20 Apr 2017
The SNP will use the upcoming General Election campaign to “pour negativity” on the rest of the UK, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has said.
At First Minister’s Questions today, she highlighted a number of instances where SNP MSPs had produced “negative trash” on the role of Britain both at home and abroad.
It comes after Ruth spoke at an event alongside Bill Gates highlighting the contribution made by UK foreign aid across the world.
And today, she challenged Nicola Sturgeon to acknowledge these contributions, instead of siding with her SNP colleagues who described life in the UK as “hell on earth”.
Backbencher Joan McAlpine also wrote in her Daily Record column that the election of a Conservative government would be “eternal damnation in a bottomless pit”.
In contrast, Mr Gates – one of the world’s most successful businessmen and significant charitable forces – said of the UK’s aid effort: “You are the reason that malaria deaths are down in entire villages and life-saving vaccines are now reaching kids in the most remote parts of the world.”
However, the First Minister refused to criticise Ms McAlpine’s remarks, and instead resorted to criticism of Westminster.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said:
“We are about to fight a General Election campaign where we know what the SNP’s message will be.
“It’s that living in the UK, under a Conservative government, would supposedly be ‘hell on earth’.
“And even given the work Britain does around the world, as highlighted by Bill Gates in London this week, Nicola Sturgeon still seems to think this is a fair description of life in this country.
“She fails to acknowledge the work our government is doing around the world – helping girls get an education, in supporting women work their way out of poverty, in ending early and forced marriage.
“It’s pathetic that she and the rest of the SNP would rather denigrate us.
“In the weeks ahead the Scottish Conservatives will set out our vision of a UK that’s a force for good in the world. And we will stand up for Scotland’s place in that United Kingdom.
“In contrast, Nicola Sturgeon’s first intervention has been to say she wants to put Jeremy Corbyn into Number 10.”
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