UK Edition
Ruth Davidson accuses Nicola Sturgeon of trying to bully Scots into 'fratricidal conflict'
Ruth Davidson has accused Nicola Sturgeon of attempting to bully Scots into “yet another fratricidal conflict” by riding roughshod over their strong opposition to a second independence referendum.
The Scottish Tory leader said the SNP has failed to persuade voters that another independence vote is necessary in the wake of the EU referendum and is“now hoping to soften us up” by pretending they have no choice but to accept a rerun.
She accused Ms Sturgeon of using the “language of the bully pulpit”, a term that refers to politicians using a platform to aggressively push an agenda, and claimed this showed the SNP is becoming increasingly desperate.
Arguing that the SNP did not appear confident in its case, she referred to claims that the party is preparing to abandon its commitment to an independent Scotland joining the EU in favour of a Norway-style model involving membership of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA).
But she said that Scots do not want to start a “fratricidal conflict” and she did not think Scotland should be lumped with post-Trump America and pre-election France “as this year’s point for global instability.”
Her latest intervention came after an opinion poll at the weekend found just 27 per cent of voters want another independence referendum before Brexit, down from 47 per cent in June.
Only hours earlier, Mike Russell, the SNP’s Brexit Minister, told Holyrood that “there will be no choice but to give the people of Scotland an opportunity to have their say on the matter” if Theresa May pursues a hard Brexit outside the single market.
Alex Salmond vehemently rejected the newspaper report claiming that the SNP was gearing up to change policy on Europe, saying the Nationalists still backed full EU membership and attributing it to “confusion on The Times’ part”.
Addressing the David Hume Institute in Edinburgh, Ms Davidson said the SNP appeared to have decided to “double down” on a second referendum in recent weeks and argued the EFTA plan was concocted to win back the thousands of party supporters who voted to leave the EU.
“And now, with support for a referendum falling off a cliff, the SNP is no longer saying the people should have the right to decide. Nicola Sturgeon says a referendum is something we all ‘must confront’,” she said.
“In other words, having failed to persuade people of the necessity of another referendum, the SNP is now hoping to soften us up by telling us we’ll just have to accept it. It is the language of the bully pulpit.”
The Scottish Tory leader added: “It doesn’t speak of a party confident of its case. It smacks if desperation – and I urge the SNP to take a different path. Or to put it another way – when you’re in a hole, stop digging.”
But Mr Russell suggested there would be “no choice” but to stage a second referendum if the UK Government persists with plans for “the hardest of Brexits” and was unwilling to incorporate the desires of the three devolved administrations.
Ms Sturgeon has published highly complicated plans for Scotland to stay in the single market when the rest of the UK comes out but they have been rejected by the Spanish government, which has a veto, amid warnings they would create a hard economic border with England.
An SNP spokesman said: “The Tories have completely lost the plot – and Ruth Davidson’s use of inflammatory language by comparing legitimate political debate as 'fratricidal conflict' just shows how rattled she is.
“And no wonder, given her role as apologist in chief for right-wing Westminster Tories who now think they can do anything they want to Scotland and get away with it.”