A potential break-up of the Scottish Conservatives is happening before our very eyes, and the harbingers of change are incompatible Tory visions that must eventually cause a rupture. We are being told through competing media briefings the choice that will face Scottish Conservative members will be between Murdo Fraser relaunching a leadership bid that was rejected in 2011 – with him again raising the prospect of the party returning to its pre-1965 independent status – and a variety of candidates who will wish to continue being immersed in the UK Conservatives, with political autonomy for policy decided and delivered at Holyrood . Advertisement Advertisement Sign up to our Opinion newsletter Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.
In practical terms there are advantages for either approach, although to date these have not yet been fully explained, other than the highly pertinent question of how the funds for an independent Scottish Tory party will be raised. Simply blaming poor policy choices or embarrassing behaviour of Westminster colleagues as justification enough is more than a tad condescending, offering more than a whiff of Scottish exceptionalism that is ill-deserved. Let us remember it was the craven and shabby behaviour of erstwhile Scottish leader Douglas Ross – backed by a ma.