus on Princes
Street , 27-year-old Laura Martin
described Johnson’s move as
outrageous. “I don’t think I was
shocked, because I’m learning not to
put anything past Boris Johnson .”
Her friend Anstice Pryst-Hawkins,
also 27, said she held out little
hope of the hearing underway
at Edinburgh’s court of session
challeng ing the decision. “Taking
America as a template, no matter
what happens he’ll fi nd a way .”
O utside the Balmoral Hotel,
Aivaras Langis, a 32-year-old
Lithuanian , said : “We know Boris
Johnson and we know how politics
is going at the moment. It’s just not
democratic anymore .” Langis, who
has worked in the UK for seven years
and applied for settled status, noted
that Scotland voted against Brexit
and said he could only assume the
crisis at Westminster would boost
support for independence.
Libby BrooksWales
Welsh politicians have taken a dim
view of Johnson’s move and thefi rst minister, Mark Drakeford, has
ask ed the presiding offi cer to recall
the Welsh assembly. “Boris Johnson
fought a referendum campaign
to put power back in the hands of
parliament and now he wants the
Queen to close the doors on our
democracy,” he said.
On the streets of Cardiff , members
of the public were also appalled.
“I think it’s despicable,” said Sean
Patterson, 46. “Boris was unelected.
No one asked him to lead us through
this mess and now he’s doing
everything in his power it seems to
make sure we leave without a deal. ”
Michelle Davies, 30, agreed. “It
is all a game to Boris and his self-
serving supporters. Whatever the
outcome of Brexit they will still be
rich and powerful. There’s no risk
for them but they are gambling with
ordinary people’s lives,” she said.
“ Plunging the country into more
uncertainty is not the answer. It is a
selfi sh shortcut driven by ego, not
what is best for the country.”
Others backed Johnson. Jade, 24,
said: “I don’t think it’s necessarily a
bad idea ... They’ve already had ages
to work something out, so I don’t
think a month is going to make a
blind bit of diff erence to be honest. I
think it’s good. ”
Steven MorrisNorthern Ireland
The decision to prorogue parliament
left people in Northern Ireland
shocked and polarised – with some
calling it an assault on, and others a
victory for, democracy.
“I think it’s the end of the union,”
said Ruairi Cunningham, a director
of Strathroy Dairy in Omagh , County
Tyrone. Most people in Northern
Ireland, like Scotland, voted to stay
in the EU and they were now seeing
their wishes steamrollered, said
Cunningham. “Politics was always
a dirty game but at least there were
certain standards. Not anymore.”
The Ulster Unionist party , which
has backed Brexit, joined the
pro-remain parties of Sinn Féin, the
SDLP and Alliance in condemning
parliament’s suspension.
Arlene Foster, the Democratic
Unionist Party leader, defended the
move in a Belfast Telegraph article.
“Those shouting the loudest about
the prime minister are missing the
mood of the public,” she wr ote.
One such person was Norman
Fitzpatrick, a grocer in Killyleagh,
County Down. “Boris Johnson is
doing the right thing. He’s doing
what Theresa May should have done- take a stand and stand by it.”
Rory Carroll
‘I think it’s the end
of the union. Politics
was always a dirty
game but there were
certain standards.
Not anymore’Ruairi Cunningham
Omagh, County Tyronein her time as a politician, this was
too far even for her. Scotland was
being screwed and the person doing
the screwing was a serial shagger.
A man hot-wired to destroy
everything with which he came
in contact. A man who could go
from “I want your babies ” through
“Have we met before?” to “I want a
divorce” inside 20 minutes. A man
who would happily reduce the UK
to four failed states just to stay in
power for one week longer. A pallid
wrecking-blob whose limitless
capacity for self-destruction would
take down the country with him.
Davidson’s hatred for Johnson
was visceral. The very mention of
his name made her skin crawl. The
best she could manage – through
clenched teeth – was not directly
spelling out his duplicity and clinical
levels of narcissism. And though she
wasn’t going to link her resignation
to Johnson’s decision to undermine
the democratic process by
proroguing parliament , she would
be happy for others to do so.
Davidson allowed just four
questions. All of which predictably
homed in on Brexit and her obvious
contempt for Johnson. Did she think
the pursuit of no deal was wise or
sensible? Davidson was taken aback.
What part of “Kill me ” hadn’t they
understood? Of course it wasn’t.
Brexit was a terrible idea but if it had
to be done then the very least that
was required was some kind of deal.
“I stared him right in the eye,” she
said of her meeting with Johnson
the previous week. “I asked him out:
‘I need to know. Are you actually
trying to get a deal or not?’ And he
categorically assured me that he
was.” And that was the moment
she had known the game was up.
Because Johnson’s one gift was to be
able to lie to anyone.
She realised then that Boris didn’t
really believe he could negotiate a
deal that would satisfy the E RG or
get the Brexit party off his back, so
he’d take the easy option of letting
the country take a hit with no deal.
Davidson scuttled away. She’d said
too much. She hadn’t said enough.The best she could
manage – through
clenched teeth – was
not spelling out his
duplicity and clinical
levels of narcissism▼ Clockwise from top left: Davidson
during the Scottish independence
referendum in 2014; with partner Jen
Wilson and their newborn son Finn;
on the campaign trail in May’s EU
elections; at a charity event in 2018
PHOTOS: UNIVERSAL NEWS AND SPORT; SCOTTISH
CONSERVATIVES/PA; ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA▼ Laura Martin, in Edinburgh,
described Boris Johnson’s move to
suspend parliament as outrageous
PHOTOGRAPH: MURDO MACLEOD/THE GUARDIANRELEASED BY "What's News" vk.com/wsnws TELEGRAM: t.me/whatsnws