The Scottish Conservatives should be able to revive themselves

Above:  rubbishy article by Owen Jones (author of Chavs, itself a poorly assembled portfolio of press clippings) which appeared in the Guardian yesterday.

There is a myth, repeated by Owen Jones, that the Conservative Party is "finished" in Scotland.  Such statements do not seem to be supported by the facts.  In terms of members (and activists are the most important way a political party can win elections) although the Labour Party in Scotland has 15,000 members, and the SNP 16,000 members, the Conservative Party in Scotland has 8,500 members - hardly negligible.  In terms of money the Conservatives have far more than the other contenders.

Therefore the Scottish Conservatives should be able to revive themselves, given the right leadership and motivation.  They also have the advantage of being the only party with a centre-right philosophy.  Both Labour and the SNP are competing for the centre-left, and this can only take them so far - sooner or later voters will get tired of socialism and social-nationalism and will want a change.

The SNP domination of fomer Conservative constituencies can be likened to the Hitlerite occupation of France in 1940 in which a small but ruthlessly aggressive and unscrupulous force was able to overwhelm a more civilised and numerous opponent.  It is not an exaggeration to say that the Conservative party in Scotland is now a "resistence" entity, and this gives considerable psychological advantages.  What seems to be lacking is leadership.

As for the idea that the party should change its name, the idea is ludicrous - never ever change your brand name (if you do, all the investment you have made in the brand over the years will simply evaporate).  Maybe they could revive the Unionist & Conservative name (which I think is still the official title?).  But that's as far as it should go.

Disclaimer:  I am not Scottish and have no connection with Scotland other than a brother-in-law.

Above:  editorial in today's Guardian that indicates lack of leadership is also a problem for the Scottish Labour Party.