Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Deselection
The last thing that any political party needs is a grassroots revolt against their elected members in the run-up to an election. In Labour's case the MPs are able to indulge themselves because they do not have to face the electorate again for three years or so. The Scottish Conservatives have no such excuse.
I originally missed this story as I was away on holiday, but luckily Conservativehome.com are not shy in recording their party's problems. According to The Scotsman Tory activists north of the border have called for all of the party's 17 MSPs to be de-selected in a damaging internal rebellion that threatens to derail Tory chances of making gains at next year's Holyrood elections.
One Tory candidate is quoted as saying: "Many Conservatives believe that our MSPs have failed in their duty to highlight the enormous costs, and now the generally accepted uselessness, of the Scottish Parliament, which the Conservatives so accurately predicted prior to devolution."
I suspect that there are Conservatives in Wales that feel the same way but that they are confined to a very small corner of the country and are largely being sat upon by central office. Nevertheless, it does bring the spotlight to bear once more on the fact that for all the noises they make about being pro-devolution, the Tories instinctively remain opposed to it and its benefits.
I originally missed this story as I was away on holiday, but luckily Conservativehome.com are not shy in recording their party's problems. According to The Scotsman Tory activists north of the border have called for all of the party's 17 MSPs to be de-selected in a damaging internal rebellion that threatens to derail Tory chances of making gains at next year's Holyrood elections.
One Tory candidate is quoted as saying: "Many Conservatives believe that our MSPs have failed in their duty to highlight the enormous costs, and now the generally accepted uselessness, of the Scottish Parliament, which the Conservatives so accurately predicted prior to devolution."
I suspect that there are Conservatives in Wales that feel the same way but that they are confined to a very small corner of the country and are largely being sat upon by central office. Nevertheless, it does bring the spotlight to bear once more on the fact that for all the noises they make about being pro-devolution, the Tories instinctively remain opposed to it and its benefits.
