Ruth Davidson: Now is not the time for another binary referendum

Since becoming leader of the Scottish Conservatives in 2011, I have worked through some remarkable years. From a personal perspective, none has been odder than 2017/18.

Firstly, after fighting six national elections and two referenda since my election seven years ago, I and every other politician in Scotland have finally had 12 months away from the stump, doubtless to the huge relief of the long-suffering Scottish electorate.

Occasionally, the personal can intrude on the political and, after always being upfront that I wanted to start a family one day, I was delighted to be able to say publicly that I will be expecting a child in a couple of months’ time.

With the notable exception of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, who also gave birth this year, it’s fair to say this isn’t what is expected of frontline politicians – and part of 2017 has therefore been taken up with organising the temporary handover of the leadership role to my deputy Jackson Carlaw, who will hold the reins at the Scottish Conservatives from the autumn recess onwards.

It will be an unusual period for the party but we are determined to ensure that we continue to stick to our task and hold the SNP government to account. At the same time, it offers an opportunity for us.

The 2016 Holyrood election, when the Scottish Conservatives leap-frogged Labour to become the main party of opposition, saw a massive turnover of personnel on our benches. In total, we welcomed 25 new MSPs to our ranks, many of whom had huge professional and personal experience but no experience at all of frontline politics.

Over the last 12 months, I would argue that this new team has shown it has the measure of the SNP front bench. This mid-term period at the Scottish Parliament will, I hope, be a chance for that group to continue to demonstrate we have a clear, positive agenda for Scotland that seeks to put the constitutional turmoil of the last few years behind us, and takes the country into a new post-referendum phase.

As a Conservative, I believe that agenda must start with the economy. Scotland’s official economic forecaster, the Scottish Fiscal Commission, warned earlier this year that Scotland faces five years of “subdued” growth – the longest sustained period of low growth since the Second World War.

Making this forecast wrong must be an urgent national priority. The Scottish Conservatives’ aim is simple: we want Scotland to become known as the most attractive place in the UK to live, work and do business. Rather than seeing a brain drain following graduation, we want Scotland’s great cities to not just compete, but beat, London and the South East as the go-to place for talent and ambition.

In 2017, the SNP government went about this in entirely the wrong way – burdening business with what the Fraser of Allander Institute described as a confused and cluttered economic strategy, and then making things worse by putting up taxes.

Under Murdo Fraser and Dean Lockhart, our finance and economy spokesmen, we will continue to make the case for change and to sharpen up our economic strategy.

As a small country, we need to focus on our world-class capability: in oil and gas, food and drink, sustainable energy, life sciences and financial services, for example.

With a relatively low proportion of firms currently selling abroad, we must focus on growing our export base. We need to boost skills training, particularly for the thousands of young people who decide university isn’t for them.

And we must crack the productivity puzzle. Under former Scotland Office minister Andrew Dunlop, the party’s Scottish Future Growth Council is examining all these issues and will be making recommendations over the coming months.

I refuse to accept that Scotland is destined over the coming years to accept the slow road on growth. Speak to entrepreneurs, established business and small firms, and you are left in no doubt that Scotland has huge intellectual and commercial potential to take advantage of the coming technological revolution.

by Paris Gourtsoyannis

Up for the fight: Interview with Ruth Davidson

Ah, but what about the ‘B’ word? Of course, Brexit adds uncertainty to this task.

At the time of writing, we do not know what deal we will reach with the European Union. But I hold to the view that the compromise brokered by the Prime Minister at Chequers offers an outline for the way forward.

None of those who have criticised the Prime Minister, on either side of the debate, have yet come up with something which both respects the wishes of the UK result to leave, while addressing the legitimate concerns of those who voted to stay.

With crunch talks just a few weeks away, my hope is that all sides put pragmatism to the fore and are able to thrash out the bespoke and imaginative solution that is required by these unique circumstances.

No major nation has voted to leave the EU before, so there is no template to follow. It will be down to the people in the room to ensure they make the practical decisions necessary to minimise disruption and show the way ahead.

So, as we return after the summer recess, securing sustainable economic growth – and seeing that growth transfer into people’s pay-packets – must be the priority. And on that firm base, Scottish Conservatives will continue to press the SNP Government for action on domestic policy, and use our influence at Westminster to further key Scottish interests.

On justice, Liam Kerr has campaigned hard for reform to our parole and home release system, and will continue to push new Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf to support victims.

On education, Liz Smith has proposed a reboot of Curriculum for Excellence and will insist that the SNP follow through on their pledge to make this their “number one priority”.

On health, we campaigned for and support the extra investment announced by the Prime Minister earlier this summer and Miles Briggs will press ministers to maintain local services across Scotland. Under Donald Cameron, we are developing a fresh policy agenda to take to the 2021 election.

At Westminster, after a year which saw our MPs deliver key wins such as a VAT exemption for Police Scotland, a tax freeze for the whisky industry, and support for our oil and gas sector, they will continue to seek to represent Scottish interests.

Central to that is further progress on city and regional growth deals across Scotland, with the UK and Scottish Governments putting their differences to one side to advance local economies.

I see this as a model for the future: most people have had enough of London and Edinburgh taking pot shots at one another. They want to see both governments working constructively together. It’s surely not too much to ask, and it is what Scottish Conservative MPs are there to push for.

Underpinning all this, led by Jackson Carlaw and constitution spokesman Adam Tomkins, we will continue to argue against any attempt by the SNP to go back to more constitutional strife and a second independence referendum.

It’s clear that most Scots do not want yet another binary vote that will only divide us further. And it’s surely obvious that, while Brexit gave the SNP an opportunity to reboot the case for separation, it has not provided the SNP with any answers to the fundamental questions that most Scots want answered.

Indeed, if anything, Brexit has only added to them. If leaving one supra-national union is as catastrophic, as the Nationalists assert on Brexit, why is leaving our own union of nations the answer to all our problems?

The SNP’s painstakingly researched Growth Commission report has now come and gone. But it has comprehensively failed to show why leaving the UK, and setting up barriers to our own internal market, will support Scottish firms and Scottish jobs.

Nicola Sturgeon has pledged to update her position on a second referendum in October.

Wiser heads in the SNP already appear to have conceded that – as we said in 2017 – now is not the time for another binary referendum which would only fracture our national life all over again.

It’s time for her to stand her troops down. That’s a case this party will be making as we seek to move the Scottish Government’s focus to improving our schools, growing the economy and properly staffing and supporting our hospitals.

That’s an argument we will be advancing with vigour – whoever happens to be manning the fort.