Boris Johnson’s man in Scotland won’t help heal our divided country – Alex Cole-Hamilton

We deserve so much better at the elections next year than a choice between independence with the SNP or Boris-lite with Douglas Ross, writes Alex Cole-Hamilton

Douglas Ross looks set to be named Jackson Carlaw’s success as leader of the Scottish Conservatives (Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

If you want evidence of just how tribal things have become in Scottish politics, just try reaching out across the aisle to say something nice about an opponent.

This weekend I paid tribute to Jackson Carlaw following the truly surprising announcement of his resignation as leader of the Scottish Conservatives. I stated that I’d always liked him, remarked about his humility and I suggested that there would be safe harbour in my party for any progressive Tories of the centre who felt that their party had now finally deserted them. Boom. Twitter (and the National) exploded.

According to my online nationalist fanbase, I was a “Yellow Tory”, a “Tory in disguise”, why didn’t I just go and “marry the effing Tories” anyway? Scottish politics can be so depressing sometimes.

Alex Cole-Hamilton is the Lib Dem MSP for Edinburgh Western

Since 2014 there have been divisions in our culture unlike any you’d find in most other progressive democracies. A survey taken shortly after the Independence Referendum suggested that one in four Scots has an irreparably damaged relationship with either a friend or family member as a result of being on opposite sides of the yes/no divide. Other polls have suggested that far too many Scots now agree with the statement: “I take personal offence when somebody insults my political party.” (Genuinely not a problem for us thick-skinned Lib Dems) And with polls edging upwards for independence, that tribalism only looks set to deepen.

With the presumptive election of Douglas Ross to the leadership of the Scottish Tories, a fresh face may be entering the fray, but we seem set to rehearse all of those old, tired battles.

Douglas is a nice enough guy but there’s no question that he’s Boris’s man in Scotland. He backed Johnson for the top job after Mark Harper dropped out – he was rewarded for his loyalty with a ministry in the Scotland Office. A convert to Brexit who has said some abhorrent things about Gypsy Travellers, he will be anchored to every unpopular UK Government decision for as long as he remains a Conservative MP (which he suggests may be for the duration). It’s no wonder the SNP have already started distributing his CV as an election leaflet.

We deserve so much better at the elections next year than a choice between independence with the SNP or Boris-lite with Mr Ross. If those are the available answers, then we’re asking the wrong question.

What gives me some hope is that come the election, the potency of either proposition will have faded. With the trauma of lockdown and the economic pain of Covid, people won’t be hungry for an independence referendum any time soon. Indeed- just last week a public attitudes survey revealed that desire for indyref2 was in the top threepriorities for just 14 per cent of people. They’ll want a government focused on the long road to recovery, not more chaos and uncertainty. And lord knows they won’t get that from the Conservatives. The blue team’s handling of Brexit and the pandemic has been disastrous. As such they have a record in Westminster which will act like a sea anchor on their chances in Scotland next year. For the Tories, even under fresh-faced Douglas Ross, the Holyrood elections will be about survival and damage limitation.

Scotland has now seen no less than five election cycles where the toxic duo of the Conservatives and the SNP have offered the nation that Hobson’s choice between them. It’s time we woke up to the fact that there are other, progressive and less tribal choices out there.

Alex Cole-Hamilton is the Lib Dem MSP for Edinburgh Western