Ruth Davidson urges Tories to cheer up – warning the party risked being seen as ‘joyless’
The Scottish Tory leader also urged ministers and officials to 'stop hectoring' and smile
SCOTS Tory boss Ruth Davidson called on Theresa May to reach out to Remainers in a rallying cry last night.
Speaking at the launch of the Onward think tank, the Scottish Conservative leader said Tories must “speak to the entire nation” - saying it wasn’t a choice between “Serrano and gammon”.
Urging party chiefs to produce a vision for the whole country, she warned against choosing older Brexit voters - likened to gammon on social media - instead of the younger trendy metropolitian elite electorate.
Saying the party was “up against a politics of anger” she urged the PM not to “pick sides” - hinting at the Cabinet divide between Brexiteers and Remainers.
She said: “We have to speak equally to the pensioner, worried about keeping the meter running on a fixed income – just as much as we speak to the working parents counting the cost of childcare – every bit as much as we do the just-graduated 21-year old graphic designer looking for a flat-share.
MOST READ IN POLITICS
“The choice isn’t whether we pick a side between young and old, urban or rural – millennial entrepreneur or baby-boomer factory worker. Or, if you will – it’s not a choice between serrano or gammon.
“The question is how we forge an open-feeling, forward-looking conservatism that speaks equally to all.
“We have it in us to speak to the entire nation – and we must.”