Richard Cook: Conservative party must modernise if it's not to remain a toxic brand in Scotland

ON FRIDAY David Cameron kept his promise to Scotland by travelling to Edinburgh to meet with our First Minster within a week of becoming Prime Minister. It was a clear signal that he wants to improve the relationship between both our parliaments and our governments.

But I believe there was another factor in play. He wants to improve the relationship between Scotland and the Conservative Party. In government it is our chance to finally put to bed the myths and, being truthful, some of the realities of the Thatcher era.

I am in no doubt that over the next few years Cameron will go on to prove to the Scottish people that his Conservative Party is not the same party that they so clearly feared when they went to the polls earlier this month. Yes, we are a party who believe in the individual, but we are also a party who believe in supporting couples, groups and communities to make our country better.

For many in the Scottish Conservative Party it is all too easy to blame opposition parties for the way Scotland voted a week past on Thursday. The truth is their scare tactics worked but only because the Conservative brand in Scotland is still regarded as toxic. People look at us and still see the party they rejected in 1997 and can see insufficient difference between us and the UK party in terms of uniquely Scottish policy, despite what we might think.

Why does this matter? Because Scotland is now demographically different to the rest of the UK. Take East Renfrewshire. More than 20 per cent of our working age population are economically inactive; more than 40 per cent of those in work are employed by the public sector; and very large numbers of people rely on the state for at least part of their income in the form of Tax Credits.

What General Election messages meant most to them? Conservative billboards pronouncing benefit cuts without qualification in local leaflets; unions telling public sector workers that "savage" Tory cuts mean job losses; and Labour claims Tories will abolish Tax Credits. With only a few exceptions, we suffered "Anyone But Tory" in the same way as we did in 1997 with Liberal, Nationalist and Labour supporters all looking at their own particular circumstances and voting for the candidate best placed to stop the Tory.

Let's be clear – we lost because of the party, not our leadership. I lost because people believe the brand remains toxic, not because Cameron visited East Renfrewshire, where the electorate like and admire him greatly. And throughout our campaign Annabel Goldie's tireless efforts motivated my troops and help galvanise and grow a Conservative vote. What both Cameron and Goldie now need is a party to support them which mirrors their own popularity.

Modernising the Scottish Party will not be easy but it is essential. Our structures, and in particular, our constitution, remain massive barriers to change. I know having served on the party's management committee just how difficult it is to get it to take anything radical forward.

Put simply we must look and act differently if we are to succeed. This starts with an immediate review of everything we do, with nothing off limits to this review. Some argue we should change our name. Others that the Scottish Party should be more autonomous of the UK Party. Can we have new structures without a new constitution? Should those at the top have a lot more power to ensure candidates are appointed from the centre?

Most importantly any renaissance has to be policy led in the same way as Conservatives in Wales have rejuvenated their own fortunes since their wipe-out in 1997. Should we be advocating more teachers to reduce class sizes and more nurses and doctors to improve frontline delivery in our NHS, even at a time of great public sector financial constraint? I think we should. And can we support first past the post as the best electoral system while demanding any change brought about by coalition government should be to a truly proportional system not Labour's Alternative Vote? Again, yes we can and probably should.

Fail to modernise now and we will not get another chance.

Scotland did not "vote for change" at the general election because people don't believe the Scottish Conservative Party has changed enough to reflect their aspirations. We need to take the opportunity given to us by being in government to prove that we can govern Scotland with respect. David Cameron's visit this week was a good start. However the party in Scotland also has a role to play. We must rid ourselves of the perceptions people have of us and we must grasp this opportunity to move forward, otherwise we may not get yet another chance.

Richard Cook was Conservative candidate for East Renfrew-shire at the 2010 General Election and is a candidate for deputy chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party.