Tory leadership race: Hard to see downsides for SNP in race for No.10

One thing is certain about the race to be the next Prime Minister and that is no matter who will enter Number 10, the Tory approach to Scotland will not change.

Cries of ‘now is not the time’ has been replaced with ‘not now, and never’ when it comes to a second independence referendum, with the majority of unionist thinking across all colours appearing to rely on hope it will all just eventually go away.

The three top challengers – Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt and Liz Truss – are gifts of different types to the SNP and not one will be startling the leadership.

Take the former chancellor turned knife wielder, Mr Sunak.

There is an apparent presumption that discarding Boris Johnson will rid the Conservative party of a significant degree of the brand damage inflicted on it, but such a belief is naïve in the extreme should Sunak emerge victorious.

His pledge to circumvent Holyrood to implement policy will already be on a draft SNP electoral leaflet for that so-called ‘de-facto referendum’ at the next general election, while his fine for parties during lockdown will be seized on, as will his ownership of the cost-of-living crisis and his government’s failure to radically tackle rocketing inflation.

Sunak is a comfortable choice for distressed Conservative MPs, but his close association with Boris Johnson will not be washed away by a handful of snazzy graphics and a lower number on his front door in the minds of voters.

Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch,Tom Tugendhat and Penny Mordaunt with presenter Julie Etchingham taking part in Britain's Next Prime Minister: The ITV Debate.

Truss, meanwhile, embodies everything the SNP would wish in a Prime Minister.

Prone to gaffes on par with those of Johnson, the foreign secretary appeals to the firmest on the right.

As subtle as a mallet, her premiership would be a boon to the SNP keen to distance its version of Scotland further from the politics of the UK.

That leaves Mordaunt, who is well-liked by the grassroots and backed by several Scottish Conservatives, but lacks substance on the question of the union.

In a piece for the Scottish Daily Mail, the contender relied on grandiose ideals of uniting the pro-union cause behind the Conservative party rather than substantive ideas on how to tackle the SNP’s dominance.

As long as that remains a weakness, none of the contenders will be viewed as a serious threat by the First Minister.

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