Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, has harnessed the spirit of the Brexit campaign, saying his party wants to "take Scotland back from the SNP."
The MSP said Scotland has been "gripped by the dead hand of nationalism for the last 15 years" and that only the Tories could provide a "genuine alternative" in his speech to his party's convention in Aberdeen.
He said the Scottish Conservatives must bring together the "silent majority" who backed No in the 2014 independence referendum in a speech aimed at energising council candidates ahead of elections in May.
"We must reclaim Scotland from the SNP." And we know there is a majority of people that want to see us succeed. The same silent majority that said 'No' to Nicola Sturgeon in 2014.
"And our goal must be to re-unite that majority in order to break this impasse."
Mr Ross also made light of the fact that he had lost his voice earlier in the week, forcing one of his MSPs to stand in for him at First Minister's Questions. "We need the quiet majority to reclaim its voice, just like I did today," he stated.
He also stated his party will bring up a "ambitious policy programme" in Holyrood over the next four years, including "delivering a Victim's Law, to put the justice system on the side of victims of crime and their families."
"Supporting oil, gas, and nuclear energy in order to put a dent in Putin's purse." To trust the public to keep themselves and their family safe, Covid limitations must be lifted."
Since the SNP took power in 2007, he claims Scotland has become "bitter and inward-looking."
"The country in which I grew up was self-assured and outward-looking. Despite this, the country in which my children are growing up is bitter and inward-looking."
"We've gotten worse off, both economically and intellectually," he said, "because we're trapped with a government that refuses to accept responsibility, that says none of this is their fault."
Whose response is the same every time: Westminster, Westminster, Westminster."
He called suggestions of shutting down North Sea oil and gas production "naive and foolish," accusing the SNP of focusing on "pet priorities" instead of rebuilding after the pandemic.
He stated, " "The party that once claimed to be Scotland's oil now wants to shut it down. What a stunning 180-degree shift from a party that claims to represent this magnificent city, to represent Aberdeen and the north-east. It's also foolish and risky at this time of Russian aggression."
In response to a speech given by Ukrainian Scot Zhenya Dove yesterday, he urged for charity toward Ukrainians seeking asylum in the UK.
"We must continue to provide them with the assistance they require to protect their homeland." "We ought to be generous to people who come here seeking refuge." After that, we must assist the people of Ukraine in rebuilding their country."
Mr Ross, on the other hand, was chastised by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who laughed off the idea that the Conservatives were the only viable opposition to the SNP.
"The facts are plain - the Scottish Conservatives are a relic of the past with nothing to offer the Scots," he remarked.
"From the harsh benefits cap to passivity in the face of the cost-of-living crisis, the Tories are clearly failing Scotland's most vulnerable."
"After losing his voice, people will be wishing Douglas Ross would stay mute for a lot longer," SNP MSP Kenneth Gibson stated.
"Most people won't recognise their own nation in the nasty, narrow-minded picture of Scotland he paints."
"The reality is that his cowardly retreat from his call for Boris Johnson to go has rendered him a lame-duck leader with little credibility, even among his own party."
"Less than a year ago, the Scottish people overwhelmingly rejected the Scottish Conservatives at the polls, returning the SNP to power with a firm mandate to call an independence referendum.
"The Tories' attempt to defy democracy is just unworkable, and they know it – which is why they're so busy planning how to battle an independence referendum in the background."
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