Douglas Ross: Why I am backing Boris for PM to protect Scotland’s interests

The election for leader of the Conservative party and our country’s next Prime Minister is in full swing and later this week our members will get the chance to hear both candidates make their pitch for the votes of Scottish members at our hustings.

Conservative party leadership contender Boris Johnson. Picture: Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty Images.

It goes without saying that the two men who want to lead the Conservative and Unionist party are both passionate believers in the Union, but for me it’s Boris Johnson who can deliver most for the four nations of the United Kingdom.

As a party we must complete Brexit. My Moray constituency saw just 122 votes separating leave and remain in the referendum three years ago. Across the United Kingdom people want to see politicians keep their promises and show in Westminster that we can deliver the will of the British people.

We need a leader who voted for Brexit, not one who supported remain but says they can deliver the opposite. We need a leader who is clear about the date our negotiations would end, or if we would withhold payments to the EU or not. And we need a leader who would not consider a second Brexit referendum, not someone who previously campaigned for this.

So, we must deliver Brexit and champion a One Nation agenda that will invest in all parts of our United Kingdom and give everyone, no matter where they live, a stake in our country’s future.

The worst thing that could possibly happen to our union is to allow Jeremy Corbyn - likely propped up by the SNP - into No.10. The surest way for this to happen is to fail to deliver Brexit by 31st October. Just this week the former leader of Scottish Labour, Kezia Dugdale, said she believed Jeremey Corbyn could do a deal with the SNP to deliver Indyref2. That is the greatest threat to our Union.

I’ve spoken with Boris a number of times about his vision for Scotland under his Premiership and I know how passionate he is for Scotland to grow and prosper along with the England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

He understands the political sensitivities north of the Border but is determined to work for the whole of the United Kingdom as well as each of the four individual parts of the Union.

I represent an area with a significant military community and over the last two years have successfully argued with my Scottish Conservative colleagues for the UK government to compensate our service personnel stationed in Scotland who were paying more tax than their colleagues elsewhere in the UK after the SNP made Scotland the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom.

Boris has recognised this and has promised to mitigate the SNP’s Nat Tax by saying he would never allow SNP tax rises to hit the pay packets of our armed forces personnel.

He has also recognised the need for a unit at the centre of Downing Street to ensure every announcement, policy and decision is sense-tested and stress-tested to see what it will bring to the Union. This has been lacking in recent years and will ensure that Scotland is at the forefront of everyone’s mind as a policy is developed and delivered.

Twenty years ago today I was a young school pupil from Forres Academy attending the opening of the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. A combination of pomp and ceremony alongside informal celebrations and the involvement of young and old from the length and breadth of Scotland, heralded a new dawn in Scottish politics.

Two decades later the Scottish Parliament has had its ups and downs. It has introduced ground breaking legislation but also received its fair share of criticism.

We are fortunate to have two governments but too often the Scottish Government take credit for all the good news and blame the UK government for anything that goes wrong. Boris will end the shyness we have seen from previous UK Government’s when we invest in Scotland.

It’s right that communities across Scotland see the significant investment the UK government makes every day to their area and under Boris that will happen.

As our Scottish members head to the hustings later this week or their ballot papers drop through the letter box they can be assured that by supporting Boris Johnson they are backing the candidate who will deliver Brexit, defeat Jeremey Corbyn - keeping Nicola Sturgeon away from the leavers of power - and create a brighter future for Scotland and the entire United Kingdom.