Scottish Tory voice goes unheard

THERE would have been a time when the launch of the Scottish Conservatives election manifesto would have been a major event, but it says a lot about the state of a party that yesterday was something of a damp squib.

It was unfortunate that David Cameron did not attend because of flight restrictions – and opposition attacks on him for this were puerile – but even without the Tory leader this should have been big news.

That is was not says a lot about the state of the Conservatives north of the Border; a party with just one MP and, if the polls are correct, its prospects of securing even half a dozen seats at Westminster are slim.

Because of the legacy of the Thatcher era, opposition to home rule, and the astute move to the right by the SNP in rural Scotland (rarely mentioned by Nationalists in the Central Belt) the Tories remain a marginal force.

The end result of this is that even when the party comes up with some interesting policies – for example plans to give schools more freedom from local authority control – they are largely ignored.

In a democracy it is unhealthy if there is not a broad debate across the political spectrum, to engage voters and give them real choice. The Scottish Tories have, regrettably, failed to make their right-of-centre voice heard.