Daniel Sanderson, Scottish Political Correspondent
RUTH Davidson is “at best as a mouthpiece and at worst a nuisance” by her
Westminster colleagues, rivals claim, after it emerged she waited four
months for a reply from the UK Government.
The Scottish Tory leader wrote to then energy secretary Amber Rudd
championing the case of a Perthshire industrial park which had planned to
build a small four-turbine wind farm to help it expand but was set to be
hit by changes to a subsidy scheme
Ms Davidson passed on the concerns of the Binn Eco Park, that its small
development was to be hit by a technicality potentially risking jobs and
meaning a continued reliance on diesel power, in October.
However, despite her office pushing Ms Rudd’s special advisor for a
response, the Scottish leader was forced to chase up her enquiry personally
two months later. She wrote: “I would be grateful if you were able to tell
me whether and when a response is likely to be received.” Andrea Leadsom,
then junior minister to Ms Rudd, eventually responded in January.
Correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act shows that Ms
Davidson admitted to the eco park owner that the delay in replying was
“unacceptable”.
The documents led to claims from the SNP that the UK Government “cares
little about Scotland” and suggested Ms Davidson is seen as “at best as a
mouthpiece and at worst a nuisance” by party colleagues in London.
However, the Scottish Tories hit back, saying Ms Davidson and Ms Rudd had
spoken face to face about the issue and that the written correspondence was
merely “to keep things in order”.
Fulton McGregor, the SNP MSP said: “Tory cuts to renewable support have
been of huge concern to the industry in Scotland – yet Ruth Davidson had to
jump through hoops to even get a response from her party colleagues in
Westminster. “These documents simply confirm what we’ve always known –
despite Ruth Davidson’s assertions to the contrary, the Tory government
cares very little about Scotland.
“We’ve repeatedly seen this in their actions in government – they’ve
implemented the hated bedroom tax, signed a blank cheque for renewing
Trident nuclear weapons stationed on the Clyde, made countless broken
promises during the independence debate, and are currently in the process
of trying to drag Scotland out of the EU against our will.
“No matter what Ruth Davidson says, the UK government are utterly
ambivalent about Scotland’s interests – and these papers show that their
Scottish leader is seen at best as a mouthpiece and at worst a nuisance by
her Westminster colleagues.”
Ms Davidson has been seen publicly as an influential and popular figure
within her party, winning regular praise from David Cameron as Prime
Minister despite speaking out on occasion against UK Tory policy. She has
previously criticised plans to cut tax credits and described the flying of
flags at half mast from public buildings to mark the death of a Saudi king
as “a steaming pile of nonsense.”
In July she mocked Ms Leadsom, now the environment secretary, for her
chaotic bid to become Tory leader and Prime Minister raising gaffes around
her comments on motherhood and career achievements. Ms Rudd has become Home
Secretary since the exchange over energy policy.
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “Ruth and Amber spoke
face to face on this issue following political cabinet so follow-up
paperwork was simply to keep things in order.
“It’s clear the SNP are rattled by the strong opposition of the Scottish
Conservatives. If they spent less time putting in FoI requests regarding
Ruth and more time getting on with the job of governing Scotland our
schools, hospitals and police force might be in a better state than they
are on the SNP’s watch.”
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