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Later today, nominations will close for the Tory leadership contest, as hopefuls make their bid to replace Theresa May as the party leader and take over as Prime Minister. This brief break
from the more general chaos of Brexit gives MPs like me the time to reflect on the legacy of the outgoing May, as well as considering who could end up replacing her. May signed up to be PM
knowing fine well that there was a difficult job in front of her. She leaves the office utterly disgraced – as the Prime Minister who suffered the greatest Commons defeat in modern times and
someone who united her party against her bad Brexit deal. > ❌ Theresa May’s #Brexit deal has been overwhelmingly rejected by > MPs. She’s in power, but not in command. It’s time to
let the > people decide. pic.twitter.com/FE330WkIS8 > > — The SNP (@theSNP) January 15, 2019 Before May had stepped into Number 10, she had a reputation from her time as home
secretary. As the architect of the “hostile environment” immigration system, she commissioned the infamous “Go Home” vans and announced xenophobic plans to reduce immigration to the tens of
thousands – a baseless figure that she used to placate her party’s increasingly right-wing rheroric. I faced May every week at PMQs, pressing her Tory Government on its appalling record of
failure to deliver for Scotland. I don’t think I ever got a straight answer from her. At every turn, she and her Government have let Scotland down, ignoring our people and locking Scotland’s
Government out of crucial discussions that would shape our nation’s future. During May’s tenure, the Scottish Parliament has faced a power grab from Westminster, battled against an
unworkable and inhumane immigration system and has seen austerity accelerated. > ⏰ 37 days until Brexit, Labour and Tories in open revolt, a > constitutional crisis and a tumbling
economy. > > 🏴 Scotland deserves better. We need a way > out. #PMQs pic.twitter.com/vzrjdw6mHJ > > — The SNP (@theSNP) February 20, 2019 Our block grant has been
slashed and, shamefully, the Tories have tried to sell Holyrood as a place to mitigate the worst of Tory cuts rather than let the Scottish Government focus on devolved issues – showing their
complete disregard for devolution. Looking ahead at who is running to fill the vacancy in Downing Street, the list makes for depressing reading. It’s a who’s who of those seeking to drive
their party further to the right, taking the Tories – and the UK Government – further from the views of the majority of Scots. Each of these would-be PMs is mired in controversy. From
Islamophobia to sexism, and expenses scandals to workers’ rights, their views will spark concern with voters across the UK. We all know Boris Johnson is no stranger to scandal – be it his
insensitive comments about Muslim women or his unforgivable gaffes while foreign secretary – however, the other contenders are every bit as bad. > ❌ Another Oxbridge Tory > ❌ Author of
the biggest Brexit lie > ❌ Infatuated with Donald Trump > ❌ And a passion to cut social security more than George Osborne > ever did > > For these & so many other
reasons, Boris Johnson isn't fit to hold > any national office. https://t.co/shdU6Fjofe > > — The SNP (@theSNP) May 17, 2019 What is common to Johnson, Dominic Raab or Michael
Gove and the rest is that they’d gladly drag Scotland out of the EU – inflicting huge damage on our economy. But most worrying for Scots, many of the candidates have expressed their utter
disdain for our Parliament – threatening to rip up the devolution settlement. Scotland’s people, our parliament and our Government have been ignored by politicians in Westminster, who are
more concerned about self preservation. Scotland deserves better than this group of embarrassing, incompetent Tories – it’s time for Scotland to decide our own future. _This article
originally appeared in the Daily Record._