NICOLA Sturgeon has said the brutal dismissal of Douglas Ross by senior Tories in London is indicative of the Westminster establishment’s “utter contempt for Scotland”.
The First Minister said the Scottish Tory leader might even find independence attractive compared to being “treated like something on the sole of Westminster’s shoe”.
Ms Sturgeon was speaking at FMQs in the wake of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg saying Mr Ross had “always been quite a lightweight” political figure.
The attack followed the Moray MSP and Highlands MSP calling for Boris Johnson to resign over the latest partygate scandal yesterday.
Asked about the remarks by SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll, Ms Sturgeon said: “Even I am not as derogatory about him as his Tory colleagues are being.”
READ MORE: Westminster sketch: I have nothing to offer you but tripe, drivel and mince, pleads PM
After repeating Mr Rees-Mogg’s descriptions of Mr Ross as “not a big figure” and “lightweight”, she went on: “These might be personal insults directed at the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, but actually they say something much deeper about the Westminster establishment’s utter contempt for Scotland.
“If they can’t even show basic respect for their own colleagues, what chance do the rest of us have?
“The fact is Westminster thinks Scotland doesn’t need to be listened to, can be ignored, and now we're being told we have to thole a Prime Minister that his opwn colleagues think is not fit for office.”
She added that this meant “an added benefit of being independent is that we will no longer have to put up with being treated like something on the sole of Westminster’s shoe”.
Ms Sturgeon said: “I suspect today even Douglas Ross finds that a really attractive proposition.”
Mr Ross, who has been Scottish Tory leader since August 2020, cried out: "Absolutely not".
Doorstepped by the media at the Scottish Parliament earlier, Mr Ross said: “Jacob Rees-Mogg, as anyone, is entitled to their opnions. I don’t have to agree with them.”
Asked if he had a message for Mr Rees-Mogg, Mr Ross said: ““My message is I’m going to hold the First Minister to account and ensure that Scottish Conservatives continue to provide a real alternative here in Scotland.”
However West of Scotland Tory MSP Jamie Greene was more strident, saying Mr Ross was “not at all” a lightweight, but a firm leafer who had his firm support.
Referring to the infamous photograph of Mr Rees-Mogg reclining almost horizontally on the Commons frointbench, he added: “Jacob Rees-Mogg should have a long lie down, maybe not in the House of Commons.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel