The Irn Lady

Ruth Davidson was reluctant to say very much when she accepted the Scottish Conservative leadership this afternoon, insisting only that she wants to build up Tory party membership north of the border. But she knows – and all those around her know too – that membership levels are the least of her problems. Ms Davidson faces one of the most intractable puzzles in British politics: how to get Scots to vote Tory again.

Everyone involved in Conservative politics north of the border knows the significance of 1955 – that was the year the Tories (and their allies) won a majority of both seats and votes in Scotland. Since then, the road for the Conservatives has been steadily and inexorably downhill. The party has not had more than one MP this century and in 1997 it was famously wiped off the electoral map in Scotland. So what does Ms Davidson have that others, who have gone before her, do not?