How George Galloway and I plan to save the Union

For me – and, I suspect, for many Scottish Tories – a lot of my time in lockdown was characterised by a sense of frustrated impotence. I would sit in front of the television in furious disbelief as I watched Nicola Sturgeon, the unchallenged leader of a one-party state, on the BBC, answering useless questions from selected journalists who offered no supplementary interrogation. As Sturgeon’s poll ratings soared my morale sank. What are we dejected Unionists to do? How can we stop the SNP’s march towards a second referendum when the mainstream opposition to Sturgeon from the Scottish branch offices of the Tory, Labour and Liberal parties has been risible?

Then three weeks ago George Galloway came to lunch. He wanted to discuss his new party (he has founded quite a few), the Alliance for Unity. A4U is a cross-party coalition with the aim of transforming the silent and fragmented pro-Union vote into an election winning force.