‘Brexit is more important than the UK’ – meet the Tory members choosing the next Prime Minister

by the SNP
Posted on
5 years ago
3 min read

The next Prime Minister will not be chosen by ordinary voters in Scotland, but by 124,000 members of the Conservative party.

According to a BBC profile, a large majority of Conservative party members are from the top social class, with 86% categorised as ABC1. They are overwhelmingly concentrated in Eastern England, London, the South East and South West.

Here’s what else the study discovered about the 0.2% of the UK electorate who will choose the next Prime Minister:

  • A heavy under-representation of ethnic minorities and women.
  • They consider themselves more right-wing than UKIP.
  • A majority support the death penalty and think young people don’t respect traditional values.
  • Only 15% believe government should redistribute income from the better-off to the less well-off.
  • Two thirds back a No Deal Brexit.

Poll finds Tory members believe delivering Brexit is more important than the Union

A survey by YouGov shed further light on the views of the Conservative party membership. Whilst Tory leaders have paid lip service to the “precious Union” of the UK, party members don’t think the Union is worth saving at all.

  • 63% of Tory members would prefer Brexit to be delivered than keeping Scotland in the Union.
  • 61% would prefer Brexit to be delivered even if it caused “significant damage” to the economy.

Commenting, SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown MSP said: “The Tory party has clearly gone off the deep end – with their Brexit obsession pushing the party further towards the extremes.

“Tory members are so determined to deliver a damaging Brexit they are happy to watch our economy collapse and open the door of number 10 for Nigel Farage to take control of the UK.   

“And far from prioritising the union, it’s clear Scotland means so little to the members of the Conservative and Unionist Party that two thirds are happy for Scotland to become independent if it secures Brexit.

“Scotland didn’t vote for this Tory government – yet our future currently sits in the hands of a small number of extreme hard-line Tory members.  

“It is truly frightening to think these are the people that will be choosing the UK’s next Prime Minister.

“Scotland deserves much better than this. Westminster isn’t working and the only way to protect our interests is to escape this toxic political system by taking Scotland’s future into our own hands.”

Read more: 5 reasons why Scotland must have a choice about its future

Boris Johnson said Scots shouldn’t be allowed to become Prime Minister

Boris Johnson, the front-runner to become the next UK Prime Minister and clear favourite with Conservative party members, said Scots shouldn’t be allowed to become Prime Minister.

It has emerged he once said “government by a Scot is just not conceivable in the current constitutional context.”

When Johnson was editor of the Spectator magazine in 2004, he also authorised the publication of a poem describing Scottish people as “a verminous race” who should be exterminated.

The hardline Brexit vision being pursued by the Tories is looking more and more like an English solo project. No wonder Scots are reconsidering the prospects of becoming an independent country.

Read more: The Tories want to block Scottish democracy – but where’s their mandate?