Scotland becoming smaller under SNP - Douglas Ross

[joselync]

Scotland must shake off the "dead hand of nationalism" if it is to avoid becoming increasingly bitter and inward looking, the Scottish Conservative leader has said.

Douglas Ross told the party's conference in Aberdeen that he grew up in a Scotland that was confident and outward looking.

But he argued that Scotland was now divided against itself.

He said the country was becoming "smaller every day" under the SNP.

Mr Ross missed the weekly First Minister's Questions session in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday because of a bad throat - but was well enough to deliver his speech.

He welcomed Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the conference on Friday afternoon, with the two men shaking hands on stage ahead of Mr Johnson's speech.

[tracym]

Scotland is becoming smaller under the SNP, with the party pledging to create a new country from the northeast of Scotland. The SNP has said that it will abolish the Scottish Parliament and replace it with a new national assembly. This would mean that Scotland would have a single parliament and government. The SNP also plans to keep the pound, Scotland's membership of the EU and Nato, and to keep the Queen as head of state.