A TORY front bencher resigned his post as Holyrood fisheries spokesman yesterday, signalling a major policy rift with David Cameron's leadership in London ahead of May's election.
Ted Brocklebank said he could not in conscience remain in post after the party policy he helped draw up, involving the threat of withdrawal from the EU's common fisheries policy, was torn up by the new leadership.
"If I were simply to accept that we would have gone back on our policy that would be hypocritical on my part," he said yesterday. "If they cannot go with my wording, which is to withdraw from the CFP, then my position is untenable."
Worse for the Tories is that Mr Brocklebank did not hide the fact that Scottish leader Annabel Goldie had lobbied for his stance with Mr Cameron and lost, meaning in effect that she had lost control of a key policy in the run-up to the Holyrood election.
Asked if the row gave the lie to Tories at Westminster saying the Scottish party was free to formulate policies, he said: "That might be something that you want to say. I don't want to comment on that."
David Mundell, the Shadow Scottish Secretary, was at Holyrood yesterday meeting Ms Goldie. He denied Mr Brocklebank's departure was a sign his party was still dogged by internal divisions over Europe. He said: "I would rather he had not resigned, but he has. I don't think it says anything about Annabel Goldie's leadership."
He added that David Cameron changed the party's fishing policy 15 months ago for a sound reason. "He does not believe that fishing can be treated in isolation. It has to be part of a whole range of other powers that has to come back under UK control."
Mr Brocklebank believes the Tories' new watered-down policy will be impossible to defend in the constituencies with major fishing interests in the run-up to May. But one of the joint architects of the previous policy, drawn up under the leadership of Michael Howard and launched at Pittenweem in Fife's East Neuk, disowned Mr Brocklebank's actions yesterday.
Struan Stevenson, the Scots MEP, said: "I think we have to accept that we have a new leader who can shape Conservative policies as he wishes. It certainly does not help the election campaigns, whether for here or Westminster or Holyrood, for people to respond by throwing their rattle out of the pram."
Mr Brocklebank, Scottish fisheries spokesman since 2003, met Mr Cameron last week and told him that unless the policy was kept until after the Scottish election in May he would feel he had to resign.
The SNP's shadow minister, Richard Lochhead said: "I commend Ted Brocklebank for accepting that he cannot be an official spokesperson for a Scottish Tory party that allows its policies to madeagainst Scotland's interests."
Mr Brocklebank's Liberal Democrat opponent in North-east Fife, Iain Smith said: "Mr Brocklebank's resignation as fisheries spokesperson is no great loss to the fishing community. He was ineffective and unsuccessful."
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