Falkirk Herald
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Douglas Ross talks to The Falkirk Herald on visit to The Kelpies

Editor Jill Buchanan meets with the Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross as he calls for the sacking of former SNP Health Secretary Michael Matheson and meets with new local Scottish Conservative candidate James Bundy.
Transcript
00:00 When the election was announced then, did it take you by surprise a bit?
00:03 Well, we knew there was going to be an election at some point this year and the Prime Minister
00:07 decided that now was the right opportunity. While there have been some encouraging signs
00:11 with the economy, he's been frank with people that there's more to do. But here in Scotland,
00:16 we've known for some time that this is an opportunity to get rid of the SNP, to beat
00:21 the SNP in key seats up and down Scotland by voters uniting behind the Scottish Conservatives
00:26 so we can get the priority away from the nationalist obsession with independence
00:30 and on to the real issues that matter to people up and down the country. That's reducing
00:34 NHS waiting times, that's investing in education, creating good jobs. All of these things have been
00:40 ignored by the nationalists either at a local level in Holyrood or at Westminster for far too long.
00:44 And what have you found so far as the most important for voters?
00:49 Well, one of the things that's come across since last Thursday is the disgraceful defence by John
00:55 Swinney of the local MSP here, Michael Matheson. Michael Matheson should do the right thing and
01:01 resign. He tried to claim £11,000 of taxpayers' money and then he lied to the public, to Parliament,
01:09 to the media about that and he thought he could brazen this out. He has been found guilty by a
01:14 committee of Parliament of breaching the code of conduct. A sanction has been applied, yet we know
01:20 John Swinney is going to support his friend rather than do the right thing. So the Scottish
01:25 Conservatives are very clear, in any other line of work, Michael Matheson would have been sacked by
01:30 now. The SNP haven't even suspended him from the party. So we believe that for the good and
01:36 integrity of the Scottish Parliament, Michael Matheson must resign. There must be a by-election
01:41 on the same day as the general election, but at the moment John Swinney is supporting him to the
01:46 hill. He is offering defence of the indefensible and he's making Michael Matheson out to be the
01:52 victim here. He has not. He tried to claim £11,000, which he must have known was not a legitimate
01:59 claim, and then he lied about it. So that is an issue up and down the country that is dominating
02:04 conversations I'm having on the doorstep. People know they can't trust this scandal-ridden SNP
02:09 and they're looking for an alternative and in key seats up and down the country, that's the
02:12 Scottish Conservatives. Obviously, Westminster and the Scottish situation is different.
02:19 What do you think is really important to people about things like health?
02:23 Yeah, no, it's crucial and that is coming up on the doorsteps. One in seven Scots is on an NHS
02:28 waiting list. Scottish education used to be the envy of the world, yet our standards are plummeting
02:34 down international rankings. We know that Scotland is the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom
02:40 because the nationalists have put taxes up while public services have got poorer. So all of these
02:45 issues are coming up on the doorstep because people can see the SNP are obsessed with
02:49 independence rather than focusing on these key issues that matter to people day in, day out.
02:54 What can you offer them?
02:55 Well, we are offering that alternative. We want the focus to be on people's real priorities. It
03:00 is about the NHS, about education, creating good jobs, making sure that Scotland doesn't continue
03:06 to be the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom. It's about investing in key infrastructure. Every
03:11 single Scottish Conservative MP elected will be a local champion for their area, who will deal with
03:16 these issues day in, day out to get a better service for local people. Every nationalist elected will
03:22 focus on independence. We know it's going to be John Swinney's page one, line one of his manifesto.
03:28 He wants it to be at the heart of his government. They are obsessed with independence. If we can
03:33 beat them in seats up and down the country, we can remove that threat of separating Scotland
03:37 from the rest of the UK and we can get the focus back onto the priorities that people here in
03:42 Falkirk and around Scotland have, which is NHS, education, the economy and good jobs.
03:46 And what about what came out yesterday about the National Service? What's your take on that?
03:52 Yeah, I think it is an opportunity for young people to get involved in various groups and
03:58 charities. There's obviously a range of issues that they could look at to become part of through
04:05 this system. But also there's going to be a Royal Commission set up and I think that's right that it
04:09 takes the views and opinions from the military world, from the civic world and across the
04:14 political spectrum. Because of course, politicians from all parties have discussed having a system
04:20 such as this before. We know other countries already have something like this in place. Norway,
04:25 Sweden, Denmark, President Macron in France is considering something like this. So it's been
04:30 looked at in many other countries as well. But I think the Royal Commission will be crucial to get
04:35 all of the details and then to see where it goes from there. What's your view on it? Well, I think
04:39 as I say, it's an opportunity for younger people to get involved. This is the generation that was
04:45 probably most affected by the COVID pandemic and their opportunities were limited during the
04:50 pandemic. And now this is a chance for them to gain experience and have that opportunity to
04:56 help with local charities, local organisations and volunteer in their local area. And finally,
05:00 when we're talking about young people, what's your view on lowering the voting age? Well,
05:04 obviously we've had the example in Scotland where to vote in a Scottish Parliament election,
05:09 you can vote at 16 and indeed in the referendum. And I found no issue with that. I can understand
05:15 why people who haven't been part of an electoral test where that's been an opportunity may take a
05:20 different view. But obviously it's different here in Scotland where 16 year olds have already had
05:24 the chance to vote. Thank you very much. Thank you.
05:26 Thank you.
05:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]