Kenneth Ferguson: No reason to rename the Conservatives

Just imagine him debating with Alex Salmond; no contest. He has managed to insult both the members of the Conservative Party in Scotland and the Scottish electorate.

For the membership, how dare he dictate that he will change the name of the party. The Conservative Party is a democratic party and no one person can change the name. He sounds like Gadaffi in Libya or Gordon Brown at Westminster, adopting such dictatorial attitudes.

For the wider electorate, he has managed to insult them by suggesting that they are incapable of looking at the policies of a party and taking a decision, rather than only voting on the name of a party.

I live on the outskirts of a central Scotland ex-mining village, with a ghastly environmental appearance, although fabulous people. For the referendum earlier this year I put up “No to AV” posters and everybody who passed said “Bring back Maggie Thatcher”.

The working-class people of Scotland, contrary to the press and the Labour Party, recognise that, although the closure of the loss-making heavy industries caused some unemployment, far more jobs were created in Scotland during the 1980s than were lost through the closures.

Tory MSPs should be out shouting about the benefits that Margaret Thatcher brought to Scotland, including the Scottish Development Agency, and not perpetuating the myth that the Tory brand is toxic. It does not require a change of name to get elected; any political party must reach out to its electorate and explain its policies.

Lastly, I believe that all the “unionist” parties, including the Conservatives, should start telling people that as all domestic matters are devolved in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, we and our Celtic colleagues have achieved “home rule”.

lKenneth Ferguson, OBE, is a former vice-president of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party