Tory MSP Defiant Over Breakaway Bid

A Tory politician who announced plans for a breakaway party in Scotland without consulting Prime Minister David Cameron insists he has the political and financial support for a “new dawn” despite being rejected by the party’s biggest Scottish donor.

Murdo Fraser launched his bid to lead the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (SCUP) in Scotland on Monday with a pledge to disband it and create a new centre-right party north of the border.

The Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP has been accused of “dividing the party” and sparking a “civil war” by opponents within and outside the Conservative Party.

Mr Fraser said he has not discussed his plans with Mr Cameron as it would be “inappropriate” for the leader of the UK Conservative Party to take a position in a Scottish leadership election.

He also dismissed claims by his main leadership rival, West of Scotland MSP Jackson Carlaw, that a rejection by the party’s biggest Scottish donor was “a fatal blow” to his leadership campaign.

Sir Jack Harvie, the transport tycoon and philanthropist, said Focus on Scotland, the vehicle which currently provides the majority funding for the SCUP, would not extend its funding arrangement to Mr Fraser’s party

Speaking at the launch, Mr Fraser expressed disappointment with Mr Harvie’s comments but said he has received support from others in the business community.

He said: “I can tell you that among existing donors to the party there is a deep sense of disillusionment, that the money that they have given to the party in recent years has not been well spent.

“They have been paying for successive campaigns with absolutely no political progress and there is a great deal of appetite for a new centre-right force in Scotland amongst people in the business community.”

Mr Fraser has already gained the support of airport car park magnate John McGlynn, engineering tycoon Jim McColl and property developer Robert Kilgour for his plans.

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‘We Can Kill Independence And Break The SNP’ — Murdo Fraser To Launch Leadership Bid With Bold Message

Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser has promised to “kill independence” and “break the SNP” if elected new Scottish Conservative leader.

The Perthshire politician, who is favourite to succeed Annabel Goldie, will outline his vision of a “new unionism” when he officially announces his leadership bid on Monday.

He will tell supporters the UK faces a “serious threat” and that the SNP’s promised independence referendum will be the “central issue” of Scottish politics in the next few years.

Mr Fraser will use the speech to outline his vision of how the Tories can make their mark in Scotland against a background of an SNP majority at Holyrood and the looming independence referendum.

“Strengthening the union will be at the centre of everything I will do,” he will say. “If Alex Salmond really believed in his own message, he would put his money where his mouth is and have a single-question referendum. No second question. No Salmond cop-out. Separation — yes or no.

“Then we can move on. We can be positive about Scotland and positive about the United Kingdom. We can kill independence and break the SNP.”

Significantly, Mr Fraser will also reject full Scottish fiscal autonomy, under which all taxes would be set by Holyrood, describing it as “independence in disguise.”

It had previously been thought he was open-minded about such a possibility, a view that could have put him at odds with Prime Minister David Cameron.

But he will say: “I support a new form of unionism. A new unionism that will give the people of Scotland the ability to shape their own future.

‘New unionism’

“A new unionism that will provide financial devolution to the Scottish Parliament, because with power will come responsibility.

“A new unionism that calls for a more decentralised United Kingdom, at ease with itself, knowing that the whole will always be greater than the sum of the parts.”

He will reiterate support for the extra powers for the Scottish Parliament set out in the Scotland Bill but reject other measures wanted by the SNP such as control of corporation tax.

“But I strongly support the principles of financial devolution, where the Scottish Parliament is more responsible for the money it spends.”

But SNP MSP Stewart Maxwell attacked Mr Fraser’s comments.

“Before he continues with his campaign Mr Fraser might want to reconsider his language,” he said. “The last politician to threaten to ‘kill nationalism’ saw his party lose at this year’s elections and the public back a majority SNP Government.

“Scotland wants a parliament that is working hard to build a better future, to create jobs and grow the economy. Whilst opposition parties spend their time in internal leadership wrangles the SNP will next week set out a positive programme for government that will address the concerns of voters across Scotland and take this country forward.”

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Riots Poll Reveals Public Back Police More Than Politicians

Guardian/ICM poll: Only 30% think David Cameron responded well while 54% think police are under resourced

Acting Met chief Tim Godwin polled 45% as having done a decent job, whereas Boris Johnson only polled 28%.

Voters back the police rather than David Cameron over the handling of riots, according to a Guardian/ICM poll. It shows that under a third of voters think the prime minister has done a good job – while overall trust in the police’s fairness remains strong.

The poll, carried out online this week as politicians and the police became increasingly critical of each other’s performance, suggests neither Cameron nor the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, have impressed the public with their response.

Only 30% say Cameron has done a good job, against 44% who say the opposite, a net negative score of -14. For Johnson, the figures are 28% good job and 38% bad, a negative of -10 points. By contrast, 45% think that the acting commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Tim Godwin, has done well against 27% who say the opposite – a positive score of 18.

Another online poll, conducted this week by YouGov, found similar levels of support for the police response over that of politicians. There is some evidence – on a smaller and therefore less precise sub-sample – that Londoners judge Johnson less harshly than the rest of the country. In the capital, his net negative score is only -3.

Despite the scale of the rioting, and accusations that the police mishandled the initial disorder in Tottenham, public trust in the police seems uniformly strong. Overall 61% of those polled say they are confident that the police enforce the law fairly, uniformly and without prejudice.

By contrast a total of 36% say they are either not at all (10%) or not very (26%) confident. There is some evidence that younger or poorer people are less likely to trust the police than older or better-off ones, but in all categories a majority are satisfied.

However, the public are far less confident about the police’s ability to keep order. A majority say they think the police lack sufficient resources. The finding could add to opposition to cuts in police numbers and funding.

In the Commons on Thursday, Cameron came under fire from the Labour leader, Ed Miliband, and some backbenchers over plans for cuts and the head of the Association of Chief Police offciers (Acpo), Sir Hugh Orde, has warned they will restrict the police’s ability to respond to disorder.

While 41% say they are either very (6%) or quite (35%) confident the police have been given adequate resources, 56% say the opposite. People on lower incomes are the most likely to think the police are under-resourced.

There is also widespread agreement about the main causes of the riots and looting.

Asked to pick from a list of possible reasons, 45% blame criminality on the part of the rioters. Older voters and richer ones are most likely to lay the blame on this.

Of other possible reasons, 28% cite lack of respect within families and communities. Only 8% think a lack of jobs for young people is the main reason. A further 5% say the shooting by the police of Mark Duggan, which led to the initial disorder in Tottenham, was the main cause, while 4% blame the coalition government, 2% the police and 2% the state of the economy.

At the bottom of the list only 1% blame racial tension – a finding that suggests these riots are being seen differently by the public to those of the 1980s.

• ICM Research interviewed a sample of 2,008 adults aged 18+ online on 10-11th August 2011. Interviews were conducted around the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. ICM is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.

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