THE Tories are "putting more reasons in people's heads to support independence", an audience member said on Debate Night as she shot down Stephen Kerr.
Scottish Tory chief whip Kerr argued on the BBC's panel show that the Union between Scotland and England was "greater than any passing politician" after a confidence vote on Boris Johnson saw 148 of his MPs turn against him.
But an audience member immediately put him in his place as she argued people across the entire Conservative party – not just Johnson – were continually giving people Scots reasons to back self-determination.
She accused Tories of not caring about people and said everyone was "fed up" with them.
Kerr made a case for the union saying it was linked to "kith and kin" as he talked about his children and grandchildren.
He said: "This Union between Scotland and England, which has lasted over 300 years, is greater than any passing politician.
"All politicians are here today and gone tomorrow but this Union, which has seen us through good times and tough times, as it did through the pandemic, is the representation of something far greater than a mere calculation or a transaction, it is the representation of things to do with kith and kin.
"We have four children, three of them live in England. We have 11 grandchildren, nine live in England. Am I about to start talking about breaking up these islands? Of course I’m not, and I don't believe the vast majority of Scots are either."
The female audience member then said: "The actions of not just Boris Johnson but the entire Conservative government in the UK are just putting more reasons in people’s heads to support independence.
"They’re continuously showing they don’t care, that they’re willing to bend the rules for themselves. They are not proving they are willing to work for the people. Everyone is fed up of feeling uncared for."
Aberdeen South and North Kincardine SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll said what had gone on in Westminster this week was "utterly woeful" and insisted it strengthened the case for independence.
Asked if it had been a good week for the SNP, she said: "I don’t think it’s been a good week for anyone. What’s gone on in Westminster in terms of the vote, it's just utterly woeful, to be honest. We’ve got a Prime Minister who admitted that he lied, admitted that he misled parliament, and he survived a vote of no confidence. What's baffling to me is his cabinet all voted to support him.
"My view is it strengthens the case for independence. We’ve been working extremely hard for the people of Scotland and all the time the people in Westminster have been partying."
Kerr said this was a "grotesque misrepresentation".
