I'm no friend of Tories, says new Lib Dem leader

Published on Tuesday 17 May 2011 15:40

Newly appointed Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has declared himself "anti-Conservative" - but defended the coalition at Westminster as a way of "stopping the worst" Tory policies.

The Lib Dems suffered a demoralising rout on 5 May, and voter anger over the party's relationship with the Conservatives was the "major issue", Mr Rennie said.

The Lib Dems' tally of Holyrood seats fell from 16 seats to five, prompting Tavish Scott to quit as leader.

Mr Rennie, who took up the post unopposed yesterday, said the party must do better to explain its role in government.

"I'll be making sure that we tell people what we're doing in the coalition and what we're stopping the Tories doing," he said.

"This, to me, is not about propping up the Tories - this about stopping them doing their worst.

"I'm not distancing myself from the coalition. I'm pro-coalition, even though I'm anti-Conservative, and I'm not going to distance myself from the coalition because I think the coalition has done some very good things."

The axing of the inheritance tax cuts, tax cuts for low-earners and increased pensions are among the areas where the party has brought its influence to bear, he said.

• Profile: Willie Rennie, new leader of Scottish Liberal Democrats

• Analysis: Hard slog, but Rennie has the grit and charm to succeed

The Lib Dems lost 45 deposits across constituencies and three deposits in the regional lists, where candidates failed to gain 5 per cent of the vote.

Mr Rennie said he joined the party at a low ebb in the 1980s soon after the merger of the Social Democrats and Liberals. The Lib Dems briefly fell behind the Greens at the ballot box in the 1989 European election, but the new leader said the Scottish party can take heart from its subsequent recovery.

"It's been brutal for the party to lose all these areas - it has a massive effect on us as a party," he said.

"There are some people who will never vote for us again, but there are lots saying 'not until you sort things out'. They're prepared to come back, and I think by showing what we're about - liberal values - we can rebuild that trust.

"It will be a big job, but I think we can do it."

Mr Rennie said it was "fascinating" that there has been more discussion about independence after the election than during the campaign, when the SNP focused on the council tax freeze.

"That's the crafty and wily way that Alex Salmond works," he said.

"He talks about things he knows voters will like, and that's why he's a very dangerous character in that respect. He's somebody who can manipulate public opinion." The recent shift in SNP leadership to a watered down "independence-lite" approach to the constitution was branded "confusing" by Mr Rennie.

"You would think, with a party that's been going for 70 or 80 years, they would have worked out what independence means by now," he said.

Mr Rennie insisted the election landslide was in "no way" a vote for independence and insisted that the big task ahead was implementing the Scotland Bill to give sweeping new powers over income tax to Holyrood.