Ruth Davidson has gone as Tory leader in Scotland. The shower of has-beens, never was-es and non-entities (Fraser, Tomkins and Carlaw respectively) who seek to replace her are casting about to see where the land lies.
The Westminster shit-storm over a Brexit that Scotland rejected and the fear of an early General Election which will wipe out the Tory party in Scotland (again ) has been vexing them sorely.
We can expect the idea of a "separate" Tory Party for Scotland which is not just a branch office will rise again from the grave where someone forgot to drive a stake through its heart. A bit like Gordon Brown's "vow" this one gets trotted out as a "new" idea whenever it looks like the Jocks are getting restless.
What form might such a party take? A clue comes from the shameless pandering of Fraser and Tomkins to the Orange vote.
Before the Labour Party won the working class Orange vote in Scotland in the 1950s Scottish municipal politics was marred by political groupings like the Scottish Protestant League and Protestant Action. Echoes of this remain today.
When Labour MP Ian Murray wears his ridiculous union jack suit, we know exactly which demographic he is appealing to. Ironically this faker owes his seat to the douce Tory voters of Morningside. Fair play to him, he understands that its his unionism that gets him elected not any of the left wing posturing.
The problem for Labour is that there is really only room for one unionist party in Scotland. When they hitched their cart to the Tory horse in the Better Together campaign prior to the Indy Referendum in 2014 they were outflanked, outwitted and simply owned by the Tories.
With the rise of the SNP in electoral politics in Scotland, Unionist voters now need to use their votes carefully. A Labour Party which might (conceivably) require SNP votes to make a Westminster Government work isn't too palatable to that constituency.
Even if Labour MP Paul Sweeney was to don a union jack suit it wouldn't work for him alas. He can't get that its his unionism that people are voting for not any of his pretendy socialism.
When the new re-branded "Unionist" Party gets going, his slim majority will melt. He will be out on his arse. Why so?
Because this new "Unionist" Party will dredge the depths of sectarian identity. It will be the populism that attracts the votes of the "union bears" Rangers football ultras.
A clue comes from the recent disturbances in Govan. Right-wing British Nationalists spent weeks organising in full public view on social media what was to become the rioting and public disturbance in Govan on the evening of Friday 30th of August.
What happened in Govan was a conspiracy planned weeks in advance by elements organised around the "Union Bears" grouping. The same elements emboldened by the likes of Tory MSPs Tomkins, Fraser (and Davidson) shamelessly sucking up to them.
On the 30th of August they attacked a parade by Irish Republicans who have marched in Govan for decades. The disorderly scenes (how Police Scotland only managed two arrests is amazing) were a chilling sight.
The usual pious platitudes were churned out by the simple-minded. The false equivalence of "orange and green- a plague on both your houses" was as usual made in the press.
There is no equivalence between a secular political ideology (which you may or may not adhere to) such as Irish Republicanism and a ragbag of reactionary right-wing elements who want to "batter some fenians".
These are the same elements who marred a (for the most part) dignified and respectful pro-Indy campaign in 2014 by their violent triumphalism in George Square on the evening of September 19th. That was how they behaved when they had won!
Perhaps that gives us a clue as to how they will behave if they lose.
One of the most attractive options for MSPs like Tomkins and Fraser is to go down the populist sectarian road. A new DUP.
Just as the DUP eclipsed "traditional" unionism in Ireland, the new "Unionist" party in Scotland will seek to drag itself out of the mire of Toryism to politically represent those to whom Scottish independence will never be acceptable.
The elements that rioted in Govan the other night will no doubt be courted as a convenient pro-British auxiliary force prior to and in the event of Scottish independence. We know that their analogues (and their heroes) in Ireland acted as pro-British death squads. The lessons are clear.
This is the constituency that Tomkins and Fraser pander to. This is the pass we are come to.
The Westminster shit-storm over a Brexit that Scotland rejected and the fear of an early General Election which will wipe out the Tory party in Scotland (again ) has been vexing them sorely.
We can expect the idea of a "separate" Tory Party for Scotland which is not just a branch office will rise again from the grave where someone forgot to drive a stake through its heart. A bit like Gordon Brown's "vow" this one gets trotted out as a "new" idea whenever it looks like the Jocks are getting restless.
What form might such a party take? A clue comes from the shameless pandering of Fraser and Tomkins to the Orange vote.
Before the Labour Party won the working class Orange vote in Scotland in the 1950s Scottish municipal politics was marred by political groupings like the Scottish Protestant League and Protestant Action. Echoes of this remain today.
When Labour MP Ian Murray wears his ridiculous union jack suit, we know exactly which demographic he is appealing to. Ironically this faker owes his seat to the douce Tory voters of Morningside. Fair play to him, he understands that its his unionism that gets him elected not any of the left wing posturing.
The problem for Labour is that there is really only room for one unionist party in Scotland. When they hitched their cart to the Tory horse in the Better Together campaign prior to the Indy Referendum in 2014 they were outflanked, outwitted and simply owned by the Tories.
With the rise of the SNP in electoral politics in Scotland, Unionist voters now need to use their votes carefully. A Labour Party which might (conceivably) require SNP votes to make a Westminster Government work isn't too palatable to that constituency.
Even if Labour MP Paul Sweeney was to don a union jack suit it wouldn't work for him alas. He can't get that its his unionism that people are voting for not any of his pretendy socialism.
When the new re-branded "Unionist" Party gets going, his slim majority will melt. He will be out on his arse. Why so?
Because this new "Unionist" Party will dredge the depths of sectarian identity. It will be the populism that attracts the votes of the "union bears" Rangers football ultras.
A clue comes from the recent disturbances in Govan. Right-wing British Nationalists spent weeks organising in full public view on social media what was to become the rioting and public disturbance in Govan on the evening of Friday 30th of August.
What happened in Govan was a conspiracy planned weeks in advance by elements organised around the "Union Bears" grouping. The same elements emboldened by the likes of Tory MSPs Tomkins, Fraser (and Davidson) shamelessly sucking up to them.
On the 30th of August they attacked a parade by Irish Republicans who have marched in Govan for decades. The disorderly scenes (how Police Scotland only managed two arrests is amazing) were a chilling sight.
The usual pious platitudes were churned out by the simple-minded. The false equivalence of "orange and green- a plague on both your houses" was as usual made in the press.
There is no equivalence between a secular political ideology (which you may or may not adhere to) such as Irish Republicanism and a ragbag of reactionary right-wing elements who want to "batter some fenians".
These are the same elements who marred a (for the most part) dignified and respectful pro-Indy campaign in 2014 by their violent triumphalism in George Square on the evening of September 19th. That was how they behaved when they had won!
Perhaps that gives us a clue as to how they will behave if they lose.
One of the most attractive options for MSPs like Tomkins and Fraser is to go down the populist sectarian road. A new DUP.
Just as the DUP eclipsed "traditional" unionism in Ireland, the new "Unionist" party in Scotland will seek to drag itself out of the mire of Toryism to politically represent those to whom Scottish independence will never be acceptable.
The elements that rioted in Govan the other night will no doubt be courted as a convenient pro-British auxiliary force prior to and in the event of Scottish independence. We know that their analogues (and their heroes) in Ireland acted as pro-British death squads. The lessons are clear.
This is the constituency that Tomkins and Fraser pander to. This is the pass we are come to.
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