After Ruth Davidson's triumph in Scotland, she didn't deserve this sexist tweet from one of her own supporters
"Another blonde bombshell delivering for Tories"
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Your support makes all the difference.After storming through Scotland with gains for the Conservatives, Ruth Davidson has solidified herself as a strong opposition leader against the SNP. She has spent weeks of campaigning and gaining a lot of pro-Unionistic support and it paid off for her during the election, with the Cons result blocking the SNP from getting an overall majority. Whether you support the Scottish Conservatives or not, she is a formidable leader for them north of the border, which has been exemplified by today’s results.
Her efforts have meant that the Scottish Conservatives have taken over second place from Labour in Scotland, which is a massive blow to Labour’s efforts to regain seats after the dramatic loss to the SNP in the 2015 election. With her strong pro-Union campaigning, she has taken herself from gaining 5.3 per cent of the vote in Glasgow North-East in 2009 to now controlling the official opposition party to the SNP.
So, one wonders why LBC’S Andrew Pierce (who, if you’re to take his Twitter handle @toryboypierce at face value, as well as his very vocal support for Davidson in the past, is a Tory voter himself) thought it was appropriate to tweet this at Ms Davidson:
Firstly, Ruth is brunette, not blonde, as she clearly pointed out in a scathing reply tweet, but this is beside the point. Why did Pierce think it was appropriate to refer to her as a bombshell? Is this how we refer to politicians now? ‘Wow, amazing gains for Labour in Stockport – must all be down to that hottie Jeremy Corbyn – I hear his lucious tresses are full of political secrets’.
This statement intimates that Ruth Davidson’s gains in Scotland were primarily down to her supposed (and fictional) blonde bombshell-esque characteristics, as opposed to the fact that she’s been out campaigning and canvassing across Scotland for months in the run-up to this election. It's patronising and insulting to a woman who has put her all behind a successful political campaign.
A more gender neutral approach would be advised in future, unless we intend on describing every Tom, Dick and Harry MP as total stunners for the next two days.
In response to criticism about his tweet, Pierce responded with a rather hilarious, yet scathing response:
Take it as you will, but I think we should all try our hardest to maintain some sense of decorum when it comes to congratulating people on their professional successes.
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