At the time of their 1997 wipeout, the Scottish Tories were at least hated. When I was reporting from the Scottish Parliament some 14 years later, things were even worse: there was curiosity, even pity, for Tory supporters. One Tory MSP told me the party should rename itself “the effing Tories” because that’s what they had become known as. Voting Conservative was no longer seen as a giant evil, more a harmless perversion – like cross-dressing (or cricket). Then Ruth Davidson came along, then Jeremy Corbyn, then the SNP with its obsession with referenda – and now, everything has changed.
The above graph shows the latest voting intention in Scotland, with the Tories soaring above Labour and winning the support of a third of Scots. The Conservative and Unionist party is becoming the unionist coalition, with former Labour voters now giving up on the shell that their party has become.
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