Is Douglas Ross wise to champion unionism over conservatism?

The SNP’s internecine warfare has dominated political chatter for the past two months and the Scottish Conservatives, it seems, have been feeling left out. So, at the weekend, the Tories piped up. Douglas Ross, the Scottish leader, suggested that unionists should use their vote at the next general election for the candidate most likely to defeat the SNP incumbent. 

The party in London was indignant with Ross’s apparent approval of Tory voters crossing the box for Labour and arming Sir Keir Starmer with more MPs. This is hardly the first time that the Scottish party and its London HQ have had a difference of opinion. This particular disagreement has the same roots as most of the others. 

There is a contradiction at the heart of this Conservative and Unionist party; the two often work against each other. It has been clear, at least in the years since the Scottish independence referendum, that the Scottish side of the party is Unionist first and Conservative second, and that the English side of the party is Conservative first and Unionist second.