It's up to Scots Tories to reform

This is a welcome visit. There was a time when the Tory leadership in London practically wrote off Scotland as a foreign country. But a functioning democracy needs political choice, and Scotland desperately lacks a credible voice for the centre-right, ie those who champion less government intervention, lower taxes, greater individual liberty and (depending on your point of view) a more sceptical view of the EU. One does not have to subscribe to these ideas to respect the need for all points of view to be represented at Holyrood. It is only with the clash of ideas that effective policies are made and good laws enacted.

What can Mr Cameron do - apart from flying visits to Scotland - to push his local Tory supporters into becoming a tougher opposition and a more popular party? Currently, they are languishing in the polls well behind the SNP, Labour and the Lib Dems. While forecasts of their extinction are exaggerated - they may well increase their representation at local government level under the new proportional voting system - the Scots Tories have enjoyed none of the recovery which Mr Cameron has promoted in England.

To win over a new generation, the Scots Tories will have to be led by a new generation. That may seem unfair on Annabel Goldie, their current leader, who is neither dull nor lacking in capability. Her willingness to do the unglamorous work of touring the grassroots branches has earned her much support in the party. But worthiness does not win elections in 2007.

The Scots Tories also need fresh policies. Ms Goldie has banged the drum on crime and drugs, but the party needs a more positive approach - which is where Mr Cameron has made his mark. Surely a conservative party should be taking the lead in defending the environment? And where are the radical Tory plans - at Holyrood and in the council chambers - to remove all the planning road blocks in the way of a massive increase in affordable housing?

In the end, the Scots Tories have to be seen to represent Scottish interests, or they will never regain popular support. It is possible to represent Scotland and still support the Union. But the Scots Tories may need some grand gesture to re-establish their local credibility. One option is to consider being an autonomous organisation, much as the Bavarian CSU is an independent party, but in alliance with the German CDU.

There is one obvious conclusion arising from this analysis: David Cameron can advise and cajole, but, in the end, the Scottish Tories must reform themselves or become irrelevant.

Troops need more helicopters

THE action in Afghanistan, in which four Royal Marines strapped themselves to the outside of Apache helicopters and flew directly into a Taleban stronghold in an attempt to rescue a missing colleague, ranks as courageous an exploit as ever seen in the annals of British military history. Sadly, on arrival, the Marines discovered that Lance-Corporal Mathew Ford had been killed. But his comrades bravely strapped his body to a helicopter and brought it back for burial.

Nothing in this incident should detract from the courage and resourcefulness of the Marines and helicopter crews involved. They should all be awarded decorations for their actions. But that very bravery requires that we ask why, during a major action against a fortified Taleban position, the British forces lacked dedicated transport helicopters or medical evacuation helicopters.

The Army Air Corps has eight Apaches and four Westland Lynx utility helicopters in Afghanistan, for use in direct support of the ground troops. The RAF also operates a handful of larger transport helicopters. But Afghanistan is a mountainous country, two and a half times the land area of the United Kingdom. It is plain that Britain has pitifully few helicopters deployed - so few that brave men have to tie themselves to the outside of the craft to carry out a dangerous mission.

Scottish B&Bs show the way

FAWLTY Towers remains an enduring comic classic because we have all stayed in a bed-and-breakfast or small family hotel which was run for the benefit of the staff and not the clients. Jokes about B&Bs are legion: "Room service? Can you send up a towel?" "Yes, but you'll have to wait - someone else is using it." Or the story of the weary traveller who rang the doorbell, whereupon the landlady appeared and asked: "What do you want?" The traveller voiced: "I want to stay here." She replied: "Well, stay there then," and closed the door.

So it comes as a welcome surprise to find that in an international survey of travellers, four Scottish establishments came in the top ten of all European B&Bs. One is in Inverness and three are in Edinburgh. This is good news for the industry: VisitScotland has nearly 2,500 B&Bs on its books and another 1,250 guest-houses. These are a valuable resource in the international visitor industry, where quality, cleanliness and warmth of welcome are all important. Jokes apart, those who run Scotland's B&Bs deserve praise.

For the record, should you wish to call your B&B "Fawlty Towers", the name has been trade-marked by the BBC.