An Aberdeen property developer who donated cash to the Conservatives vows to keeping backing the party, arguing the Union is more important than the Boris Johnson “partygate” scandal.
Alan Massie handed more than £260,000 to the Tories in recent years and helped bankroll senior UK government minister Michael Gove, who was raised in the city.
Mr Massie told us he thought Boris Johnson’s conduct in the lockdown parties scandal was “unacceptable”.
But he predicted the prime minister will “move on” from 10 Downing Street before long.
No-one is bigger than the Union, including Boris.
– Businessman Alan Massie
The Carlton Rock boss said stopping the SNP’s drive for Scottish independence was still “paramount” to him and many voters.
“No-one is bigger than the Union, including Boris,” he said.
“I still support the Union. I still have faith that for the public the Union is paramount.
“I think that the Boris issue… that will resolve itself, to be honest. The Union is still paramount, in my mind.”
‘Weak on the Union’
Mr Massie has previously donated to Labour and the Liberal Democrats but says the Tories remain the “only credible” defenders of the Union.
He claimed Labour is “weak” on the constitution and took aim at left-wing north-east MSP Mercedes Villalba, branding her “out of control”.
We asked Mr Massie about his support for the Tories and about Mr Johnson’s future, after he narrowly survived a confidence vote by Conservative MPs on Monday.
A total of 211 Tory MPs sided with the prime minister, while 148 voted against him, including Scottish leader and Moray MP Douglas Ross.
‘Unacceptable behaviour’
On partygate, the businessman said: “It’s unacceptable behaviour. There’s no question, it’s unacceptable behaviour when people were ill and dying.
“It’s unacceptable. But as I say, that will sort itself out. He is an individual and he will move on.
“He will be, alas, no longer, whether it is six months, or a year, whatever. That will happen.
“But in terms of breaking up the country I think the public will see the furlough scheme, the vaccination scheme, the jobs in the Ministry of Defence, for example, in Scotland.”
He added: “I don’t see how that (partygate) is bigger. I’m certainly not defending Boris but the issue is not Boris, it’s Scotland.
“I’ve still got faith in the country being together and I still think that the Tories are the only credible people to defend the Union.
“And I think you can see that by the amount of Tory MPs who voted against the prime minister.”
Another referendum?
Mr Massie said Scottish Labour had “let Aberdeen down” by not condoning a fresh power-sharing deal with the Conservatives to run the city council.
He criticised Ms Villalba, claiming she backed a second independence referendum.
He added: “She is out of control about her views, wanting another referendum. We’ve just had a referendum. Is it a best of three?”
He added: “Anas Sarwar should take her under control.
“They are weak. Weak on the Union. Weak on controlling their MSPs. All she does is bash Aberdeen, that Mercedes.”
Maximum devolution from Westminster will not just happen. If we're truly not content with the status quo, hadn't we better call for a referendum to put our alternative to the people? 2/
— Mercedes Villalba (@LabourMercedes) January 20, 2021
Ms Villalba previously expressed support for standing independence-supporting Labour candidates at elections.
She has questioned whether the party should “call for a referendum to put our alternative to the people”.
No credible person can look at the Conservatives and conclude they are anything but a threat to the United Kingdom.
– Scottish Labour spokesman
Responding to Mr Massie’s comments, Ms Villalba said the Conservatives are presiding over the “worst cost of living crisis in decades”.
She added: “As a Labour MSP, my focus is on campaigning to secure the election of a Labour government at Holyrood and Westminster, that will promote investment in quality jobs and public services, after more than a decade of respective SNP and Tory misrule.
“It’s disappointing that this Tory supporter is so desperate to ally themselves to Boris Johnson’s discredited government in this week of all weeks, when its unfitness for office was never more apparent.”
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: “Mr Massie is private citizen and is entitled to his view on a range of issues, including this one, but he is entirely wrong.
“No credible person can look at the Conservatives and conclude they are anything but a threat to the United Kingdom.”
How Alan Massie switched support
Mr Massie was one of Labour’s top private donors between 2011 and 2016.
He gave more than £400,000 to the party and senior figures, including Jim Murphy, Kezia Dugdale, Richard Baker and Caroline Flint
He gave £20,000 to the Lib Dems between 2006 and 2007.
But in 2019 Mr Massie announced he was switching support to the Tories because he did not believe Labour could be “trusted” on the Union.
He has become a key backer of Aberdeen-raised Cabinet minister Michael Gove, donating £50,000 to the levelling up secretary between 2019 and last year.
It is understood he relocated from Jersey back to Aberdeen earlier this year.