JACKSON Carlaw is the deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives and will be taking charge while Ruth Davidson is on maternity leave later this year.
While he's no Ross Thomson, after Carlaw's "crass and offensive" tweet about the Second World War, we thought it might be helpful to recap some of his greatest hits – here are nine. (Feel free to post more in the comments below!)
1. The 'awkward' rape clause
Carlaw has confirmed his support for the UK Government's hugely criticised "rape clause" policy on child tax credits. Words often used to describe it are "vile", "morally wrong" and "disgusting". The word the Tory deputy leader chose to describe it with was "awkward". - Source
2. Told racist jokes at a party rally
Back in 2005, the day after he was appointed interim deputy leader, Carlaw's racist "jokes" at a party rally earlier that year had opposition politicians slamming the Tories. One joke made fun of the way Chinese tourists speak, and the other made a play on words of "de-feet" – "the only person recorded as having said defeat is marvellous: Robert Mugabe's chiropodist". Carlaw was forced to apologise.- Source
3. Singled out Muslim MSPs in demand for them to condemn anti-Semitism
Unacceptable and I hope & expect an equally robust response and condemnation from @HumzaYousaf & @AnasSarwar https://t.co/pCjpZGMx6U
— Jackson Carlaw MSP (@Carlaw4Eastwood) 19 March 2018
After reports of pro-Israeli groups being blocked from taking part in a rally, he tweeted at MSPs Humza Yousaf and Anas Sarwar, asking them to condemn the move. Yousaf replied: "It would be dangerous, innacurate & lazy to characterise Middle East conflict as one between Muslims Vs Jews. All of us should condemn racism not just my & @AnasSarwar responsibility." - Source
4. Feared Scottish Six would be too Scottish
When plans for an hour-long 'Scottish Six' news broadcast from the BBC were being backed by MPs, Carlaw was furious. He said at the time: "Nationalists will very much see this as an opportunity to shove propaganda down the throats of a dinner-time viewing public north of the Border.
"But we must remember that many people are very happy with the current set-up and would rather watch UK-wide news covering the whole world than an extension of the current Reporting Scotland.”
Balanced coverage truly would be a travesty... - Source
5. Claimed Humza Yousaf had never used a train
Humza Yousaf did, in fact, use trains
Carlaw's political point-scoring saw him claim in 2016 that transport minister Humza Yousaf "had never set foot on a train", other than for publicity pictures. He was basing it on the publication of MSPs' expenses. Unfortunately, Yousaf had in fact travelled on a train – regularly – but the costs were covered by the Scottish Government rather than Parliament. And Yousaf had taken the train far more than the Tory MSP's five trips. - Source
6. Became outraged at the SNP registering a website
It's relatively well known that the SNP are pro-independence. An "SNP computer expert" registered organise.scot, prompting claims of the First Minister "preparing a new referendum" – yes, really. And here's what Carlaw had to say: “This shows that while Nicola Sturgeon was pretending to the people of Scotland she was pausing the independence agitation, her party machine was doing the very opposite.
"Despite accepting the voters didn’t want another referendum, her IT elves were busy building the online foundation for another push. No matter what the nationalists say in public, they will never be able to let go in private."
It's true. The Yes movement still wants to leave the UK behind. We've been rumbled. - Source
7. Despises Gaelic road signs
"An education system failing our poorest, cuts to college places... but at least @theSNP spent £26m on Gaelic signs," Carlaw tweeted in 2015. It was accompanied by an infographic repeating that claim, which he'd found on the "SMASH the SNP!" Facebook page (which features some other gems). In fact, £26 million was not spent on Gaelic road signs – that was closer to the entire annual budget for the language.
Still, he was only millions of pounds off. - Source
8. He doesn't have an eye for allies
Remember those very short-lived claims of a Tory revival in Scotland? So it was in 2017 when Paul Aitken became the first Tory councillor to be elected in Barrhead in 25 years. He was part of what Carlaw hailed as a local Tory "dream team", and received big backing from him. Aitken left the Tories the next year, complaining about a lack of internal democracy in the party. Dream team, eh? - Source
9. Mixed messages on an indy Scotland's currency
In a BBC debate ahead of indyref1, Carlaw said he thought it would be "rational and sensible" for an indy Scotland to keep the pound – and said he'd campaign for it after a Yes vote. Someone from Project Fear must have had a word with him though – his line just a few weeks later was that he "firmly believed" a currency union wouldn't happen. Strange, for something that's "rational and sensible", and with a government of his party in power. - Source
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