Leader: Cameron hits Scots Tories' polls hopes
Ruth Davidson has good reason to go into the Holyrood elections in bullish mood. With the Labour Party in Scotland at its lowest ebb, it would not be a seismic shock if the Conservatives took second place on 5 May.
But the Scottish Conservatives’ leader must be frustrated by the Prime Minister’s botched handling of the Panama affair. Caught up in a scandal about tax evasion, his responses to questions about his financial affairs have been, ironically, evasive. It has “not been a great week,” he says. At least he got that right.
David Cameron’s main concern is the effect this mess will have on the EU referendum. But in Scotland, his errors will also have damaged his party’s hopes of leapfrogging Labour.