Furore after Tory peer brands Scotland a ‘misogynist country’

A Tory peer has come under fire after he claimed that Margaret Thatcher was disliked in Scotland because she was a woman.

Lord Young, who was a member of Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet and is a former advisor to David Cameron, described Scotland as a “misogynist country”.

The former Secretary of State for Trade also said: “The reason why the Conservatives lost all their seats was because of Margaret, because she was a woman.”

The remarks have provoked a storm of controversy with critics branding the Tory peer out of touch.

SNP MP Dr Eilidh Whiteford said: “Lord Young’s comments are ludicrous and highlight just how out of touch the Tories are.

“Apart from anything else, the Tories lost every single one of their seats in Scotland after John Major had been Prime Minister for over six years and they did so because of their disastrous policies of demolished industry, increased unemployment, and the damage done to so many of our communities.

“And it is women who are again bearing the brunt of the cuts of this Tory Government.”

Lord Young became Baron Young of Graffham in 1984, a month before he joined Mrs Thatcher’s cabinet.

In 2010, Lord Young accepted a role as David Cameron’s enterprise adviser but had to quit after claiming Britons “had never had it so good” at the height of the recession.

The Tory peer said many people had gained from low interest rates during this “so-called recession”, remarks Mr Cameron said were “unacceptable”.

At a lunch with a Daily Telegraph journalist, Lord Young said that for “the vast majority of people in the country today, they have never had it so good ever since this recession this so-called recession started”.

He pointed to the savings that “most people” had made on their mortgages as a result of interest rates remaining at 0.5%.

A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “Lord Young is entitled to his personal view on his perception of Scotland, but it’s certainly not one shared by leader Ruth Davidson and the party.

“Scotland is a progressive nation where women play a prominent role in all parts of society, including politics.”