'Thick Scots' Tory resigns
Wednesday, 6 October 2010 12:00 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
A Tory candidate who reportedly branded Scots "stupid" has been forced to step down from next year's Holyrood election.
Ivor Tiefenbrun will no longer fight the Glasgow Maryhill seat after he told The Scotsman "you would have to be thick to accept that" Baroness Thatcher was an "evil force" in Scotland.
The comments prompted a flurry of outrage among opposition politicians and many Tories north of the border, where the party is already struggling to secure support.
"There are many important issues facing our country and I have no desire for anything to divert my party - or indeed the media - from concentrating on those vital challenges," Mr Tiefenbrun said in a statement.
"Accordingly, I will not be standing in the forthcoming Holyrood elections.
"I wish my successor and our candidates across Scotland well in May."
Sir Albert McQuarrie, a prominent figure among Scottish Conservatives during Baroness Thatcher's time, told The Scotsman: "They were certainly very ill-chosen words and if someone has a view about Margaret Thatcher's time in office, this is the wrong way to go about expressing it.
"It shows a real political immaturity as I've always believed that Scots are very proud of their views and able to put forward their points without making comments like this."
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