The Ump

“The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party is very much alive and kicking. That has been very clear in the exhilarating debate we have had during this campaign.”

I’m just recovering from all the exhiliration. But maybe it’s time to see how this is panning out? The Tories continuity candidate won. Hurray. Fraser Nelson giggled that it was the ‘first openly Glaswegian party leader.’ It’s a good line, but she’s from Edinburgh. The Spectator isn’t renowned or having its finger on the pulse of Scottish culture. But while the media have been loving her ‘story’ little attention has been placed on what she actually thinks or plans. This is mostly because her utterances have been utterly banal.

She now leads what Paul McBride has called a ‘party of unreconstructed morons’ or The Unreconstructed Morons Party (Ump for short) as I’m sure we can agree they’ll be known henceforth.

Good luck to her, though I doubt it will be anything other than an unmigated disaster. Her early comments seem to immediately flag up that her complete inexperience mean that she’ll come a cropper quickly, and no amount of experience running about in the woods playing soldiers will help out.

Her immediate response to the referendum question should be alarming for any true blue Conservatives.

Declaring she was in “constant contact” with Conservative colleagues at Westminster on the issue, Davidson, 32, said: “There’s some question of putting a time constraint on that [the independence vote], but I’ll see what my colleagues decide on that.” She added: “Scotland deserves the chance to a make a decision on this in good time.”

There’s so much in that brief sentence that should set alarm bells ringing for the fractured sect of people that represent the Tories in Scotland. Who are her colleagues she’s waiting for a decision from? What mandate does she think she or they hold to usurp the elected governments plans? This has all the hallmarks of a disaster waiting to happen.

A Bullingdon Cabinet shoving forth Danny Alexander and the rest of the Quad to impose a London referendum would be a disaster for the Union. I fully expect Ruth to be incapable of either understanding that or resisting that happening. All the signs are that they are out of touch, arrogant or ignorant enough to not realise this.

One celebrant will be Michael Forsyth who said of her: “She has the determination, the ideas, and quite frankly, like Margaret Thatcher, the balls to take on one of the hardest tasks in public life.”

Today is the first day of a new and bright future of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.

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  1. Doug Daniel says:

    “Today is the first day of a new and bright future of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.”

    Very droll!

    She’s going to be a disaster. Her inexperience has already come to the fore during her leadership campaign, so we can hopefully look forward to a litany of slip-ups in the coming months. The council elections will be interesting. If they do badly (I mean badly from their perspective – we already know they will do badly by any other party’s standards), then it’ll be interesting to see if she can retain support, bearing in mind most MSPs wanted Murdo to win.

    Also, as I say in every article about the Tories, Murdo and his backers now have to split from the party if they want to retain any credibility. How can they campaign with a straight face asking people to support a party they themselves admit is dead?

  2. Michael says:

    Ruth Davidson received 2278 first preference votes from a total of 5676.
    That’s less of a public mandate than Charles Kennedy received as the re-elected Rector of the University of Glasgow!

  3. Marie MacAntoinette leads the rump of her SCUP colleagues on the last brazen steps to the political guillotine in Scotland whilst trying to force-feed the sans culottes natives stale cake – Adieu to her and one and all of them.

  4. Andrew says:

    Now Now folks, lets face it she’s only there,” like wee willie and whoever Labour put in” to go along with whatever West Minister tell them to do, individual thought is not required or sought. In fact i would go as far as to say that they are there to try and give lib/con/fem/lab/dibs,” whatever they are” an air of legitamacy when they have to hijack the referendum, you know because its rigged.

  5. Scottish republic says:

    I seriously can’t stand seeing a Tory happy, she gives me the UMP.

    The fringe party she leads is a stain on good society – their soul is what?

    Make more money for the few who’ve already got loads of dosh.

    I have different translations of the UMP accronym…

    As usual Mike, I always enjoy your articles. I know it’s tiring but, 1 a week?

  6. “But he (Murdo) is the only candidate who comes anywhere close to accepting that Calman is just a compromise, and that we need a clear vision of where Scotland should lie within this devolved UK if we are not to go Independent. The other 3 seem to think that more of the same with a new face in charge will do the trick. I completely disagree, and am therefore left with no choice. My own view, for what its worth, is that a federal arrangement of some sort is what we should aim for.”

    Senior Scots Tory MSP in conversation with me ……… he has already, like McBride, taken the ‘UMP.

    Mike – does this make supporters of the UMP – Umpalumpas ?

    1. Scottish republic says:

      Calman isn’t going to calm man.

      It’s another Labourite disaster.

      When was the last time Labour did anything that wasn’t a disaster?

      When was the last time Labour did anything that wasn’t aimed at the advantage of that party?

      When was the last time you heard a Labour politician suggest a policy just for the sake of making people’s lives better?

      Thre ‘When’s and the answer for each is, I can’t remember.

    2. Scottish republic says:

      “”””Umpalumpas “”””””

      drole

  7. Ard Righ says:

    “He’s ma prime minister, but he’s no ma boss”.The Krankies didn’t even have that dilemma despite him poking his wife dressed up as a wee boy, curious parallel?
    What’ll be next? Camerons coming to Scutland, fan dabi dozi?

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