Dunfermline Tory Quits Party

Stuart Randall the leader of the Conservative group on Fife Council has quit the Tory Party because he is disillusioned with the leadership of his party.

Mr Randall who stood against Gordon Brown in the last two general elections was overlooked for the short list for the current by-election in Dunfermline and West Fife. He claims that the party leaders in Holyrood are 'ambulance' chasing seeking to meet the latest headline before they lose their chance:

"I have tried very hard behind the scenes to get the party to wake up and reform without success. It has been taken over by an incompetent clique, who can’t see past the next headline, and there seems to be no way for the grassroots to regain control.

"Decision after decision has been botched and wherever one scratches the surface, the whole edifice of the party is crumbling, yet no one really seems to care."

He says his decision has been taken following events of the last few years but the final straw came last week when the party announced the policy regarding the Forth Road Bridge. Mr Randall who is the councillor for Dalgety Bay East said:

"My ward is just a couple of miles from the north end of the bridge, so it affects my constituents greatly. It’s also the biggest issue affecting the whole of Fife at the moment, yet I only found out about the new policy when I saw it in the local newspaper and on a by-election flyer. And I’m the Leader of the Tory Group on Fife Council!

"Treating senior party activists in that way cannot be acceptable in any competent, democratic party."

The news will rock the already floundering Tory campaign to regain credibility in Scotland after their net gain of 1 Westminster seat in Scotland since the total wipe out they suffered in 1997. In May last year their sitting MP Peter Duncan missed out in Dumfries and Galloway while David Mundell saved their blushes and a second electoral annihilation in eight years by gaining Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.