Cllr Graham Simpson is the Councillor for the ward of East Kilbride West in South Lanarkshire Council. He is also Chairman of the Scottish Conservative Councillors Association and a member of the (now interim) Party Executive.
IT’S a funny time when Conservatives make the news in Scotland, outside of an election campaign, for the right reasons. But that is where we are right now with the contest to elect a new leader. When that contest closes on November 4 we will have a new era with great opportunities for Conservative councillors to influence the direction of the party.
We will have a system in place which will see weekly policy discussions involving the new leader, another MSP and a representative from the Scottish Conservative Councillors Association (me, for now). For a party that talks about doing bottom-up politics, rather than top-down, that can only be a good thing. Councillors are the grass roots of the party.
We know what is going on at street level.
We know how the education system is working.
We know if the transport system is creaking.
We know the state of the roads.
We know if policing systems are achieving results.
We know if social services are delivering.
It’s right, therefore, that we should be involved in setting the Conservative agenda week-in-week-out and in the long-term too. The leadership campaign is already fascinating but I suspect that, once the candidates are let loose on the members in a series of hustings it will get even more juicy.
I’ll be chairing one of those so until that’s done with I will be adopting the impartiality that I practice every day in my other role, as a journalist.
So, with my neutral hat on for now, I will offer a brief comment on how I see things so far.
It is undeniable that Murdo Fraser is the early pace-setter. His analysis of the Conservatives being a party that has been going nowhere in Scotland can’t be disputed. His conclusion that a new party, drawing in centre-right supporters who can’t bring themselves to back the Conservatives is the answer may be right too. Who knows? He has certainly got people thinking – and talking.
The Fraser strategy with its vision of a new force ready to take on the SNP has huge risks though. What happens if a third or half of Tory councillors decide they don’t want to jump? What if some of the MSP group decide likewise?
What if members decide it’s not for them after all? It could be a winning approach but it could also get messy.
Ruth Davidson was last out of the traps but has made a fast start. She may be a rookie MSP but having an entirely fresh face may play well with the electorate.
At the end of the day the success of our party – or a new party – will be down to how many voters you can persuade to back you. So the media-savvy and personable Ruth could do well.
Jackson Carlaw has not made a great deal of impact so far in the media but he is a canny operator and he will realise that in order to become leader of the Scottish Conservatives you have to convince party members – not newspaper editors – that you are the right choice. Jackson – a first class public speaker – has a number of speaking engagements lined up between now and voting time which should serve him well. He’s a great ideas man and I look forward to hearing some of them.
All three have a lot of flesh to put on the bones between now and the day of reckoning, November 4. If they can stick to the issues and not make it personal then it’s going to be a great contest that will show that healthy debate is a good thing.
Bring on the hustings.
Graham’s website: http://grahamsimpson.yourcllr.com/
The Councillors Association Hustings Event is in Glasgow on the 10th October
Alan Donnelly, Councillor in Aberdeen Council’s Torry and Ferryhill ward has asked for his name to be removed from a list of backers for Murdo Fraser’s bid for Leadership as he still remained ‘undecided’ on Fraser’s vision for the Scottish Conservatives.
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