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Politics
Greg Evans
Aug 17, 2022
Scottish man reacts being asked about Liz Truss
GMB
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak continued their efforts to try and convince Tory members to vote for them as the party's next leader and therefore next prime minister when they ventured to Scotland on Tuesday for the latest round of Hustings.
The event took place in the city of Perth in Perthshire and given the Tory's overall lack of popularity in Scotland it was always going to be a memorable event - whichever side of the divide that you fall on.
Indeed hundreds of people gathered outside the venue to voice their discontent with the government and campaigned for there to be another independence vote for Scotland, which has so far been ruled out by the Tories.
Flags and banners bearing slogans such as "TORY SCUM OUT" could be seen and Tory MP Andrew Bowie, who attended the debate claimed that people were throwing eggs and that pensioners had been spat on.
\u201cEggs being thrown, spitting at pensioners. The good old "tory scum" banner out...Good to see @NicolaSturgeon's civic and joyous nationalism in action in Perth tonight.\u201d— Andrew Bowie MP (@Andrew Bowie MP) 1660671089
SNP MP David Linden diasgreed though.
\u201cThese morons don\u2019t speak for me or my party. We condemn their behaviour utterly and without equivocation. If anyone of them is found to be an @theSNP member, then they should be chucked out immediately.\n\nIt\u2019s as simple as that.\u201d— David Linden MP (@David Linden MP) 1660672303
Some protesters did manage to break through the barriers but the incident passed by without much commotion.
\u201cA handful of protesters briefly pushed through the outer security barriers at the Conservative leadership hustings in Perth. They went back again with little fuss.\u201d— James Cook (@James Cook) 1660669941
Elsewhere, reactions to the protests have been divisive.
\u201cJust a warm Scottish welcome for the Tories arriving at the #ToryLeadershipContest Hustings in #Perth.\u201d— Scott McMurray (@Scott McMurray) 1660669804
\u201cFormer Doctors at Perth Hustings warn Scotland about the future of the NHS\u201d— Phantom Power (@Phantom Power) 1660680254
\u201cIt\u2019s the hustings for the next two liars for Prime Minister\u2026They\u2019ve got nothing to offer Scotland - Gordon from Peebles\u201d— Phantom Power (@Phantom Power) 1660667041
\u201cTo every person in the UK except Scottish Nationalists, I wholeheartedly apologise for the vile, sick and disrespectful behaviour displayed by the aforementioned at the Leaders Hustings in Perth, Scotland tonight.\nThe SNP are not Scotland.\u201d— troobloo (@troobloo) 1660667549
\u201cPerth hustings, I am a Tory councillor, have no criminal record, help run a 100 year old family business, set up two businesses that have become successful in there own right, pay substantial taxes, what exactly makes me scum? This is a hate filled personal attack on every Tory.\u201d— Cllr Iain Gall (@Cllr Iain Gall) 1660669199
James Cook, the Scotland editor for BBC News was also abused at the event leading many to come to his defence.
\u201cThis is utterly sickening. @BBCJamesCook is the most fair, thorough & kindest journalists in the business. His calm reaction in the face of this vitriol tells you everything you need to know about him. Appalling. \n\u201d— Connor Gillies (@Connor Gillies) 1660718462
\u201cI see the person who shared the video of the horrible abuse received by the BBC journalist from nationalists today has now deleted it. Here it is.\u201d— Blair McDougall (@Blair McDougall) 1660691413
At the debate, both Sunak and Truss ruled out there ever being a chance of another Scottish independence referendum.
Sunak said: "I can’t imagine the circumstances in which I would We live in a union which is of course there by consent and by democracy and I accept that. But I just don’t think anybody thinks now or anytime in the near future is remotely the time to focus on this.”
A more firm Truss added: "If I am elected as Prime Minister I will not allow another independence referendum."
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