Crossing the floor of the Scottish Parliament – moving around the arc is perhaps a better description – is highly unusual. Several MSPs have become independents, for one reason or another, but swapping one party for another had only been done by Alba’s Ash Regan, formerly of the SNP, until yesterday.
Jamie Greene is a one-time Scottish Tory leadership contender who resigned the Conservative whip with an excoriating letter to his leader Russell Findlay on Thursday. The very next day, the ex-Tory turned up at the Scottish Liberal Democrat annual conference in Inverness to announce he would be joining the party. It was a genuinely significant Holyrood moment.
More importantly, though, it looks to be a genuinely significant moment in the fortunes of the Scottish Tory party.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in