Clochan stop for Conservative co-chair on the hustings trail
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RUNNING a leadership race that will determine the next Prime Minister of the UK is challenging enough, but takes on an extra edge when you have only been in the job for a month.
However, that is just the situation that Conservative Party co-chairman Andrew Stephenson MP finds himself in as the battle to succeed Boris Johnson heats up.
It is the latest role for the Pendle MP, having previously been in charge of the HS2 rail project under Mr Johnson and assistant chief whip during Theresa May's tenure in office. He is currently also a Minister without Portfolio.
Mr Stephenson, who shares the chairman's role with Ben Elliot, was north of the border on Monday, August 15 ahead of the leadership hustings in Perth today (Tuesday), and he took the opportunity to join Moray MP and Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross MP MSP for his summer surgery tour's stop in Clochan Community Centre.
He said: "I've been co-chair for about a month so it's been a really steep learning curve.
"The PM asked me to take on the role and help manage the leadership contest.
"To be honest, I never expected to be asked to take on the party co-chair – my previous jobs I've done for the party have been all about calming things down and making them run smoothly, so maybe that's why I was asked!
"We're working through the hustings at the moment across the country and there's been a lot of interest from the Scottish party in the contest.
"The hustings have been very encouraging so far and are a chance for party members to raise issues which are important to them and to have their voice in the leadership contest. Every hustings is different with different issues raised which is one of the things which makes them so interesting.
"It's good to be back in Scotland and having the opportunity to chat to our MPs and I can't wait to hear what members have to say at the hustings in Perth."
With the Scottish Government calling for an independence referendum on October 19, 2023, both Mr Stephenson and Mr Ross felt that it was an unwelcome distraction in a time of multiple crises facing the country.
Mr Stephenson commented: "When we're dealing with Putin's aggression in Ukraine and the cost of living crises and independence referendum is a luxury we can't really afford.
"The last thing we need is to to be worrying about a divisive independence referendum campaign."
Mr Ross added: "During the Scottish Parliament election in 2021 all the parties said that it would be irresponsible to have an independence referendum while we were in the midst of the Covid pandemic.
"The truth is that we're still coping with the aftermath of the pandemic and the Scottish Government should be dealing with the issues which are important to people with the powers they have and the biggest budget they have ever been given.
"I've talked to a lot of businesses and they've told me they want to focus on the likes of recovering from the pandemic and not be distracted by another independence referendum."
