It would appear
that when it comes to dodgy arithmetic, the Coalition’s cartoon character in Scotland,
Michael Moore,
has competition from the new Scottish Tory leader, Ruth
Davidson.
After receiving
her inaugural orders from David Cameron,
reiterating the independence of the Scottish Conservatives by saying that she
would do nothing that the leader might disapprove of and regurgitating the same
old message that has seen Tories decimated in Scotland;
she proclaimed to the world that she had a mandate to speak for the people of Scotland.
Before you waste
any time wondering how she worked that one out, let me explain.
She claimed that
the Coalition parties had won more votes at the UK
General election in Scotland
than the SNP did to win their historic majority at Holyrood. As such, she spoke
for the nation.
But alas for Ms
Davidson, in the undoubted excitement of
having an audience with her hero, got it wrong.
For the record,
the combined vote for the Tories and Lib-Dems in Scotland
at the General Election was 878,326 which was 35.6% of the popular vote. In the
elections for Holyrood the SNP polled 902,915 or 45.5% of the vote.
Not hard to work
out who got more, you’ll agree.
While a
competent grasp of numeracy might not have been required in a previous life as
a journalist at BBC Scotland, it is
generally thought to be a prerequisite of a sitting politician and party
leader.
That aside, adding
the votes of those who opposed you during an election after they join you in a
coalition is surely a sign of desperation. I’m pretty sure that those who
supported the Lib-Dems certainly don’t want their votes propping up the inane
and out of touch policies of the Scottish Tories.
Its early days
yet but with a start like this, Ms Davidson and her inability to count past
the number 10, promises to entertain if
not inspire.
