Ruth Davidson burst back on to the political stage yesterday promising to “bring down the curtain on 14 years of SNP grudge and grievance” if she is made first minister.
The Scottish Conservative leader returned from maternity leave to make a direct pitch for Nicola Sturgeon’s job at her party’s spring conference in Aberdeen.
She received a standing ovation after vowing to instigate a “blue collar revolution” to get the country “back on track”.
Davidson outlined plans to improve opportunities for vocational training and a scheme to ensure teens stayed in some form of education until at least 18.
For workers who needed to reskill, she promised “personal learning accounts”.
But it was her criticism of the SNP’s “agitating for independence” that drew the loudest applause.
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She told delegates: “As first minister, I won’t use every engagement with the UK Government as a chance to sow division. I’ll use it as a chance to deliver better government for the people who live here.
“If I am elected Scotland’s next first minister, there will be no more constitutional games and no more referenda. We’ve had enough to last a lifetime.”
Davidson’s performance is likely to reignite speculation that her ambition should be to lead her party in Westminster.
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The Tories’ humiliation in local elections last week was a result of their failures on Brexit but also the perception of a party controlled by toffs.
Davidson spoke of growing up in Buckhaven, Fife. She said: “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth and my politics isn’t the politics of those who’ve already made it.
“It’s the politics of giving everyone the chance to make it.”
Labour education spokesperson Iain Gray said: “Ruth Davidson claims she doesn’t want anyone left behind. That is a shameless soundbite from a politician who has backed the bedroom tax, the two-child cap and subsequent rape clause, and stood by as austerity pushed millions into poverty and homelessness.”
SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown added: “Support for independence is on the rise, and the Tories can see that – which is what lies behind their utterly undemocratic move to block the people of Scotland having a say on their future.”
