The contrast between the SNP and my party has never been clearer than during last weekend’s Scottish Conservative Conference.
We announced a raft of new policies, including plans which I personally developed, and announced that we would introduce new life skills classes for school pupils, helping them to learn more about mortgages and household finances before they become adults. I was delighted to speak to conference about the merits of this exciting new policy from the main stage during our future of education panel.
That is just one example of the ambitious policy platform we discussed and debated over the two day conference, which I believe is vastly superior to the narrow-minded, independence-obsessed proposals outlined recently by Humza Yousaf.
Our detailed plans to drive Scotland’s economy forward are very different to the anti-jobs approach taken by the SNP, which was roundly criticised by the business leaders I spoke to all weekend at the various stalls throughout the venue and during a fantastic business lunch on Friday.
We also demonstrated our party’s inclusivity and the successful outreach we are doing to every community across Scotland. I hosted a Scottish Conservative Friends of BAME event, which welcomed two UK Secretaries of State to speak: Michael Gove and Mark Harper. The event was a real success and I am very grateful to everyone who helped and attended.
Our sensible, no-nonsense policies on gender reform also drew praise from the women who attended another event I spoke at, which was organised by For Women Scotland. During the ‘Why Sex Matters?’ panel, I was pleased to get a chance to outline the amendments I submitted to the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill and why I believe the UK Government were right to step in to prevent this dangerous SNP plan from becoming law and impacting women’s rights and safety.
In clear contrast to the SNP, who are in meltdown over the financial scandal engulfing their party, we also showed that we are a united party, working hard for the benefit of Scotland and the whole United Kingdom. On Friday, I was pleased to introduce the Chairman of the Conservative party, Greg Hands, so he could speak about our plans to tackle the cost-of-living crisis and grow the economy.
Finally, I was delighted to be in attendance as both our party leaders - the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Scottish Conservative Leader Douglas Ross - delivered first-class speeches filled with positive policies, clear goals for our country’s future, and ambitious plans for improving the lives of people across our whole country.
Over the party conference weekend, it was clearer than ever to me that the Scottish Conservatives have the ideas, the vision, and the determination to move Scotland on from the division of the SNP.
