Goldie says Scottish Labour 'not even fit for opposition'

SCOTTISH Tory leader Annabel Goldie was today set to brand Labour "unfit for purpose" in a keynote speech to her party conference in Ayr.

Still buoyant after the Conservative victory in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, Ms Goldie was expected to launch an attack on the "discredited Labour Party" and say that in Scotland Labour was "not even fit for opposition".

She was due to tell delegates: "It falls to us to stand up for a strong and confident Scotland within a strong and confident United Kingdom."

Ms Goldie was expected to warn the SNP that the governments at Westminster and Holyrood must have a relationship built on "mutual respect". She was due to claim the Scottish Tories could celebrate 12 months of achievement since last year's Holyrood elections, using the SNP's minority position to press for Tory policies such as extra police and faster business rate cuts. But she was expected to say the successes were "just the first leg of a new journey".

In his speech to the conference yesterday, UK Tory leader David Cameron pledged to preserve the Union between Scotland and England.

"I don't want to be the Prime Minister of England," he told the delegates. "I want to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – all of it, including Scotland."

He said he would not allow Alex Salmond and the SNP to use the election of a Conservative government at Westminster to pursue his "separatist" agenda.

And he continued: "To the people of Scotland, I make this guarantee. Whatever the outcome in Scotland of the next General Election, a Conservative government will govern the whole of the UK, including Scotland, with respect.

"Whoever is Scotland's First Minister, I would be a Prime Minister who acts on the voice of the Scottish people and will work tirelessly for consent and consensus so we can strengthen the Union."

Later, Shadow Scottish Secretary David Mundell spelled out the same theme, promising ministers in a Conservative UK government would seek to work constructively with their counterparts in the devolved government. He said: "A Conservative government at Westminster will heed the will of the Scottish Parliament. We will not fall into the trap of trying to use reserved powers to enforce our agenda on devolved areas. Neither will we introduce any measures specifically for Scotland which do not command widespread support.

"By respecting the Scottish Parliament's freedom to do as it chooses on devolved issues, we will ensure the SNP has no legitimate grievances to trade on.

"However, in return for respecting the Scottish Government, we will expect it to respect us. It must recognise that we have the right under the devolution settlement – whether the SNP likes that settlement or not – to implement David Cameron's agenda on reserved matters."

Pressure on Brown, panic in the ranks

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown's leadership remains under extreme pressure today as Labour MPs digest the party's crushing defeat by the Tories in the Crewe and Nantwich by-election.

A defiant Mr Brown vowed to fight on but there appeared to be a mood of panic among some Labour MPs in the wake of the Conservatives' first by-election gain from Labour in almost 30 years.

Former minister Graham Stringer called openly for Cabinet ministers to come out and challenge for the leadership while others called for a reshuffle and even loyalists admitted they were facing a "fight for our political lives".

Senior ministers publicly rallied round the Prime Minister, insisting the defeat was the result of the turmoil in the international economy.

Mr Stringer, a former government whip, said there was now a "real debate" within the party as to whether it was better to get rid of Mr Brown or to hope their fortunes would pick up before the next election.

Another backbencher, John Grogan, called on Mr Brown to carry out an extensive Cabinet reshuffle.

However, Cabinet Office minister Ed Miliband, a close ally of Mr Brown, dismissed suggestions that the party needed a new leader.

"We have got the right leader to take us into the General Election," he said.