The former Edinburgh councillor drafted in to see off 'near existential threat' to Tories

Appointing Mark McInnes as UK Conservative party chief executive ‘is probably the smartest political move Kemi Badenoch has ever made’, says former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson

Those of us who endured typing classes may remember hammering out “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party”, but it's more familiar as a cliché when it comes to political rescue jobs.

Sir Keir Starmer may be looking out for anyone who might come to his aid and restore his reputation – men, women or guide dogs – after his Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill was gutted into pointlessness to stave off a crushing Commons defeat. So many U-turns, so much political capital burnt, his Chancellor in tears, and all he has to show for it is approval ratings plunging further into the red along with his government’s balance sheet, and rebel MPs, notably Alloa MP Brian Leishman, emboldened to speak in terms which under normal circumstances would warrant summary expulsion.

He is not alone in having his troubles to seek and, before this week’s debacle, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was tying with him on minus 34 in pollster YouGov’s approval ratings. His are unlikely to have improved, but Ms Badenoch might get a lift from doing what the Opposition is supposed to do: oppose and put the government under pressure.

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Former Edinburgh councillor Mark McInnes, who has just been appointed chief executive of the UK Conservative party, is one of the Tories’ most effective political strategists | Jane Barlow

Tories on track for 46 seats

There is, of course, a long, long way to go, with YouGov’s poll of 11,000 voters last week to mark the Labour government’s first anniversary showing the Conservatives on track for a previously unimaginable 46 seats, a loss of 75. That Sir Keir was on course to lead his party to a catastrophic collapse to 178 seats, a drop of 233, would be of no solace if Reform was able to pick up the predicted 271 constituencies to be the biggest single party in a hung parliament.

But coming to the aid of the party is Mark McInnes, aka Lord McInnes of Kilwinning, widely regarded as a lot more than a good man, but one of the Conservatives’ most effective political strategists in recent memory and this week appointed as the UK party’s new chief executive, having had his arm twisted by influential figures like Lord Steve Gilbert with whom he worked closely after being appointed as Scottish party director in 2011 when still plain old Morningside councillor Mark McInnes.

In that role he was key to the Scottish Conservatives’ change in fortunes through the referendum era, forming a tight team with leader Ruth Davidson delivering the charisma, the savvy David Mundell MP supplying the political nous, and Eddie Barnes the media and communications strategy, all underpinned by his forensic analysis and deep understanding of voting patterns and behaviours, and sharp management of the grassroots party.

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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch needs to find a way to fight back against the threat posed by Reform UK (Picture: House of Commons/UK Parliament) | PA Wire

Better Together stalwart

When Mark spoke at party conferences and conventions, delegates didn’t just dip in but listened intently because they knew they would learn something. If Ruth fired the shots, Mark supplied the ammunition.

Elevated to a peerage in 2016 in recognition of his work during the 2014 independence referendum campaign to sharpen Better Together’s messaging after a lacklustre start, he was instrumental in delivering the huge gains in Scotland at the 2016 Holyrood and 2017 general elections, and to hold the Scottish Parliament seats in 2021, after which he went south to bolster the Downing Street team.

Wisely taking a step back after Liz Truss’s election to party leader in 2022, the last time I spoke to him he was on a study trip on a Turkish archaeological site and as far out the loop of British politics as he could make himself, which wasn’t far away at all and he supported Kemi Badenoch’s leadership campaign.

No one doubts the enormity of the challenge he faces, with one friend describing his first job being “to see how much life there is left in the patient”, but another was more pointedly critical of the current leadership, and identified the need to strip back to core values of hard work, personal responsibility and “appeal to people for whom aspiration is not a dirty word”.

Reform support expected to plateau

Further, there is a need to reconnect with “constituencies of purpose” like the business community and farmers disillusioned by Labour’s tax raids, only set to increase after the welfare climbdown wiped out hoped-for savings.

With Tories now polling in the teens, one analyst said it will be tough just to reach the mid-20s, but there is a belief that Reform will plateau, and arguing to turn either more to the right or left was a “false dichotomy” when a clear appeal to all right-of-centre voters was needed. “And anyway, how many parties has Nigel Farage been through before there’s a fall-out?” one observed hopefully.

But who better to judge the new chief’s chances than the person with whom he worked the closest, Ruth Davidson. "Appointing Mark McInnes is probably the smartest political move Kemi Badenoch has ever made. If there is anyone in the Conservative party that understands how to build votes against all odds, it is Mark,” she said.

“Smart, talented, hardworking and living in the real world, he's spent decades confounding the odds in Scotland where the party's last rites have been read many, many times. He knows what it means to fight for every vote and – crucially – how to win them. But appointing Mark is not enough on its own to see off the near existential threat facing the Conservatives. Ms Badenoch and her team actually have to listen to him, work to his tempo and pace and implement his ideas. Time will tell if she's prepared to do that."

While Ms Badenoch might think she has four years, she cannot treat next year’s devolved parliament elections as a sideshow. There is an opportunity for a re-set, but the clock is ticking.