:01:09. > :01:16.undercover journalists how he could help further the interests of the
:01:16. > :01:21.arithmetical solar Power party. He denies breaking any rules.
:01:21. > :01:26.Protests this week in Hertfordshire as the global heavyweights of
:01:26. > :01:35.politics, business and the military meet behind closed doors in a luxury
:01:35. > :01:38.hotel. The bosses of Google and Yahoo, we will discuss the
:01:38. > :01:40.conspiracy theories and the reality. And here in Scotland - the Scottish
:01:40. > :01:50.Conservatives met in Stirling this weekend to draw their battle lines
:01:50. > :01:50.
:01:50. > :35:56.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2045 seconds
:35:56. > :36:04.for the union, but what about the the whole thing. I have 3 million
:36:04. > :36:14.radio listeners every day, which is a low number. I make films and put
:36:14. > :36:15.
:36:15. > :36:20.them online for free like, and that is because of the establishment...
:36:20. > :36:25.Ten years ago, I would have said, listen to all this stuff that he
:36:25. > :36:35.believes that people put the cancer virus into vaccines in order to
:36:35. > :36:41.create eugenics. I would have said that was mad. The problem is that
:36:41. > :36:47.conspiracy theories like this are believed... Lesson, I am here to
:36:47. > :36:52.warn people. Our government is building camps where they
:36:52. > :37:00.disappeared people now. You have a rest for public safety unlike in
:37:00. > :37:08.prison. You are the worst person I have ever interviewed. You are
:37:08. > :37:12.watching the Sunday Politics. Welcome to Sunday Politics Scotland.
:37:12. > :37:16.Coming up on the programme: Sink or swim - as the Tories meet in
:37:16. > :37:19.Stirling, they're urged to follow their leader.
:37:19. > :37:27.Will there be any last minute stay of execution for the local courts
:37:27. > :37:36.recommended for closure? And how a play written for the last
:37:36. > :37:38.King of Scotland is still raising political questions 500 years on.
:37:38. > :37:42.A new phrase was coined in Scottish politics this weekend -
:37:42. > :37:44.self-indulgent chihuahuas. That's how the former Conservative leader
:37:45. > :37:50.Annabel Goldie described those taking swipes at her successor, Ruth
:37:51. > :37:56.Davidson. Her critics weren't happy at the way she handled the debate
:37:56. > :38:06.over more powers for Holyrood. Our political correspondent, Glenn
:38:06. > :38:13.
:38:13. > :38:16.Campbell, was at the Tory conference in Stirling.
:38:16. > :38:26.This is where Scotland spot for and secure its independence 700 years
:38:26. > :38:30.ago. This weekend, the Conservatives have chosen to meet year-end
:38:30. > :38:37.sterling to renew their opposition to independence and to step up their
:38:37. > :38:41.fight to keep Scotland in the UK in the 21st-century. But while the
:38:41. > :38:48.conference speeches have focused on the unity of the country, there are
:38:48. > :38:52.signs of disunity within the country. Those like Lord Forsyth are
:38:52. > :38:57.furious that Ruth Davidson has Utah on the powers of the Scottish
:38:57. > :39:01.parliament and has set up a commission to see how it could be
:39:01. > :39:07.extended. Others said she lacked the courage to hold a full debate on
:39:08. > :39:13.devolution here that conference. has shown that weak leadership over
:39:13. > :39:19.this issue and it would be much more forward looking to embrace the idea
:39:19. > :39:26.of open debate on this issue and then people with robust views on
:39:26. > :39:30.either side could make their views known. He was a strong supporter of
:39:30. > :39:35.the leadership bid by model Fraser who has long supported Hollywood
:39:35. > :39:42.raising more of the money it spends, which continues to be a source of
:39:42. > :39:49.Tory divisions. Clear divisions between those like model Fraser who
:39:49. > :39:57.have argued for fiscal autonomy and those who say that the new powers
:39:57. > :40:03.are far too much and that has yet to be resolved. Ruth Davidson has
:40:03. > :40:11.powerful supporters who gave her unscripted endorsements. I back her
:40:11. > :40:17.every step of the way. I have every confidence that under your
:40:17. > :40:27.leadership we will go from strength to strength. She is our special one,
:40:27. > :40:30.
:40:30. > :40:37.though unelected leader. -- our elected. Annabel Goldie is said to
:40:37. > :40:44.have dismissed the critics as self-indulgent Chihuahua owners. The
:40:44. > :40:47.party chairman said the annual conference is never a loving.
:40:47. > :40:52.not been to a Scottish Conservative party conference will there has not
:40:52. > :40:56.been somebody complaining about something. It is the background
:40:56. > :41:03.noise we have and I would rather we did not have it but I am very
:41:03. > :41:08.accustomed to it. We have to focus on issues that matter to real people
:41:08. > :41:13.and that is not the internal workings of the Conservative party.
:41:13. > :41:20.Which is why Ruth Davidson spoke about education and caterers and her
:41:20. > :41:23.confidence surveys. She also addressed new members of hard
:41:23. > :41:25.devolution commission to devise Tory alternative is independence for
:41:25. > :41:33.Scotland. With me in the studio is the Leader of the Scottish
:41:33. > :41:38.Conservative, Ruth Davidson. Thank you for joining us. A lot of concern
:41:38. > :41:44.about your decision not to the Labour Party members to debate the
:41:44. > :41:50.constitution and more powers. that overshadow the conference?
:41:50. > :41:56.There was lots of wide-ranging debate but the thing about debates
:41:56. > :42:05.at confidence is you have to have a motion to debate on. You do not gain
:42:05. > :42:11.anything by having Paul or opposites having a bit of a bunfight. We have
:42:11. > :42:18.a huge range of views across party on the constitution and they have
:42:18. > :42:21.tried to set up a serious commission were serious people working on it.
:42:21. > :42:30.We can take soundings from all of our members and, with the package of
:42:30. > :42:38.proposals. There are huge range of views and you used to have one view
:42:38. > :42:48.on powers on Hollywood, your line in the sand, and a lot of disappointed
:42:48. > :42:49.
:42:49. > :42:54.party members thought you would keep that. A lot of party members who
:42:54. > :42:59.voted for Murdo Fraser, so perhaps a lot of disappointment in the party.
:42:59. > :43:09.I was not always a full throated supporter of fiscal economy as Murdo
:43:09. > :43:14.Fraser was. The debate has changed in Scotland than within the Scottish
:43:14. > :43:19.Parliament. We have seen a majority government break the Parliament and
:43:19. > :43:24.some of the oversight, so we have to look at some of the
:43:24. > :43:28.responsibilities, but for me the important thing is that we have a
:43:28. > :43:37.stable and devolved settlement for Scotland. If we win next year, what
:43:37. > :43:41.we cannot have is the separatists coming back in five years or ten
:43:41. > :43:50.years and asking for yet another referendum, because we do not have a
:43:50. > :43:57.stable sense of government. I want the best proposals for how to meet
:43:57. > :44:02.the aspirations of the people of Scotland. We have to find a
:44:02. > :44:07.conservative way to deflect that's all we can have that stable set-up
:44:07. > :44:11.and do not find ourselves in the set-up we have had again and again,
:44:11. > :44:18.because that does not address the very important things for the people
:44:18. > :44:23.of Scotland like education, that we want to talk about. Proposing more
:44:23. > :44:29.powers for Scotland in the way you have done, your main backer, Lord
:44:29. > :44:33.Forsyth, he was not even at the conference. Are you still on
:44:33. > :44:41.speaking terms or have you apologised? I am still on speaking
:44:41. > :44:47.terms, of course I am, but in terms of the phrasing, I have not proposed
:44:47. > :44:52.new powers and have not put forward any limits or guidance. This is for
:44:52. > :44:56.Lord Strathclyde and he will take people from the worlds of politics
:44:56. > :45:04.and who are constitutional experts, and they will go off and do their
:45:04. > :45:08.work. They will not be set goals by me. This is about serious people
:45:08. > :45:17.doing work and coming up with proposals that we can take and adopt
:45:17. > :45:26.as Conservatives. I am not saying that you are reading it but you seem
:45:26. > :45:31.to give a definite example of what you would like. You got the biggest
:45:31. > :45:40.cheer when you said you wanted to use those powers to lower tax.
:45:40. > :45:47.tax-raising powers are coming already in 2016. The Parliament was
:45:47. > :45:53.set up in 1989 with responsibility for around 10% of taxes but it has
:45:53. > :46:00.responsibility for spending about 70%. The gap is wider than most
:46:00. > :46:04.federal systems around the world, such as Germany or Canada. I am sure
:46:04. > :46:08.that is in nearly other Lord Strathclyde will look at. The
:46:08. > :46:14.changes in 2016 will bring back then but we have to look at the
:46:14. > :46:19.mechanisms created and how we want to use them. I want to lower taxes
:46:19. > :46:23.and have been saying that for more than a year now. Do we think the
:46:23. > :46:28.powers that are coming are the correct balance of powers, the ones
:46:28. > :46:34.that will be enacted in 2016, so that is one area I am sure we will
:46:34. > :46:38.look at. I am not telling him what to do though. What about other
:46:38. > :46:47.powers that could be devolved such as welfare benefits and cold weather
:46:47. > :46:55.payments? I am not trying his hand is not pointing him in the direction
:46:55. > :47:00.of results I want to see. This is about helping people who have real
:47:00. > :47:08.experience and expertise in areas of politics and constitutional affairs,
:47:08. > :47:12.so that we can find a be involved settlement that is stable. Surely
:47:12. > :47:17.you will help to divide the commission and where they are going?
:47:17. > :47:21.They have to get back to me before the referendum so they have a
:47:21. > :47:28.timetable but I am letting them get on with their work and I look
:47:28. > :47:36.forward to the report when it comes. You took such a pro-tax avoiding
:47:36. > :47:40.stands, throwing the dead meat out to the traditional Tory supporters.
:47:40. > :47:47.Were you saying they had to come with you and you had to modernise
:47:47. > :47:50.the party? You were very firm with the party members. This is something
:47:51. > :48:00.we introduced last year, our aspiration to bring taxation down by
:48:01. > :48:05.
:48:05. > :48:09.1p in the pound. We have referred to it several times. It is no
:48:09. > :48:14.Conservative party policy that we will work towards bringing forward
:48:14. > :48:21.the reduction in taxation in the 2016 manifesto. In terms of the
:48:21. > :48:28.party change, I have changed a lot. I have changed the way in which we
:48:28. > :48:33.run and we are structured. Change can be painful and that can be
:48:33. > :48:36.difficult but the reason I have made these changes is to make us a much
:48:36. > :48:46.better fighting machine so we are able to take forward the policy
:48:46. > :48:48.
:48:48. > :48:53.provisions. Yes, I was telling people that I understand the
:48:53. > :49:02.concerns but look at election results. Goodness knows we need to
:49:02. > :49:07.have some changes to make ourselves a feather force. On the policy of
:49:07. > :49:16.school vouchers, it sounded pretty radical. Is this not going to
:49:16. > :49:25.destroy the education system? the things I referred to is where
:49:25. > :49:29.our children are being failed. Where one third are weak or
:49:29. > :49:34.unsatisfactory, you have two address the problem. We think choice is the
:49:34. > :49:39.best way to address that and we said we wanted to give schools the
:49:39. > :49:45.opportunity to opt out of local authority control. We wanted other
:49:45. > :49:49.establishments to be able to set up through philanthropists or other
:49:49. > :49:55.organisations so there would be diversity. The logical extension is
:49:55. > :50:01.to allow parents to move between these different models. Having the
:50:01. > :50:07.money following the Child is a system that works. If you think of
:50:07. > :50:15.the system in Denmark, they have a voucher system as do the Netherlands
:50:15. > :50:20.and Sweden. It is not new but it is something that I think is the next
:50:20. > :50:27.logical extension, to a low parents to choose the model that best suits
:50:27. > :50:29.their child. Demonstators gathered outside Holyrood this week demanding
:50:29. > :50:33.a reprieve for the ten Sheriff Courts ear-marked for closure. MSPs
:50:33. > :50:36.on the Justice committee will vote on the issue on Tuesday. The move is
:50:36. > :50:39.designed to save millions of pounds. Critics say it brings down the gavel
:50:39. > :50:49.on 500 years of local justice. Our home affairs correspondent Reevel
:50:49. > :50:50.
:50:50. > :50:56.Alderson has more. This Sheriff Court to cheer its last case in
:50:56. > :51:01.November if the proposal is going to go ahead. It is one of ten new
:51:01. > :51:08.foreclosure. The Courts service says there is very little business in
:51:08. > :51:18.Kirkcudbright. In 2012 there were just seven trials were evidence was
:51:18. > :51:19.
:51:19. > :51:28.heard. 22 summary trials and 127 civil cases. When others close it
:51:28. > :51:34.good bring about travel problems for many of the accused. A lot of
:51:34. > :51:43.witnesses and accused in courts need to use public transport so they will
:51:43. > :51:48.be the most affected by this. these heard budget cuts and capital
:51:48. > :51:53.spending going down were driving these reforms. Scotland's most
:51:53. > :52:02.senior judge told the Justice committee there was more to than
:52:02. > :52:06.that. It is a good case for having centres of specialisation and
:52:06. > :52:16.excellence and for making the most efficient use of resources that you
:52:16. > :52:23.can. The government insists closures could actually improve the
:52:23. > :52:27.administration of justice in Scotland. Many of Scotland's courts
:52:27. > :52:32.are not fit for justice in the 21st century, this is a better use of the
:52:32. > :52:41.shrinking budget to concentrate funds on a smaller number of
:52:41. > :52:48.well-equipped courts. In all, ten Sheriff Courts are scheduled to be
:52:48. > :52:54.closed with those transferred to another court in the area. Cases
:52:54. > :52:58.from Arbroath, as an example, we'll go to for further. Haddington's
:52:58. > :53:05.business in East Lothian will be sent to Edinburgh Sheriff Court
:53:05. > :53:09.while Dumfries will always with cases heard in Dumfries. The SNP
:53:09. > :53:15.majority in the Justice committee could see these proposals going
:53:15. > :53:23.through. Kenny McAskill is away this weekend saw to discuss this we have
:53:23. > :53:33.Lewis McDonald in our Aberdeen studio and in Edinburgh the SNP's
:53:33. > :53:38.
:53:38. > :53:44.Christine DeLeon. First to lose my Donald in Aberdeen. -- Graham. We
:53:44. > :53:52.need to save money and the example is that business could be used to
:53:52. > :53:57.where there is not enough business going on. We now that Aberdeen
:53:57. > :54:03.Sheriff Court is missing its target of dealing with trials in 16 weeks
:54:03. > :54:08.by a hall seven-week. Almost 50% short of what it should be achieving
:54:08. > :54:14.because it has too much business going on and it cannot deal with
:54:14. > :54:23.what it has. The idea that we close and neighbouring court and mood that
:54:23. > :54:29.business to Aberdeen clearly will have an effect. This is a complete
:54:29. > :54:34.misconception on which these proposals are based. It has been
:54:34. > :54:39.said that Aberdeen could almost do with the work away. Is this
:54:39. > :54:48.something you are choosing to focus on because you can attack the women
:54:48. > :54:53.next to you on this? She said last week she had not made up her mind so
:54:53. > :54:58.I will try on Tuesday to persuade her. I think the situation of
:54:58. > :55:03.Aberdeen and Stonehaven could be repeated up and down the country.
:55:03. > :55:10.Closing date will and using Inverness and double peak times
:55:10. > :55:16.there. The same effect is what will improve the efficiency of the courts
:55:16. > :55:23.and what will make it worse? We think many of these proposals will
:55:23. > :55:28.simply make things worse. You are in a difficult position here, on
:55:28. > :55:38.Tuesday you were convened, you can speak freely now, what is your
:55:38. > :55:39.
:55:39. > :55:45.edition? -- what is your position? think it would be wrong to close ten
:55:45. > :55:51.Sheriff Courts when this is the position that I should just defend
:55:51. > :55:57.my own particular area. I will make my decision based on the evidence
:55:57. > :56:02.that comes before the committee. Unfortunately Lewis McDonald left
:56:03. > :56:07.before the senior judge in Scotland gave his evidence. We questioned him
:56:07. > :56:12.thoroughly on whether this would be a detriment to access to justice and
:56:12. > :56:16.he said that was not the case, it is a way forward. We must make these
:56:16. > :56:25.decisions based on the evidence and the debate next week, that is
:56:25. > :56:33.exactly what I will do. As a good constituency MSP I take it you have
:56:33. > :56:38.in lobbying Kenny McAskill? I wanted to make sure that people did not
:56:38. > :56:42.have its business going to Edinburgh, I have campaigned for
:56:42. > :56:52.Abdallah Justice Centre and I think that should take place, I hope it
:56:52. > :57:00.
:57:00. > :57:06.will. -- I Dalla justice centre. -- Gala. They must weigh the evidence
:57:06. > :57:11.and I fully understand the position, the Scottish Court service and the
:57:11. > :57:21.judge in Scotland who is at the top of the tree, his evidence must be
:57:21. > :57:21.
:57:21. > :57:28.looked at when people decide to to make their vote. The SNP have a
:57:28. > :57:34.majority in the committee. We have yet to hear from SNP members what
:57:34. > :57:42.they will do. We know that when the Labour Party put down a debate for
:57:42. > :57:50.this last month there was a split. There is a lot still to leave for. I
:57:50. > :57:59.was in the committee invite when the judge gave his evidence and he said
:57:59. > :58:07.these changes were driven by a desire to save costs. You did not
:58:07. > :58:17.stay to question him. I did, one of my colleagues may have left when you
:58:17. > :58:19.
:58:19. > :58:23.thought I did. It has instead that Haddington Sheriff Court is so keen
:58:23. > :58:33.to be kept open that there will be alternative ways to pay for the
:58:33. > :58:35.
:58:35. > :58:39.running cost. On that point, Christine? I am very sympathetic but
:58:39. > :58:45.we have to look at the fight, there was a comment made in the clip about
:58:45. > :58:51.access to justice, we are going to be using more videoconferencing so
:58:51. > :58:58.the people of Stonehaven can give their evidence through video link to
:58:58. > :59:05.Aberdeen Sheriff Court. I apologise, Lewis, I actually think you did stay
:59:05. > :59:12.and it was your colleague who left. People are attached to courts, is
:59:12. > :59:21.that true? It is not like your local library or health centre, able
:59:21. > :59:26.really see the inside of the court. People perhaps merely wished to see
:59:26. > :59:33.the inside of the court but people do value the access of the community
:59:33. > :59:38.to justice. I think everyone values the fact that justices to be done in
:59:38. > :59:45.the leases where the crimes have been committed. I think there is a
:59:45. > :59:52.significant year for local communities. Will there be a
:59:52. > :59:58.reprieve? I do not know, there is a lot still to be said, I hope people
:59:58. > :00:05.will base their evidence -- the decisions on the evidence. That is
:00:06. > :00:12.all you can do when you are on a committee. Coming up after the
:00:12. > :00:17.news, what relevance does the 16th century we have on a country in a
:00:17. > :00:22.countdown to an independence referendum? We will find out coming
:00:22. > :00:30.up after the news from London. You are watching Sunday politics
:00:30. > :00:40.Scotland from the BBC. Now we will cross to Tim Wilcox and after that
:00:40. > :00:57.
:00:57. > :01:03.Reporting Scotland W Stewart. -- to clarify how much people know
:01:03. > :01:06.about evidence gathered by an American spy firm via the biggest
:01:06. > :01:15.Internet companies. It has been said people should not worry about being
:01:15. > :01:20.spied on. I authorise operations most days of the week by this
:01:20. > :01:26.organisation so I know how they work. The idea that they are sitting
:01:26. > :01:33.working out how to circumnavigate UK law is fanciful and nonsense. I
:01:33. > :01:43.think I can give the poor that assurance. -- give people that
:01:43. > :01:43.
:01:43. > :01:50.assurance. Tim you'll was secretly filmed by Sunday Times investigators
:01:50. > :02:00.posing as staff from a green energy company looking to hire him. He said
:02:00. > :02:01.
:02:01. > :02:05.he posed as someone getting evidence for the committee. An MP and
:02:05. > :02:13.committee chairman across the table from undercover reporters, another
:02:13. > :02:23.set of lobbying allegations. Were you able to ask him questions
:02:23. > :02:25.
:02:25. > :02:29.afterwards? I told him in advance what to say. He denies the claims
:02:29. > :02:35.and was due to go on television to talk about this until he changed his
:02:35. > :02:43.mind. Earlier this morning Tim you'll agreed to do a live interview
:02:43. > :02:49.with us but just in the last hour he ruled out citing node reasons. David
:02:49. > :02:54.Cameron once famously said lobbying with ED next big scandal and has
:02:54. > :03:02.promised a new law to set up a registry of lobbyists for the end of
:03:02. > :03:12.July. The problem for him is well this end the undercover reporters
:03:12. > :03:13.
:03:13. > :03:21.with secret cameras? Nelson Mandela has been receiving treatment for a
:03:21. > :03:27.long condition. He remains stable. Let's go to our reporter in
:03:27. > :03:36.Pretoria, what is the latest on his condition? We are waiting for the
:03:36. > :03:41.health up eight from the Edison -- presidency here. Nelson Mandela's
:03:41. > :03:44.doctors have not announced any major changes since yesterday. There are
:03:44. > :03:51.reports that some of his close relatives have been into hospital
:03:51. > :03:56.here to see him. There is no sense of a bedside vigil. Many South
:03:56. > :04:02.Africans are urging him to fight on what also you get the sense that
:04:02. > :04:06.many people are very aware that he is old and frail. The rad
:04:06. > :04:13.increasingly discussions about the need for nature to take its course
:04:13. > :04:23.and for Nelson Mandela to be allowed to rest and enjoy his last days or
:04:23. > :04:25.
:04:25. > :04:31.is or however long it is in Nice. -- in peace. That is all from me for
:04:31. > :04:37.now. An investigation is underway into the cost of a fire at
:04:37. > :04:43.construction site of Glasgow Hydro into the site at the River Clyde.
:04:43. > :04:47.The operators of the �125 million venue said it was too early to
:04:47. > :04:52.assess the impact of the fire. Yesterday afternoon flames were seen
:04:52. > :04:59.coming from the edge of the domed roof of the building. Firefighters
:04:59. > :05:02.were called to the scene. Hospital staffing levels are to be
:05:02. > :05:05.boosted by the addition of more than a dozen new consultants across
:05:05. > :05:08.Scotland. 14 full-time posts and four part-time jobs are being
:05:08. > :05:11.created with a �3 million fund set up by the Scottish Government. The
:05:11. > :05:13.positions will run for the next three years, divided amongst all
:05:13. > :05:23.health boards except Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles.
:05:23. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:43.Now for the forecast with Judith and we should see some breaks in
:05:43. > :05:45.
:05:45. > :05:47.with our next bulletin at 6:10pm this evening. I'll hand you back now
:05:47. > :05:50.to Andrew. A rarely performed 16th century
:05:50. > :05:53.morality tale about good governance may not seem relevant to 21st
:05:53. > :06:03.century audiences. But the team behind a new production of The
:06:03. > :06:03.
:06:03. > :06:13.Satire of the Three Estates beg to differ.
:06:13. > :06:15.
:06:15. > :06:19.There's much than satire to Sir David Lyndsay's famous play, .
:06:19. > :06:27.is a corrupt elite and when they call up Parliament, they ask the
:06:27. > :06:31.common man in and they come in and say, this is what happens to us in
:06:31. > :06:35.the Parliament not only lessons but enacts laws and makes changes in
:06:35. > :06:42.order that the pool of people are no longer tour. It is a revolutionary
:06:43. > :06:49.play. It is also really confirmed. This famous revival in 1948 was the
:06:49. > :06:54.first in centuries. The scale of the show with its huge cast and six hour
:06:54. > :07:04.running time our old barriers. The player returns to win it first began
:07:04. > :07:09.
:07:09. > :07:14.as a piece of entertainment for James Fett. -- James V. It is the
:07:14. > :07:19.only surviving play from Renaissance Scotland. There is one from much
:07:19. > :07:22.later but imagine if we do not have any Shakespeare or anything else.
:07:22. > :07:30.This does for Scotland what Shakespeare and all the rest do for
:07:30. > :07:34.Britain. Even for those who have been in previous productions, this
:07:34. > :07:38.is an important production at an important moment. It is about a BB
:07:38. > :07:48.King who has to be taught how to govern as a theatre and political
:07:48. > :07:49.
:07:49. > :07:55.king. The places get to him first. -- vices. With the referendum coming
:07:55. > :07:58.up on independence, he could not detect a better time. The questions
:07:58. > :08:04.it asks about government and identity remain as relevant today
:08:04. > :08:10.almost 500 years on. So who has been making the news in
:08:10. > :08:13.politics? Let's take a look at that now.
:08:13. > :08:16.With me in the studio to discuss the week that was and what's in store
:08:16. > :08:26.next week, author and commentator, David Torrance and the blogger
:08:26. > :08:27.
:08:27. > :08:31.Stephen Gethins. Let's pick up on our interview with
:08:31. > :08:39.Ruth Davidson. She is making the newspapers today, rather
:08:39. > :08:45.eye-catching, down but not out. You were that conference this weekend,
:08:45. > :08:52.what was the atmosphere like? pretty downbeat. The attendance was
:08:52. > :09:01.small. The venue seems to get smaller every year and there was an
:09:01. > :09:06.overwhelming sense of a party going through the motions. Even the Prime
:09:06. > :09:11.Minister's appearance was perfunctory. Her speech, even though
:09:11. > :09:14.there was good stuff in it, the crucial section explaining to the
:09:14. > :09:20.party about why she has gone down the path of more powers was met with
:09:20. > :09:26.silence. You are obviously watching this from a slightly different
:09:26. > :09:31.perspective. What did you make of how the Scottish Conservatives that
:09:31. > :09:37.this? The Tories seems to be all over the place because they have a
:09:37. > :09:42.membership who do not want to move and a party that is very unpopular.
:09:42. > :09:51.I find it remarkable that the big attraction was Alistair Darling, who
:09:51. > :09:54.thinks their economic policies are mad. The three unionist parties are:
:09:54. > :10:01.Listening around for other powers and it is interesting how far they
:10:01. > :10:06.have gone down that road? Is a tablet? They have given a very clear
:10:06. > :10:10.is the year on where we are going with the independence referendum.
:10:10. > :10:16.The other parties are struggling by saying that the status quo was not
:10:16. > :10:23.very good but they are not seeing what the alternative is. They seem
:10:23. > :10:31.to be hiding behind the commission but we have had lots of commissions.
:10:31. > :10:39.We are never quite sure what is going to come up. Stephen mention
:10:39. > :10:46.the appearance of Alistair Darling. Did you stay for that? It was the
:10:46. > :10:51.highlight of the conference. The SNP had been relentlessly press
:10:51. > :10:55.releasing us saying he would be the darling of the conference and was
:10:55. > :11:00.through! It says a lot that the highlight was a former Labour
:11:00. > :11:07.Chancellor but he did a good pitch launching forces together as a
:11:07. > :11:11.subset of the better together campaign. He wants to send a signal
:11:11. > :11:17.that he does not really like Tories even if he was speaking at the
:11:17. > :11:26.conference. There were a lot of banks from the SNP but they are
:11:26. > :11:29.saying that it is cross-party. -- digs. This politician said the Tory
:11:29. > :11:38.economic policy was absolutely mad but he wants them to keep deciding
:11:38. > :11:41.on the policy for Scotland! It is still a bit rich. I have a clear
:11:41. > :11:47.memory of the Scottish Parliament when the SNP worked closely with the
:11:47. > :11:50.Scottish Conservatives, who helped them to pass for budgets, so the
:11:50. > :11:56.idea it is only Labour and the Lib Dems who are in cahoots is
:11:56. > :12:03.ridiculous. The public like to see politicians working together. There
:12:03. > :12:13.was a minority government and I was a special adviser, and you work
:12:13. > :12:19.
:12:19. > :12:23.across parties. Mainly with the Tories. One final thought, it is an
:12:23. > :12:31.anniversary this year. The 1980s the election was one of the great
:12:31. > :12:38.turning points in UK politics. -- 1983. That was when Labour knew they
:12:38. > :12:43.had to change. Talking to Scottish Tories, they had 21 MPs and about
:12:43. > :12:49.29% of the vote in Scotland but compare that to know. David makes up
:12:49. > :12:54.the point. The last election when the Tories did any good in Scotland.
:12:54. > :13:00.It is notable for that fact. Anyone in the recent intake we might back
:13:00. > :13:04.years? In Westminster? There are a lot of great figures such as Greg
:13:04. > :13:11.the climate who is currently pensions spokesman. Who is currently
:13:11. > :13:17.pensions spokesman. There are a few that are prominent but I am not sure