In what was, largely, a challenging election campaign for the Conservative Party in Scotland, England, and Wales we continued to exceed expectations at the polls and managed to defend seats that were expected to fall. However, we cannot ignore the fact that we still made many losses throughout the country and the trust many voters put in us during the 2017 local elections did not carry through to these elections. We as a party must look at how we regain the trust of those voters we lost, and ensure that we can reach those levels and beyond when the next election comes around.
In spite of our own losses, there is one silver lining in that the pro-union vote in Scotland remained the strong and blatant majority. In terms of first preference votes, pro-unionist parties held over 50% of the vote, excluding pro-unionist independent candidates; whereas nationalist parties received just 40.1% of the vote. This marks the 6th election since the 2014 referendum where pro-nationalist parties failed to convince more than 50% of the Scottish electorate. What this shows is that, despite the fluctuations of opinion polls and the constant barrage of separatist rhetoric from the SNP, the Scottish electorate is still on the side of the Union, and nothing has changed.
While this election was challenging for the Scottish Conservatives, we remain determined to stop the SNP at every road block in their mission to divide the country. Speaking to the BBC, Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross said:
"I am absolutely determined to continue as the leader of the Scottish Conservatives because there is a lot of work we have to do to continue to fight the SNP to stop their distraction of national politics onto their obsession about independence and deliver for the people of Scotland. I also understand and accept criticism from colleagues. As leader of the party, I am someone who hopefully listens when concerns are raised and there are always issues where I can do better and I will always seek to do that going forward."
Now with 27 councils in which no party has an overall majority, the Scottish Conservatives must look to work with a wide range of political parties and individuals in councils all over Scotland in order to lock the SNP out of power. It is vital that we do this successfully since the consequences of failing, as we have seen in Glasgow, is that the SNP will rule with incompetence and local residents will pay the price.
These elections were difficult for the Scottish Conservatives, and we lost many valuable colleagues with great commitment to their local communities. However, as we have seen that the majority of the Scottish people fundamentally oppose the Scottish Nationalist’s separatist agenda, it is vital now more than ever that we lock the Scottish National Party out of power in councils up and down the country. In the meantime, we must start discussions now as to how we can win the next election, and lock the SNP out of power permanently.