Has the Conservative Party abandoned that name in Scotland?

Are they now the Ruth Davidson Party?

When Annabel Goldie stood down as leader of the Conservative Party's Scottish branch, because David Cameron and Fluffy Muddle wanted her gone (presumably because they couldn't walk all over her), there were two main contenders for her job.

They were Ruth Davidson and Murdo Fraser.

Murdo stood on a ticket on changing the party in Scotland, losing the toxic brand, and the automatic agreement with everything London dictated, and becoming a new, right of centre, distinctly Scottish party. Many in the party agreed with him. Many outside the party agreed with him. 

Ruth, on the other hand, was David's woman. She areed with every word he said and he used all the power he could muster to have her elected, including supplying her (allegedly), against the rules, with his own PR people. (Not that they are up to much.) 

Ruth disagreed with changing the name or the brand... She arrogantly asserted that the toxicity attributable to Mrs Thatcher should be water under the bridge. Why, she (Ruth) was just a girl when Mrs Thatcher was prime minister.

It was insulting, of course, to those who had lost their jobs, their futures, their dignity and their health becasue of Thatcher's ideological reforms, and it missed the point that the Tories became even more toxic under John Major. Indeed it wasn't until 1997, some 6 years after Thatcher had been shown the door by the Tories, that they reached the depths. In that election they had zero MPs in Scotland. In that respect they have recovered a little since then, having one MP... well, more or less. (As my old boss would say: Half a man is better than no man at all!)

Ruth showed herself as an arrogant and immature 33 year old who needed to do some growing up. But with the help of David Cameron she was duly elected and led the party to its worst result in 100 years in the UK elections of last year.

Well, now she has grown up. And there's an irony in the fact that she isn't  any longer talking about the Tories at this general election. The toxicity has still not gone away, so she's selling herself.

Ruth Davidson for opposition. Quite apart from the fact that conceding defeat some 3 weeks before the election is pretty disturbing, it seems that she has come to the conclusion that she was wrong and Murdo was right.

Murdo must have a warm satisfied glow.

Ruth is counting on being the second party. The official opposition in parliament after the May election.

By pinning her party's fortunes so firmly to her own identity, she must realise that any failure in this regard is likely to fall fair and square on her shoulders

If Kezia Dugdale remains the leader of the opposition for the next five years, will Ruth fall on her sword?

WHERE IS LAMONT WHEN DAVID STARKEY IS MOUTHING OFF ABOUT SCOTLAND?

That David Starkey has once again  made a fool of himself by going off on an immature rant, this time about Alex Salmond and his likeness to Adolf Hitler, is no real surprise. 


A few years ago I used to enjoy "The Moral Maze" radio programme (discussions on questions of moral philosophy, where 'witnesses' were invited to answer questions on issues of the day, and panellists summed up their views in light of the expert witness testimony they had heard).


It was always stimulating listening, but was invariably spoiled by Starkey (one of the panellists, who had far too much to say for himself, and insisted on insulting the opinions of anyone who disagreed with him in the brashest of terms. In the end I had to stop listening because I found him an embarrassment, out of place on a programme of this nature.


Since then he has popped up from time to time being unpleasant about a variety of people from the Queen (who apparently failed to show sufficient interest in an exhibition he had curated, thus earning his derision as an intellectual lightweight; I suspect she may just have found him a boring old git) downwards. He has frequently been unpleasant about Scotland and Scots such as here: In 2009, then the Scottish Government minister for culture and external affairs Mike Russell, called on him to apologise for his declaration on the programme that Scotland, Ireland and Wales are "feeble little countries".He replied 'It was a joke! The question was did I think the English should treat St George's Day the same way the Scots and all the rest of them treat their saints' days - St Andrew, St Patrick and my answer was no. That would mean we would become a feeble little nation like them and we're showing every sign of doing just that. H.G. Wells has this wonderful phrase - "the English are the only nation without national dress". It is a glory that wedon't have such a thing.'


A strange little man from a working class northern English background who by dint of brains and effort made it to Cambridge on a scholarship, Starkey has always seemed to me to be bitter about almost everything. So there is no great surprise that he is bitter about Scotland, and Alex Salmond.


What is interesting is this,  from the Press Association. It outlines the opinions of Starkey's outburst by a spokesman for Alex, and other people in the leadership of the Scottish Conservatives, Scottish Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats. It appears that no one from the Scottish Labour party was available for, or wished to, comment. Where on earth is Lamontable hiding these days?

COULD IT BE DAVID CAMERON'S CHOICE FOR SCOTTISH LEADER?

From the minute that Murdo Fraser proposed a radical change in the Scottish Conservative party I supported his candidacy for leader. 

There is no doubt in my mind that, over the last 4 years, the serious opposition in parliament has been provided by the Tories, and by Annabel Goldie in particular. But despite Annabel's personal popularity, probably based on the fact that she did provide (largely) sensible opposition, the Tories lost more ground in May's general election.

In my opinion, and I mentioned this to Annabel when I met her, that loss was due to the fact that the UK government was now Tory led and unpopular. David Cameron and his cabinet of millionaire Englishmen has talked much, but not shown much, respect for Scotland. 

So when Murdo promised a re-branding and a distancing from London, I thought this was an excellent idea, based on the fact that we NEED a good opposition; we certainly won't get that from Labour and the Liberals have all but ceased to exisit. I'd have wished him to go further, and not allow his London MPs to take the Tory whip, but it seemed to me to be at least a step in the right direction (if you'll pardon the pun). 

From what I could make out he had the bulk of younger Tories as well as 6 MSPs,  MPs as high profile as Malcolm Rifkind, the party's only MEP and a raft of councillors. 

But it now appears that Cameron may want Ruth Davidson, a 33 year old, who has only just become an MSP at the last election, despite there only being 3 MSPs who have come out in favour of her candidacy. A party spin doctor is alleged to have helped her with her campaign, which may or may not be against the rules, and Ruth now appears to be the bookies favourite to win.

Ruth is a Cameroonian, through and through. She has suggested that his policies regarding schools and the NHS should be rolled out in Scotland, and now she has said that if she wins she will encourage Mr Cameron to make more appearances in Scotland and to send his ministers here more often. I think that suggests that Ruth hasn't really got her finger on the pulse of the public mood.

Oh well. All I can say to that is that Mr Salmond is almost certainly backing her now. He often used to say that every time Mrs Thatcher appeared in Scotland, SNP support soared. I don't know if the same thing can be said of Cameron and his ministers, but what I can say is that I have never met a Scot that didn't dislike him intensely, so I wouldn't be surprised. Michael Moore's recent suggestion that he will get the prime Minister and the Cabinet to come to Scotland to promote the union was met by a gale of laughter from us north of the border.

I suspect that Ms Davidson, should she win, will not hold the post for long and that eventually even the arch conservative Conservative, Michael Forsyth, who managed to reduce the Tory representation in London to 0, will come round to the idea that Scotland really doesn't want the London Tories and if there is to be any centre right party, it will have to be one that has as little to do with them as possible.

Pic: Ruth Davidson and David Ruthson Cameron

WHITHER THE TORIES...AND UNDER WHOM?

Jackson Carlaw has had a bright idea to get new blood into the Scottish Tories in parliament. Unlike his rival, and still favourite for the leadership job, Murdo Fraser, he does not intent to scrap the party and start again with something less tarnished.

He wants to get fresh blood into the existing Conservative party by regulating who can stand. Those who cannot get themselves elected to a first-past–the-post seat, will not be able to serve in PR list seats for more than (and here he’s sketchy on detail) 3 or 4 parliaments.

This might solve the problem of Murdo and his place in a party that goes on being a branch office of the London Tory party, and of the popular, highly experience current leader Annabel Goldie. Both of them would be obliged to stand down were he to set the bench mark at 3 parliamentary sessions.

His idea was based on the experience of David Cameron at Westminster (wouldn’t you just believe it) who decided that to get rid of dead wood in the English party and persuaded old hands to stand down in favour of what he called “A-list” candidates. Jackson might like to note that this has not necessarily been terribly successful for Mr Cameron. Many of the famed “A-list” appear to have minds of their own. (There seems almost no chance of a repeal of the “Hunting with Dogs Act”, thanks to the fact that his A-listers won’t vote for it.)

Of course JC has a point. If people are not performing well as MSPs, and Jackson seems to think that some are not, it shouldn’t be automatic that they retain their place at the top of the regional list. On the other hand if they have performed well, as, for example, has Annabel, it is hardly fair or right that he should remove them. (Unless of course he prefers to have his ex-boss out of the way so that she can’t outshine him.)

Everyone thought that Murdo was finished when he came up with the idea of selling the [Scottish] Tory Party for scrap, but they didn’t reckon with old Jackson and his desire to get rid of experience and bring in a pile of newbies. Newbies like, for example Ruth Davidson, who showed how in touch she was with Scottish voters when she dismissed the notion that Thatcher was still a malign influence. SHE, at 33, had hardly even heard of Maggie, was just a toddler when the Ironing Lady ... no sorry, Iron Lady... was on the throne, and therefore few of the rest of the population should remember her either. Idiot!

She also declared, despite the vast majority of the population wanting more power for the Scottish parliament, that she will veto it if she becomes leader. Bravo, you silly lassie. Best thing you could do, is sit and watch how Annabel does things, learn your lessons from a woman who knows what she is doing for another 10 years or so, and then think about leadership.

Clearly I don’t have a vote in the election, but, if I did Jackson Carlaw and Ruth Davidson wouldn’t get my vote in a thousand years. They are a pair of diddies.

Controversial though it is, Murdo’s idea to kill the Scottish branch of the English Tories stone dead is the only possibility. If there is to be a centre right party in Scotland (and there should be) then it needs to be a new one with only a fraternal connection with the Conservatives.

Pics: Jackson Carlaw, Ruth Davidson (don't you think she looks like a younger Wendy?) and Murdo Fraser.

PS: You can vote for your favoured candidate at Subrosa's blog

STAY PUT ANNABEL: YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THE SCOTS WILL LISTEN TO

There have been calls for Annabel Goldie to join the ranks of the departing leaders at Holyrood. She has said she won’t go.

I say good for her. Why would the acceptable face of the Tory Party resign?

There have been losses, small compared to the other two parties, but losses nonetheless. However, I think that without Goldie, who is liked by Scots (she was behind Alex in popularity, but above the other two) the losses would have been far worse.

It’s an image problem. The Tories are associated with a variety of things, mostly old, mostly stuffy, and the first thing I would do is change the name and make it independent of, if associated with, the London Party. For as long as it is called the CONSERVATVE party, it will be associated with Thatcher and Forsyth.

They are poison...Thatcher appears to have left the public arena now, but every time that man opens his mouth with an idea so counter democratic, he makes the Tory’s situation worse.

The people of Scotland voted for the SNP only 3 days ago; they slaughtered Labour and Liberals and holed the Tories enough for them to be talking about ditching Annabel.

And then this memory from the dim and distant past puts a proposal that he will introduce a measure in the unelected House to spike the duly elected government’s independence referendum.

This is a government which the system was designed to prevent ever being elected... and yet they were, by sheer dint of numbers. With an overall majority of 10. And Forsythe wants to spike its guns a couple of days after its election?

You see what I mean about these people? They live in another world and have begun to see themselves as above democracy. “We put in a system you Scots weren’t supposed to be able to win through. Somehow you did. However we’ll spike you in the Lords.”

So I have a message to Forsyth.

Will you bloody well listen you silly little man? You may be sitting in an unelected house of peers; you may even be considered by your colleagues to be an elder statesman (although you were only ever SOS for Scotland, hardly a big gun), however, there is a “just elected” government in Scotland. Just elected with an unassailable majority. Listen to what the people have said. Don’t try to thwart democracy when it doesn't throw up what YOU wanted.

It is claimed that Alex Salmond hid the independence theme right the way through the election. Rubbish! I doubt if anyone who went to vote doesn’t know that the SNP is the independence party.

OK, it was NOT the story that people were asking about. (I went to a few hustings and it was never mentioned once.) But even if there are some people who are unimaginably stupid, and thought we were a unionist party, both Tavish and the Subway man short work of that with their “IF YOU VOTE SNP, YOU ARE VOTING FOR INDEPENDENCE” campaign, which of course was a lie. You were actually voting for a VOTE on independence, among a great number of other things. But hey, that’s politics.

So Tories, by all means have your conference; find out what went wrong and act on it. But remember:

Annabel is well liked, and a huge amount of the blame must rest with Cameron coming up here and telling us we could do better. You need to take into consideration that we are aware of the cuts, job losses and misery that you are causing. And finally tell relics like Forsyth to sit quietly in the Lords, collect their drink money, and SHUT UP.

Alex Salmond used to Praise the Lord when Thatcher came to campaign in Scotland. I imagine he must feel the same about Cameron.

And every time Forsyth opens his mouth the SNP cheer and go up in the polls.